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The forests of Kerala are home to rare and magnificent wildlife like the wild elephant, tiger, panther, Indian bison and Nilgiri tahr. A visit to the sanctuaries of this southern state of India has few equals for a scenic and wildlife viewing experience
Kerala is well known for its wildlife. The sanctuaries and national parks of Kerala are not only among the prettiest in the subcontinent, they are also home to 4000 of the 27,000 elephants in India, about half the world population of Nilgiri Tahr, and a huge checklist of birds and butterflies.
It was with some excitement therefore that we set off to explore the hills of Kerala. We started at dawn from Cochin, driving south to Kottayam past groves of gently swaying palms in the morning breeze, breaking for a traditional Kerala breakfast at Green Park in Kottayam town, and ascending through midlands covered with rubber estates to the well laid out tea slopes. The scenery grew more and more beautiful as we reached higher altitudes.
After a cup of tea at Pirmed, a hill station surrounded by tea bushes, we continued to Spice Village to reach in time for lunch, a sumptuous buffet laid out facing the swimming pool. A few foreign guests were relaxing on the pool deck, others preferred the more traditional herbal therapies at the Ayurvedic centre set in the resort�s Spice garden, or sit-outs under thatched roofs of their respective cottages.
We were tempted to experience an Ayurvedic massage, but wildlife was a priority and we quickly left Spice village and drove four kilometres to the entrance to the national park, marked by a barrier. Langurs and macaques played in the trees, and I spied a barking deer among the bushes on one side of the road. Finally we stopped at the lakeside Aranya Niwas, the forest house, built in 1952 AD, and checked in for the Lake Palace, a former hunting palace of the royals accessible only by boat ferry.
On a previous trip to Periyar, I had seen two otters gamboling near the landing jetty, but there was no such luck this time, but we saw a huge herd of sambhar on the opposite bank arriving to drink at the lakeside, the magnificent stag standing aloof from the does, and a lone wild boar standing near the waterfront. The Aranya Niwas motor boat chugged off, as soon as we got our baggage in, and slowly progressed over the water. The lake sprawls beautifully among green valleys, and it is easy to forget that this is not a natural lake but a reservoir created in the 19th century by damming the Periyar river. The only reminder of its history as an artificial waterbody are the stumps of petrified submerged forest trees that rise above the serene surface. Darters and cormorants were perched on the tree stumps, waiting for an opportunity to grab an unsuspecting fish in their dagger like bills. A white necked stork took off in a flurry of black and white, disturbed by the sudden arrival of our motor boat, and flew to a safe spot on the shore. Egrets and herons fished silently on the lakeside. A fishing eagle sat on a tall tree stump, waiting patiently for a late afternoon meal. The boat staff was eager to show us all they could, and the spotter in the boat had his eyed peeled to show us something exciting.
He pointed out a flock of hornbill, their large beaks out of all proportion to the size of their bodies, flying among the forests, and a couple of Gaur, often miscalled Indian bison, ascending a hill in the horizon. We drew close to a herd of sambhar, before docking at the landing stage of the Lake Palace, and we got our first glimpse of home for a night, a wooden mansion with the Pagoda like roof and wooden architecture typical of Kerala�s historic structures.
The Lake Palace has only six bedrooms, ours was large and high-ceilinged, with a massive wooden four poster bed, old dressers and period furniture. An array of butterflies flitted among the flowers, bulbuls chirped on the branches of a tree, a pied kingfisher hovered over the water swooping down at the first sign of movement, a flash of blue revealed the presence of a white breasted kingfisher whose quarry turned out to be a frog by the water.
After a cup of tea, we set off for our boat safari, a lake cruise that offers sightings on the banks and in the water, the only other occupants of our boat being a Swiss couple with wildlife headgears and the boat staff. For the first hour, it seemed the principal attraction of the boat cruise was the landscape, for we saw nothing other than the sambhar and wild boar that were visible from the Lake Palace in the first place, when suddenly our spotter sighted elephants among the trees. We excitedly watched from the window as the boat was driven into a suitable position, and soon we saw them downing grass on the hillsides, three cows and one bull strolling along nonchalantly, plucking the grass with their trunks and putting it away into their mouths. When the boat approached the lake shore, the bull threatened us, facing us menacingly, his trunk lifted and tail twisted, trumpeted and moved away into the tall trees. We were glad we were in a boat with a stretch of water protecting us from any elephant charges! But then generally it is not the herds but lone tuskers that are likely to attack a visitor.
