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A Trip4India > Destinations India > Periyar Tourism

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Periyar Tourism

Area : 777 sq kms
State : Kerala
Temperature : 29° C - 18° C (Summers)21° C - 15° C (Winters)
Rainfall : 2500 mm
Best Season : October - June

Placed in the Cardamom hill region of the Western Ghats, the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary (also called Thekaddy) is the most beautiful wildlife sanctuary in India. It is one of the few national parks where you will use boats to explore the land. These boats can either be hired by you or you may take a tour on the passenger ferries that move on the lake.

It is undoubtedly a thrilling experience for all tourists as you watch the great variety of animals, including elephant, sambar, wild Pig, mongoose and the Malabar Flying Squirrel, and almost 300 species of birds. If you are a wildlife lover, this is the ideal place to watch animals in their natural habitat.

The bird life includes Dartens, Commorants, Kingfishers, the great Malabar Hornbill and racket-tailed Drongoes. In fact, visitors who trek to Periyar National Park often see a python and sometimes even a King Cobra.

Set in the midst of mountains, the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary’s environment is like a canvas of many shades. The fresh air of the moist deciduous forest will give you ample chance to experience peace and serenity.

History
Col J Pennycuick designed the dam on this river in 1895, when submerging virgin forests wasconsidered a small price to pay in order that fields in Tamil Nadu could be watered. The resulting lake was subsequently leased to the then Government of Madras for 999 years. So, ironically, while it is Kerala that lost its forests, the lien on the waters remains that of Tamil Nadu all the way through to 2885!

In 1899, the Maharaja of Travancore taking stock of the damage done to Periyar, decided that protection was necessary. He declared the Nellikkampatty area protected, and it was finally declared a sanctuary in 1934, at his insistence. It was renamed as Periyar and enlarged to its present size in 1950. Periyar was declared Kerala's first and only Tiger Reserve in 1978.

Several tribal communities lived and hunted in and around the sanctuary for centuries. But the reservoir changed the identity of both the forest and its human occupants. The Manans, a tribe, were relocated to Kumily in the 1950s, but it was badly handled and they were left deprived and destitute, with none of the land they had been promised. The Malampandaram tribals still reside in the valley near the Ranni division forests, and the Uralis and the Malaiarayans, parts of the Vallakadava range. Some of them still cultivate land and collect forest produce surreptitiously, ever since orders were passed outlawing such activity. They now survive on fish, honey and the sale of wild cardamom to exploitative traders.