There a many activities for tourists and
travellers in the Thekkady area. Information about activities in Periyar Tiger
Reserve can be found on Periyar Tiger Reserve's website. You can book these
activities directly at the Forest Department Office at Ambadi Junction in
Kumily, or you can do it through us if you prefer. In Kumily Town, the
traditional Kerala martial art Kalaripayattu and dance drama Kathakali are
performed every night. It is also possible to get a relaxing ayurvedic massage.
Outside Kumily there are a number of interesting walks, for instance along the
mountain ridge between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Eco Tourism
Nature Walk
This is an interpretive programme
offering excellent opportunity to watch birds, butterflies and other wildlife.
Different nature trails traversing diverse habitats form the trekking routes,
generally 4 to 5 km in length. The trails often pass through evergreen and
moist deciduous forests interspersed with marshy grasslands.
The programme is offered in six time
slots, and lasts for two-and-a-half hours. A maximum of 6 persons can go for
trekking at a time along each nature trail, covering the boat-landing – Kokkara
route, accompanied by a trained tribal guide. Nature walk is the right
programme to feel nature, hear her whispers and smell her flowers.
Cloud Walk
The programme is a long guided trek for
approximately 3 to 4 hours which starts from Gandhi Park at Kolathupalam,
passing through the Kurisumala view point, gets down to the Tribal Heritage
Museum located at Mannakudy Tribal settlement and concludes at Anavachal. From
the vantage point, you can have a look at grasslands, evergreen, deciduous and
riverine forests and the expanses of irrigated arid land across the border
where the nectar from Periyar provides the breath of life. .
Visitors can see the exuberance of
Cumbam Valley, the dizzying heights of Mangaladevi, Kumarikulam and other
escarpements of the Fort of Periyar, glory of Palni hills farther away from the
view point, habitat specialist birds and butterflies including endemics like
the Nilgiri Pipit, broad-tailed grass bird, tree nymph etc.
Green
Walk
This is an interpretive programme
offering excellent opportunity to watch birds, butterflies and other wildlife.
Different nature trails traversing diverse habitats form the trekking routes,
generally 4 to 5 km in length. The trails often pass through evergreen and
moist deciduous forests interspersed with marshy grasslands.
The programme is offered in six time
slots, and lasts for two-and-a-half hours. A maximum of 6 persons can go for
trekking at a time along each nature trail, covering the Anavachal/Anchuruli
area, accompanied by a trained tribal guide. Nature walk is the right programme
to feel nature, hear her whispers and smell her flowers.
Border
Trekking
This is a conservation-oriented hard
trek taking up a full day, starting at 8am and ending at 5pm, covering 15km.
The route passes through undulating terrains. Altitudinal ranges of 900 meters
to 1300 meters will be covered and trekkers obtain glimpses of the lofty
escarpments bordering the park watershed and the vast plains down below. Gaur,
sloth bear, elephant etc. are often sighted along this route apart from birds
and butterflies. A maximum of 12 tourists can take the programme in two
different groups. The trekkers will go with two guides and an armed forest
guard. Vegetarian refreshments can be had en route.
Bamboo Rafting
This is a dawn-to-dusk range hiking and
rafting programme through some of the richest forest tracts of Periyar Tiger
Reserve. Starting at 8 am from the boat landing, a mosaic of habitats will be
traversed before the party gets into rafts made of bamboos.
The forests are rich in bird life and
arboreal animals like giant squirrel and Nilgiri langur. Rafting lasts for
about three hours and one gets a panoramic view of forest-clad hills reflected
on the lake. Animals like elephant, gaur and sambar are sighted keeping close
to the edges of the lake.
The team hitchhikes back to the boat
landing by about 5 pm. An armed guard and 4 guides will accompany a maximum of
10 tourists. Tea, snacks and packed lunch will be served en route. This package
is an excellent programme for semi-serious nature lovers to feel the beauty of
Nature.
Jungle Inn
This is an opportunity for nature lovers
to stay inside one of the watch towers constructed inside the forests in the
ambience of jungle with minimal creature comfort. The forest cottage at
Kokkara, about an hour's walk from the Forest check post is an ideal place to
board two persons hoping to share the quietness of the jungle night. Here one
could relax, read a book, listen to the cicada or simply watch the forests
outside..
The high point of the programme is
walking through different forest types at prime time when animals tend to be
more active. One can watch troops of langurs, giant squirrels, etc., besides
many birds along this stretch. Who knows, if the goddess of fortune smiles on
you, a tiger could come out of the bushes chasing a herd of sambar deer!
Tourists will be accompanied by trained guides.
The check in time and check out time are
3 pm. and 9 am. the following day respectively. Tea, snacks and dinner are
provided.
Jungle Scout
This unique ecotourism programme intends
to entertain those who are desirous of experiencing the wilderness during night
and contribute towards forest protection by joining the regular forest
protection party as a paid volunteer. The programme is offered in three time
slots of three hours each, starting at 7pm and ending at 4am.
