Periyar

The Periyar Wildlife National Park covers an area of 77,700ha of cardamom hill ranges in the Idduki District. The tourist zone of the Periyar National Park is close to the picturesque little town of Kumily, with its exotic and colourful spice market. Thanks to the Maharaja of Travancore, Periyar was given the status of a reserve forest way back in 1934. In the year 1895, a part of the forest was dammed to protect the catchment area of the Periyar River.

The result was the beautiful 26sq km Periyar Lake, dotted with islands and tree stumps. The formalities for declaring the core area of the National Park as a National Park, are in the process of being met.

How to Reach Periyar :

By Air - If you are from the far corner of India, then you can gain air access to Periyar which is very fast and efficient. The major international airport located adjacent to Periyar is Cochin which connects Periyar with the major destinations of India such as New Delhi and Mumbai. The other important airport located close to Periyar is Madurai. Various private and government airlines operate regular flights to and from Cochin and Madurai.

By Railway - Reaching Periyar by the rail is also quite convenient and the tourists can make use of the major railway station which is Kottayam. With the regular services of express and super fast trains, transportation to Periyar by rail is quite convenient. The important towns of south India and other parts of India are linked by the efficient system of rail network.

By Road - Periyar can easily be reached by road transport since the well-maintained and motorable network of roads make for a very smooth and convenient transport. The state and national highways connect the nearby destinations of Kerala such as Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Cochin and Kottayam apart from the other major destinations of India.

Periyar's Main Attravtions -
Periyar is the ideal place for the elephant lovers who can see this mammal swinging its trunks, in its natural habitat.
Herds of playful wild elephants have made this place their blissful abode. Periyar is one of the world's famous wildlife reserves where one can lay their eyes on the other creatures as well. The vast area of the park encompasses a lot of other animals such as leopard, wild dog, barking deer, mouse deer, Nilgiri langur (a primate), bonnet macaque, sambhar, porcupines, squirrels, gaur (Indian bison), wild boar and sloth bear.