Idukki wild life sanctuary

Take up Kerala tourism to visit the Idukki wildlife sanctuary in Kerala. The first time when you will drive through the narrow, muddy and slippery paths of the Nilgiris, you will be swiftly ferried - over the wild flowers abundant on South Indian hilltops - to another world of fantasy, altogether. It is a completely different experience to look at the waves of grassy hillocks, lay like an unbroken sheet of green, stretching in every direction one can imagine.

Crisscrossing these grasslands are many white streams, bubbling in perpetuity like an infatuated coryphée, eager to embrace the melody of love. Said to be the apogee of evolution - reached the perfect state of harmony possible - the Eravikulam National Park in Kerala is a magnificent board to dart your holiday vacations.

Once a hunting preserve of British planters, the forest tract of Eravikulam today epitomizes wildlife conservation in Southern India. The main attraction is the Nilgiri Tahr (locally called as varai-aadu), a highly endangered species of the wild goat, which was all but poached into extinction in the 1950s, until the deep greens were declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1975, and in 1978 a national park.

Thanks to total absence of poaching over the years, the vulnerable specimens can now be seen in handsome numbers, and are said to be so habituated to human presence that now, they often have to shooed off the roads to allow vehicles to pass! Look at the ease with which these mammals negotiate the slippery, rocky drives, and the speed with which they run, would make anyone wonder if they have somehow bypassed the laws of gravity.
Idukki (Eravikulam) National Park - The Silence of The Tahrs

Major Wildlife Attractions :
Egrets, Herons, Darters, Drongoes, Teals and Hundreds of Other Birds.

Major Safaris :
Safaris in Wildlife Sanctuary, Temple Visit, Tour of Spice Gardens.

Other Attractions :
Malankara Dam, Kurasha Para, Thomankuttu Water Falls, Annamalai Temple, KariKodu Bhagawathy, Sri Krishnaswamy Temple.

Best Time To Visit :
September to October.

Don't Miss :
The view from the National Park that is situated 7000 ft above sea level is absolutely breathtaking.

Getting Around :
Kalvari Mount, Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary, Moolamatton, Peermade, Rajamala Wildlife Sanctuary, Cheruthoni Dam.

To Shop :
East Fort Compound – Mundus, Gold Jewellery, Brass Lamps, Kairali Handicrafts near Statue Junction – Straw Bags, Mats.

Getting There :
Nearest Airport - Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery -55 km.

Nearest Rail - Ernakulam Junction – 57 km.

Road - 65 km E of Kochi, N-H-49, S-H-8.

Important Distances : Kochi – 65 km, Ernakulam – 57 km, Thekkady - 60 km, Munnar - 50 km, Thodupuzha - 60 km, Neriyamangalam - 22 km, Vellathooval - 33 km.

Where to Eat :Gopuram, Hotel Aarathi, Hotel Woodlands, Pappen's Restaurant, Maurya Monarch.

Where to stay : River Banks, Greenberg Resort, Pimenta, Maurya Monarch, Hotel Stoneage.