The morning cruise turned out to be quite a different experience from the evening trip. The boat was filled with noisy visitors, whose prime objective of visiting Periyar seemed to be a picnic, and one man in particular kept up an unending conversation about his tours around the world. We chugged off, stopping to see anything and everything. Until we saw a herd of elephants ascending uphill, it seemed to be the same lot we had seen on the previous day, and they were now at a higher point then yesterday evening, downing their breakfast. The ice seemed to have been broken, and sightings began to improve. The icing on the cake was the spectacle of a pack of dhole, the dreaded wild dog of the Indian jungle, coming to drink at the water�s edge.
We took the ferry back to the jetty, and after settling our account at the Aranya Niwas, caught the winding road to Munnar. The road took us past plantations of black pepper, cloves, cardamom, tea and coffee, and we took a lunch halt at the Carmelia Haven, which is set in 50 acres of mixed plantations, with cottage rooms, a tree house and a cave-theme room set in a recreated plaster of Paris cavern. The manager took us for a two-kilometre nature walk through a patch of woodlands, ending with a view of a lake that is part of the estate.
�We have boating facilities on the lake,� he explained,� we are planning to introduce deer on the nature trail, for which permission has been obtained from the forest department. For longer treks and a better view, we suggest guests visit our Kailasan estate, further north towards Munnar�. So be it, we decided as we drove to Kailasan, and wound up a narrow road to Krysanaad estate and tea factory, passing a huge lake surrounded by tea bush covered slopes. The factory was founded in 1936 AD and is set in a 1000-acre estate 4000 feet above mean sea level. The owner, Mr Edwin, welcomed us and arranged our tour of the factory. Tea leaves were being ground, dried and sifted in the factory. �There are two methods of processing tea � CTC or cutting, twisting and curling, and Orthrodox,� explained the factory supervisor. We gleefully bought some factory fresh tea and cardamom (also processed in the estate) before continuing the journey to Munnar, on a road that was extremely badly surfaced in stretches. But the inconvenience was more than compensated by fabulous views of waterfalls, rivers, hillside villages, green hills and plantations. Presently, we came to Munnar, and found our hotel, Copper Castle, outside the town, perched precariously on a hill slope facing a cascading river. Our room was fairly large and offered a pretty view over the river to the hills.
The next morning after a cup of hot tea and buttered toast, drove to reach the dam at dawn. The waters were calm and serene, the view no less beautiful than Periyar at sunrise. The boatmen were excited and quite confident of showing us an elephant. We tumbled into a speed boat, and lurched violently as it set off at high speed over the water, creating enormous ripples. The whole setting was grand, with hills on every side reflected in the quiet waters, disturbed only by the solitary speedboat. We were heaved to and fro at each turn of the boat, as the boatman expertly manoeuvred the craft along the curves of the lake trying hard to show us an elephant. �No elephants sir,� he said shaking his head sadly, �maybe they have moved elsewhere. Sorry.� A sounder of wild boar arrived at the water�s edge, gulping down cool draughts of water, to make up for our disappointment.
We drove up to Top Station for views of the Western Ghats, and were on our way down when my wife, Jyoti, suddenly spotted a movement in a hilly pasture. �I think there is an elephant back there,� she exclaimed,� let us drive back and see if it is a wild one or domestic�. We reversed the car in anticipation and were regaled by the sight of a huge tusker, downing his breakfast. Stealthily, we walked up the hill, ensuring we were out of his sight and got as close as we dared for photography. He did not see us and casually kept feeding his mouth unperturbed by the traffic just 250 meters below him. �There is a fair amount of traffic on this road, sir, so the elephants are not very shy of human passersby,� explained the driver.�
The elephant suddenly heard the clicking of the camera trigger and looked in our direction. We held our breaths, as he twisted his tail in annoyance, raised his trunk and turned in our direction in a threatening posture. Then he spooked and took to the woods behind him, disappearing out of sight. Exhilarated we drove to Munnar for lunch, and caught the road to Rajmalai.
Rajmalai is set in the Eravikulam national park, which has about half the world population of Nilgiri tahr, beside other wildlife. The habitat is Sola forest, comprising rain forest flora and grasslands, typical of the Nilgiris. The car was parked near the barrier, and we walked up the winding road into the sanctuary. This time luck was not in our favour. Tahr are often seen near the sanctuary gate itself, but today they had been disturbed by a bus load of picnickers. We watched the birds in the grasslands, including Nilgiri pipit and a variety of larks, before heading back to Munnar for dinner.
