Periyar wild life sanctuary
Periyar wild life sanctuary in Thekkady is one of the worlds most fascinating natural wildlife reserves. The diversity of wildlife and scenic beauty attracts visitors from all over the world. In addition to that the artificial lake formed by the Mullaperiyar Dam across the Periyar River adds to the charm of the park. The uniqueness of this sanctuary lies in the fact that it is the only sanctuary in India where you can have the experience of viewing wildlife at close quarters from the safety of a boat on the lake. The greatest attraction of Periyar remains the large herds of wild elephants that come down to the lakes edge.
|  thekkady forest |
The Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, spread across 777 sq. km, of which 360 sq. km is thick evergreen forest, was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1978.
The four basic categories of Periyar are the open grasslands which are home to the elephants, the bison and herds of deer, the moist deciduous forest covered by trees like terminalia and teak, the semi-evergreen forest occurring along wet stream areas and is often adjacent to the tropical evergreen forest, lastly, but perhaps the most abundant, the Sholas or tropical evergreen jungle of the Western Ghats. This supports a number of species of terrestrial, aquatic and arboreal animals. Apart from elephants, the variety of deer’s found in this reserve is astonishing.
|  thekkady forest2 |
The major carnivores seen in the area include Tiger, Leopard, Jungle cat, Wild dog, etc. Other important animals are Bear, Porcupine, Jackal, Indian Giant Squirrel, Malabar flying squirrel, and Wild boar, small Indian Civet, Mongoose and the Pangolin.
The reserve is rich in Bird life too. Birds such as Malabar Hornbill, Grey heron, Jungle fowl and Jungle Mynah, Darter or snake bird and Cormorant live in the sanctuary.
| | |
|
|
Overview : Thekkady
Spices :
Places Close By : Vandiperiyar (18 km from Thekkady) Vandanmedu (25 km from Kumily) , Pullumedu (43 km from Thekkady, 26 km from Periyar)
|
|
