Kerala’s lush elephant and tiger sanctuary is the perfect place to take a troop of binocular-toting children. Add a night stay at an observatory tower, a boat ride through the rain drenched forests and camp food, and you have the perfect mini-safari.
“The exams are over, vacations are on. I am your god daughter and you had promised me a trip this time,” wailed nine-old Ankita, a close friend’s daughter, and a clear favourite of ours.
I understood, but I had to go to Kochi in Kerala to attend a business conference. “Fine, then we are coming along,” she said. “You can attend your conference and on the return trip we can visit Thekkady”, my wife pitched in.
The eyes of the nine-year-old lit up. So I decided to combine business with pleasure and enjoy a weekend at Thekkady, located deep within Periyar wildlife sanctuary.
Periyar is situated in the Cardamom Hill Ranges of Kerala’s Idukki district, south of the Western Ghats. “It is the only tiger reserve in Kerala and has a picturesque lake in the center”, said my daughter ready with her facts. Periyar, although housing about 35 tigers, is more famous for its elephants. The trip had begun even before boarding the flight, as my daughter promptly brought out the atlas and showed us “This is where we are headed”.
How to get there
Since we were flying down I checked to see whether there was an airport nearby. We found out that though Madurai (Tamil Nadu) was closer (145 km), Kochi (190 km) wasn’t too far off either. Thekkady is only approachable by road and the nearest railway station is at Kottayam (115 km) also in Kerala.
We decided to drive down in a hired car for the four-hour journey from Kochi in favour of the half-hourly bus. The drive was superb as we went through Munnar, a popular hill station and arrived at Kumily, a small town with spice shops and knick-knacks, about 4 kilometres from Thekkady.
Accommodation
There are three hotels operated by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation at Thekkady to suit all budgets. Outside the sanctuary there are other hotels in and around Kumily. Since admission to the park enables multiple entries for three days, you can stay at Kumily if you don’t have bookings at Thekkady itself.
The Wildlife Preservation Office also offers resthouses in the sanctuary at Manakavala and Edappalayam. You can even stay at the observation towers overnight if you are prepared to camp-bed it.
Jungle world
People tend to interchange Periyar with Thekkady, which is quite confusing. The actual sanctuary spreads out around the Periyar river that originates from deep within the rainforest area 50 km south of the sanctuary.
A Day out at Thekkady [Illustration by Anup Singh]
My daughter jumped with joy at the sight of the elephants and bison. But it was the monkeys that amused her the most. Father and daughter played a game of ‘spot the bird’. The camera flashed over and over again, as my daughter wanted to take back pictures for her scrapbook.
The early bird gets the worm
The best way to explore Periyar is by boat. We opted for the first one in the morning, which we found, gave the best option for wildlife spotting. My daughter managed to convince the pilot to shut off the rackety diesel engine so we could hear the forest noises and the cackle and scolding of the hill mynahs. We managed to spot some drongos and even some hornbills through our binoculars. Spending a night at the observation towers or rest houses provides a great opportunity to shoot some film or capture animals on video camera.
Best time to visit
The best time to visit Thekkady is between September – May as it is cool and comfortable. However, summer is actually the ideal time for sighting the animals as the dry waterholes bring the animals to the lakeside.
Things you need
- A binocular is a very essential item as most sightings are from a distance. Cameras and video cameras also come in handy.
- In case you decide to spend a night in the observation rooms, keep sleeping bags and mosquito repellants handy.
- In a rainforest, you can expect unexpected showers, so take along raincoats /waterproof jackets.
- Beware of leeches if you plan on serious trekking. Ankle boots, socks, long trousers and full-sleeved shirts are a must.
- A First Aid Kit, torches and a knife (if for nothing else, to pare fruit) are other necessary items.
- Take munchies including chocolates (high energy diet) along. However, do not feed the animals as it makes them dependent on human beings.Finally with lungs full of fresh air and rolls full with wildlife pictures we bid adieu to Thekkady. Now, my daughter proudly shows her wildlife scrapbook to her friends.
