Thekkady - Periyar Natural Reserves

THEKKADY

This is part of theWestern Ghats range and is located in the state of Kerala.  Its about 550 Kms from Bangalore http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Bangalore,+Karnataka,+India+to+Thekkady+Wild+Corridor,+Kerala,+India&aq=0&sll=13.116747,77.577746&sspn=0.042548,0.055189&vpsrc=0&ie=UTF8&t=m&z=7  

 The roads were good in  September 2011 in spite of the monsoons earlier.  We did this distance in our Ford Figo aram se.  This was in the month of September 2011 and it was rainy season.  We stayed at Mahindra Resorts in Thekkady town. 

They have lots of activities, such as  Day Trips inside the forest, Camping inside the forest, Elephant rides, trekking etc., in Thekkady, but we chose to spend an entire day at the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary.  We booked a 4x4 from our resort  alternatively you can book one from the Forest office- Kerala Forest Development Corporation Ltd (they are located near Mahindra Resorts).   You can find so many of them from the site.

We were picked up from the lodge at 6.00 in the morning.  We had a long drive to reach the entry gate of the forest.  The road from the city to the gate was not good.  We reached the gate at 6.30  & had a cup of chai.  The guide cum driver was registered our names against the vehicle number at the gate before entering the forest. 

It was green and very moist; to top the beauty, the sunlight was out just then.   The drivers here are not strict on anything.  They let you do anything (sometimes to our advantage but not always).  We don’t like throwing garbage in the forest, we won’t like people smoking inside the forest etc, but unfortunately these are possible here.  We hated the crowd who came in the other vehicles as they had no regard for the forest.

First, we spotted some Elephants just few kms as we entered; they were not on the road side but a little inside.  The vehicle was stopped we stepped down and went a bit inside to have a better view.  There were 4 or 5 of them .  Since the we were too many of us,  the elephants started moving to the other side.  The early spotting of those elephants relaxed our mind to while proportionately fuelling our interest.  Water streams, waterfalls, chirps of birds added to our experience.  Thekkady is full of ups & downs.  So the view is good.  

The driver was able to spot some Bisons & Sambar Deer on top of the cliff,   we then opened our Binocs and saw them.   It was quite a distance and tiny looking; so no videos or photos.  I have always wondered how these guides are able to spot something so minuscule to our sights.  Similarly, we again spotted a few elephants, but this time on the other side of the water stream inside the lush green.  Not a very clear view.  We continued our drive with some panoramic view of mountains and taking some snaps.

We reached a place called GAVI and office is named Gavi Eco Tourism.  I discovered  that they also have a website named gaviecotourism.com.  We had to register again in the office.  The officials are very kind and nice to you helping with all sorts of queries.  We learnt on packages offered while the breakfast was being prepared.  If you go for full day trip you will be provided with breakfast, lunch and tea with snacks.  The office  associated us with a guide; a guide who is dedicated to you for the entire day.  They follow strict timings for all food and trips.  Morning after breakfast we went for a drive by paying extra.  Lunch at 1.30pm follows the trek/drive  After relaxing for few minutes we were taken for a boat ride that lasted an hour or so. 

We took a drive inside (instead of trekking) since the talk of Leeches all over the forest due to the heavy rains was alarming/scary.  The drive into deeper pockets of the forest started at 9.30.  We spotted a huge herd of Bisons and some elephants again.  We also saw Nilgiri Langurs, Sambar Deer and Lion tailed Macaques, but all these were too far to photograh.  We drove for 3 hours and blesssed with no rains. 

As we returned to the office, the other groups who went trekking were excited showing some snaps in the digital camera.  We also peeked in and it was a tiger.  They spotted the tiger not very far from the beaten track which they took.  They were excited and sharing their moments with all of us.   While we were enjoying the delicious lunch, mist covered  the  entire space.  What a wonderful feeling!  

Boating was our next activity.  We saw cottages/tents already laid up at the banks where one could stay.  As you move further you will spot a huge water falls called Gavi Falls.  One shouldnt miss having a bath in this falls.  We thouroughly enjoyed ours.  After the shower in the falls we rowed back to the dining area.  You hardly see any animals on these stretches due to the movement of too many people.  We had tea, snacks and left the place for our lodge in our 4x4. 

We are planning to revisit this place in Dec, this time we want to go and stay at Gavi Eco Tourism place.   The accommodation looks attractive and also more opportunities to spot animals.   We will update soon.