HOW TO REACH THEKKADY

How to Reach Periyar Tiger Reserve

Periyar Tiger Reserve, Thekkady is about 4 km from Kumili in Idukki district, central Kerala and is well connected by road from all the major towns of Kerala.

Accessibility By Air

Cochin International Airport : 190 Kms.Thiruvananthapuram International Airport : 267 Kms.Madurai: 140 Kms.

By Rail
Kottayam : 114 Kms.Changanassery: 120 Kms.Ernakulam : 190 Kms.Madurai : 135 Kms.

By Road
Direct bus links to / from Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin, Kottayam, Munnar & Madurai.

ACTIVTIES IN AND AROUND THEKKADY

Boating
Boats of different capacities are maintained by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) and the Kerala Forest Department. Boats can be hired for a 2 hour cruise, the easy option for sighting wildlife.

Nature Walking

Different nature trails traversing diverse habitats form the trekking routes, generally 4 to 5 km. in length. This is an interpretive programme offering excellent opportunity to watch birds, butterflies and other wildlife. The trails often pass through evergreen and moist deciduous forests interspersed with marshy grasslands.
The programme is offered between 7.00 am. and 10.30 am. and between 2.00 pm. and 3.00 pm. and lasts for about 3 hours. A maximum of 5 persons can go for trekking at a time along each nature trail, accompanied by a trained tribal guide. The Nature walk is the right programme to feel nature, hear her whispers and smell her flowers.
Border Hiking
A feather wafted down from an eagle in her flightA chink to the strange wilderness that lay aheadA wanton call from the hillocksDeer, bear and bison came all along my wayNow I wonder how different was the world I knew so far…
The programmeThis is a conservation oriented hard trek taking up a full day. The trekking starts at 8 o’ clock in the morning and ends in the evening.
The route passes through undulating terrains. Altitudinal ranges of 900 meters to 1300 meters will be covered and the trekkers could glimpse 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.
Maximum of 10 tourist 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
When the cool breeze takes your hair and the ripples sweep through the lake,Where the dead trees of forgotten valleyemerge like ghosts from the water stretch,It’s fun to paddle in bamboo raftsto see a small Elephant run behind its mother safe,It’s thrilling, if you are there to meet a Leopard in it’s den,To remould yourself …To run away from your destiny … ...far into the rain forests …..
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. The rafting is 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 enroute
The Jungle Inn

The forest cottage at Kokkara, about an hour 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 blesses you, a tiger could come out of the bushes chasing a herd of sambar deer!
The check in time and check out time are 3 pm. and 9 am. the following day respectively. Tea, snacks and dinner are provided.
The Periyar Tiger Trail

Adventure trekking and camping

The programme

The programme is unique in being conducted by a team of poachers who turned protectors of the forests. The team members are hardy and dependable with an intimate knowledge of the forest terrain. The programmes are 1 night/2 days and 2 nights/3 days. The first day’s trek starts at 9 am and ends by noon in the second or third day. The team consists of a maximum of 5 visitors, 5 guides and 2 forest officials. Normally 20 to 35 kms. of trekking distance will be covered, depending on the route chosen.
Here, one may chance to encounter much indigenous wildlife like Nilgiri langur, giant squirrel, elephant and who knows, even the tiger! The trek route passes through hills and valleys with a variety of tropical plants and wide-open spaces. Enroute vegetarian meals will be prepared and served and country tents will be pitched for holing up in the night. Trekking groups are accompanied by armed forest guards with good communication equipments, and geared to face any emergency situation. Remember to listen to unusual and strange adventure stories of the former poachers, now your guides and protectors of the forests.
Preconditions for joining the tiger trail

Visitors who are medically fit and aged between 15 - 65 are advised to take the tiger trail. Visitors should be serious nature lovers willing to sacrifice some of the luxuries and comforts of a hotel.

ABOUT AYURVEDA

Ayurveda is the oldest surviving complete medical system in the world. Derived from its ancient Sanskrit roots - ‘ayus' (life) and ‘ved' (knowledge) – and offering a rich, comprehensive outlook to a healthy life, its origins go back nearly 5000 years. To when it was expounded and practiced by the same spiritual rishis, who laid the foundations of the Vedic civilisation in India, by organising the fundamentals of life into proper systems.
The main source of knowledge in this field therefore remain the Vedas, the divine books of knowledge they propounded, and more specifically the fourth of the series, namely Atharvaveda that dates back to around 1000 BC. Of the few other treatises on Ayurveda that have survived from around the same time, the most famous are Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita which concentrate on internal medicine and surgery respectively. The Astanga Hridayam is a more concise compilation of earlier texts that was created about a thousand years ago. These between them forming a greater part of the knowledge base on Ayurveda as it is practiced today.
The art of Ayurveda had spread around in the 6th century BC to Tibet, China, Mongolia, Korea and Sri Lanka, carried over by the Buddhist monks travelling to those lands. Although not much of it survives in original form, its effects can be seen in the various new age concepts that have originated from there.
Though Ayurveda is the Indian System of medicine, it is much flourished and available in its purest form only in Kerala State. Awareness among people and easy availability of pure herbs are some of the reasons for this popularity in Kerala.
Ayurveda is not simply a health care system but a form of lifestyle adopted to maintain perfect balance and harmony within the human existence, from the most abstract transcendental values to the most concrete physiological expressions. Based on the premise that life represents an intelligent co-ordination of the Atma (Soul), Mana (Mind), Indriya (Senses) and Sharira (Body). That revolves around the five dense elements that go into the making of the constitution of each individual, called Prakriti. Which in turn is determined by the vital balance of the three physical energies - Vata, Pitta, Kapha and the three mental energies - Satwa, Rajas, Tamas.
The Hindu God of creation revealed the science of ayurveda to the sage Atreya
Ayurveda thus offers a unique blend of science and philosophy that balances the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual components necessary for holistic health.