We were in the search of a distant place, away from the
humdrum of city life. I along with my wife and children decided to head on
to Periyar National Park that has been long pending in our list of must visit
destinations in India. We had to fly Kerala to visit this spectacular wildlife
destination. Soon we were at our destination and settled for a hotel to shed
off the fatigue.
 |
| Periyar National Park |
Lying in the Idukki district of Kerala, Periyar Wildlife
Sanctuary is a zestfully protected wildlife destination in India. It houses
40 good numbers of tigers. Snuggled between the Cardamom hills and the Pandalam
hills in the Southern Western Ghats, the park enticed us at very first sight.
We felt like being in a destination where all you could see was the panorama of
nature in its full bloom.
Kumily is the nearest town centre that lies at a distance of
4 km away. The hills were enveloped by dense evergreen and moist deciduous
forests that provide a thick cover. Though we could not sight the tigers yet we
came across various animals. The animals we saw there were leopards,
elephants, deer, bison and numerous birds. My children enjoyed the sights
of playful Nilgiri Langur, hanging around that kept them entertained for few
minutes.
The time was to return and our stomachs were pleading for
dinner. We went to restaurant and ordered fish curry and local cuisine with the
well-known flavour of Kerala.
 |
| Leopards in Periyar |
Next day we delighted ourselves with a full day trek
through terrain that encompasses dense valleys, swamps, open grasslands and
woodlands. My wife Ketthy could not stop herself taking a boat ride across
the lake and I had to accompany her. Unlike others we could not see many
wildlife species but we enjoyed spotting few of them.
Ketthy loved nature walk which she enjoyed while I was
taking pictures of rare animals. Moreover, we also visited the nearby tribal
village to learn about their culture. As it was our Kerala tour so
how could we miss out the much talked about Ayurveda massage. Various therapies
and treatments offered at the finest Ayurveda resorts in Kerala are
worth to experience. We selected a rejuvenation package of Ayurveda and that
was the best part of our wildlife tour to Kerala.
