Thekkady (Idukki District) is the
location of the Periyar Wildlife
Sanctuary, which is an important
tourist attraction in Kerala state,
India, close to the Kerala -Tamil
Nadu border town Kumily, located
about 160 miles from Trivandrum.
The sanctuary is famous for its
dense evergreen, semievergreen,
moist deciduous forests and savannah
grass lands. It is home to herds
of elephants, sambar, tigers, gaur,
lion-tailed macaques and Nilgiri
langurs.
The Periyar Widlife sanctuary
is spread across 777 km², of
which 360 km² is thick evergreen
forest. The Periyar Wild Life Sanctuary
was declared a Tiger Reserve in
1978. The splendid artificial lake
formed by the Mullaperiyar Dam across
the Periyar River adds to the charm
of the park. The greatest attraction
of Periyar are the herds of wild
elephants that come down to play
in the lake.
Thekkady has immense possibilities
for Adventure Tourism. The Forest
Department offers many programs
including Periyar Tiger Trail, Nature
walk, Bamboo Rafting etc. There
are private organizations as well
as government agencies (e.g.KTDC),
