Periyar National Park, located in the
state of Kerala, is counted among the best wildlife reserves in the world.
Periyar national park is at a height of 1800 m above sea level and spreads
across an area of 778 kilometers. The Periyar National Park is indeed a
Tiger Reserve but then people come here to witness the fun loving elephants.
An artificial lake at the core of
Periyar national park adds a milestone to
its glory and tempts the wildlife as well as the tourists to be in the
jungles of Periyar.
Best Time : October to June.
Entry Fee: Rs 25 (Indians)/ Rs 200 (Foreigners)
Wildlife Species in Periyar
National Park
The
wildlife species in Periyar compromises of a healthy mix of fauna and
avi-fauna. A large number of elephants spotted at random gives a clear
indicator of the availability of elephants over here. Also, here there are
large number of tiger, leopard, wild dog, barking deer, mouse deer, Nilgiri
langur, bonnet macaque, sambhar, porcupines, squirrels, gaur, wild boar and
sloth bear. The monitor lizards, pythons, king cobras and flying lizards can
also be spotted over here.
The avi-fauna consists of about 260 species of birds found over here. These
include darters, cormorants, ibises, gray herons, mynas, ospreys, thrushes,
blue-winged parakeets, flycatchers, orioles, wood pigeons, kingfishers and
kites as well.
What Else To See And Do
- Visit the temple of Mangla Devi and seek her blessings.
- Catch up with Kumily , an important tourist spot with excellent
hotels and restaurants. The town is also known for the spice trade,
that's the major occupation over here.
- The cardamom hills are worth-watching. The Periyar and Kumily are
two important places from where you can have a view of the wonderful
cardamom hills.
- Quench the desire of boat ride on the lake. Also, one can go for
motor launches that are available throughout the day from 6 in the
morning to 4 in the evening.
Travel(Air/Rail/Road) Information The Periyar National
Park is well connected from Kochi and Madurai airports. The Indian Airlines
operates daily from major Indian cities to Cochin. There is a proper network
of railways that connects Kottayam to major cities like Delhi, Mumbai,
Banglore and Chennai. The Kerala Exp., Kanyakumari Exp., Trivandrum Mail and
Exp. are some of the important trains that link the above mentioned
destinations. Major national highways that provide road connectivity to
Periyar with the key destinations of Kerala include NH 49 and NH 220.
Wildlife Lodges/Resorts
To make your experiences even wilder, you can plan your stay at one of the
jungle lodges and resorts that are located inside the Periyar National Park.
Preferred options are as follows:
- Periyar Jungle Resort
- Taj Garden Retreat
