Exploring India,
Kerala,
Periyar Tiger Reserve,
Thekkady,
Thekkady Boat Safari,
Thekkady Resorts,
Thekkady Wild Corridor,
Travel
Kerala - The Wildlife of Thekkady
8:13 AM
“Hey look it is a flying squirrel,”my friend told and I went all berserk clicking it’s pictures. Such a charming creature it is. Both it’s fur body and long slender tail has a blend of dark red and coffee-brown colour and which shines bright in daylight. It’s dark liquid eyes glistening in dark has a magnetic pull. It would glide swiftly from tree to tree looking for ripe fruits which he hog on. But sadly it is an endangered species which is fast vanishing in this human forest. Thanks to Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary that we can still see them with no sweat within the reserve.
Yes we were at Periyar National Park in Thekkady on day three of our trip to Kerala. Periyar National Park or Thekkady ( as commonly known) is located in in Idukki district in Kerala right in the middle of the mountainous areas of cardamom hills. This sanctuary flourishes around the Periyar lake which was formed after the construction of Mullaperiyar Dam. Boat safaris or Nature walk are the only ways to see the wildlife here as there is no road leading inside the forest.
Just few hours left to dusk while arriving at the National Park we marched quickly towards the ticket counter for booking the last water safari for the day and as predicted we were quite late and all boats had left already. We thought of spending some time inside the forest near the shore of the lake and to our surprise on the other side we saw a herd of Deer and a baby elephant with his mother.
The stretch between the entrance of the reserve till the boating harbour is also within the forest area itself. There is a paved road wherein the tourists can walk and enjoy the tranquility and while being occupied with this serenity we spotted Indian Grey Hornbill, Woodpecker, Langur and many more. So we actually didn’t miss the boat safari much.
It was getting dark and so we headed towards our Hotel. The location of our stay was also no less captivating than the forest itself. On top of the cardamom plantation, we had a kingsize room at the top floor. The balcony was of the room’s length which opened up to mystifying view but we just had few hours to spend around as next morning we had to check out and head for early morning boat safari at Periyar. Nonetheless the night spent at Wildlife Corridor will always cherished by me. Well morning had more surprises..we woke up at 5 in the morning calls of birds. Oh! it was a birder’s paradise. I wish I could be around the place for sometime and capture few more clicks of beautiful and delicate ones.
I would sum up my adventure to Periyar Wildlife on boat safari through my clicks.
Places to see
- Boat Safari
- Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
- Panchalimedu
Accommodation
- Wild Corridor (recommended)
- Cardamom County
- Green Woods
- Abad Green Forest
- Aranya Nivas
How to reach
- Rail - The nearest railway station to Thekkady is Kottayam, located 114 kilometres away.
- Air - The nearest airport is Madurai Airport, located at a distance of 136 kilometres away from Thekkady. The nearest international airport is Cochin International Airport, which is 190 kilometres away.
- Road - Government run or private buses are available from Cochin, Kottayam and Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram)
