Periyar Tiger Reserve & National Park

Periyar National Park was established in the year 1950 and is named after the Periyar river. Situated in Idukki district, it is spread over 250sq km. The Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary at Thekkady surrounding the picturesque Periyar lake, near the Tamil Nadu border in Kerala, was designated a part of Project Tiger in 1973 and is one of the Project Tiger Reserves in India. 

Periyar national park is famous for its scenic beauty. It is covered with dense evergreen, semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forests interspersed with grass lands on the upper slopes. Periyar is probably one of the few places, where one can observe the elephants in their natural surroundings. It is very much known for the tusk less elephants. The animals found in the park are elephant, gaur, sambar, bison, barking deer, Nilgiri languor, pig, tiger, panther, leopard, sloth, bear, jungle cat, small Indian civet and Malabar squirrel macaque.

There is a variety of birds in the park including the great Indian hornbill, Indian darter, king fisher, black necked storks, butterflies etc. The tiger and leopard are sighted when the forest water holes dry up and these animals come and drink water from the river.
 The best months for visiting the park are from October to April. There is facility for boating. The ideal times for cruise is the dawn and dusk. Elephant rides and jeeps are also available. The ride on an elephant is more to see than the boat trip. There is a  special viewing platform inside the forest.