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Eravikulam National Park is situated in
the High Ranges (Kannan Devan Hills) of
the Southern Western Ghats in the Devikolam
Taluk of Idukki district, Kerala State between
10º 05' - 10º 20' N Latitude and
77º 0' - 77º 10' E Longitude.
Etymologically, Eravikulam
denotes streams and pools.
The Park is 97 sq. km. in extent, consisting
mostly of high altitude grasslands that
are interspersed with sholas. The main body
of the National Park comprising of a high
rolling plateau with a base elevation of
about 2000 meters from mean sea level. The
Park is of undulating terrain and the highest
peak is Anamudi (2690 m). Three major types
of plant communities are found in the Park-grasslands,
shrub land and forests. Grasslands, primarily
cover the high plateau and the hills rising
above it. Shrub lands are seen along the
bases of the cliffs. Shola forests are located
in the valleys and folds. Turner’s
valley, which splits the Park roughly in
half from northwest to southeast, is the
deepest.
The only motorable road
inside the Park, passes through the southern
extremity inside the tourism zone (Rajamala)
to the Rajamallay tea estate. Another road
head leads to the Lakkom Muduvakudy on the
periphery and is not usable at present.
All other movements inside the Park are
on foot along trails and footpaths.
Public conveyance facilities
like buses and taxi, telephone, fax, postal,
internet and e-mail facilities are available
at Munnar. Boarding and lodging facilities
of various categories exist in this small
township.
The park is accessible
from Kochi (Kerala) and Coimbatore (Tamil
Nadu) airports, which are located at about
148 Km and 175 Km respectively.
Munnar is the nearest town (13km.), well
connected by roads from Kerala and Tamil
Nadu.
The nearest railway station
in Kerala is Aluva (120 Km away from Munnar)
and in Tamil Nadu is Coimbatore (165 Km)
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