Driving north from Munnar, we arrived at Mayavoor, the last natural sandalwood forest left in this region. �The prehistoric rock shelters on the hill can only be accessed by trekking,� explained a forest ranger. He found two Tamil speaking tribal men to guide us to the shelters. Though we spoke no Tamil, we were able to communicate with sign language, and they were eager to please. The path twisted around huge sandalwood trees and other flora, butterflies of various species flew past us, and I could identify at least a dozen species of birds in the forests. As we approached the shelters, the trek became treacherous, and our guides were careful to check the trails before letting us tread, and finally we came to the rock face with faded paintings that seemed to show shepherds and their flocks, and other themes. The cave, next to the rock cave was dark and covered by rocks, and our guides showed us another opening at the opposite end. The view from here was nothing short of breathtaking, with the steep descent of hills sloping down to the town below, and the houses of Mayavoor nestled in the woodlands. We trekked down to the tribal village where our guides showed us their home and eagerly plucked fresh coconuts, sweet as nectar, and pomegranates for us from the trees of the village. In turn we offered them chocolates and biscuits from our knapsacks, which they enjoyed immensely.
The drive to Cheruthuruthy now took us through paddy fields of Tamil Nadu, and re-entered Kerala at Pallakad. We arrived at the River Retreat, Cheruthuruthy in the evening, and witnessed the sunset on the Bharatpuzza river, one of Kerala�s largest, with wading birds and wagtails in abundance on the river shores. As we relaxed with a drink and platters of fish fingers and gobi Manchurian, the manager Nidheesh explained: �Trichur is the cultural district of Kerala, known for its dances and folk culture, and Cheruthuruthy in this district has one of its best academies for learning classical dances. People study Kathakali, Mohiniyattam and other dances at the Kerala Kala Mandalam that has thrived here from 1930, including Europeans. Other sights of Trichur are the temples of Thrissur and Guravayur, some splendid waterfalls, and local weaving and terra cotta crafts�. The River Retreat was literally the riverside resort of the Rajas of Cochin, and the rooms have been furnished keeping in mind the period when this property was built.
After a quick visit to the Kalaman-dalam, we were off to Calicut where Brahminy kites, terns and gulls wheeled over the water swooping down on prey, and ready for the winding road to Wayanad, one of the most forested districts of Kerala. Green Gates at Kalpetta, the head of Wayanad district, turned out to be a prettily located hotel on an elevation facing a patch of forest that isolated the hotel from the bustling highway side township just 500 meters away.
�Wayanad has some really fine waterfalls, mountain peaks, valley views, medieval monuments and the prehistoric painted Eddakal caves,� explained the tour manager, �and is well-known for the Wayanad national park, which has two major entrances � the Tholpatty gate and Mutunga. It is really good for bison, deer and elephant.� Red whiskered bulbuls chirruped in the hotel garden, I could discern the bold whistling note of a flycatcher and the low, almost inaudible, whistle of an iora. A gold fronted leaf bird flitted among the leaves of a tall tree, a warbler walked up the branch of a bush near the lawn where we sat with a cup of tea. Bonnet monkeys entertained us with their antics on the rooftop, while three striped palm squirrels were courting in the trees.
We awakened at dawn and drove to Sultan�s Battery, passing a historic Jain temple in the town, and paid our entry fees at the Mutunga barrier of the Wayanad sanctuary. The forest official immediately arranged a hired jeep and gave us an �observer� to guide us through the sanctuary and show us wildlife. He was immediately successful in spotting a barking deer in the bushes, which was spooked by the vehicle as we approached and left us in a bounding run disappearing from sight. Spotted deer were grazing in the pastures. A pair of grey jungle fowl ran away from us on the road, crossing rapidly into cover of the tall grass. A peahen flew across the road. Tracks on the ground and droppings suggested we were nearing an elephant. The driver and �observer� were alert now, looking intently into the forests on both sides of the jeep. Then suddenly, as if dropped there by magic, a tusker appeared next to the jeep. It was difficult to imagine who was more surprised and alarmed, us or the tusker, and the latter charged us, his ears held at right angles from his body, tail twisted in anger, his mood obviously aggressive. The driver put his foot on the accelerator driving us to safety before stopping at a place where we could view the elephant without being at risk of an attack. Seeing that we did not intend to harm him, but still apprehensive, the tusker quickly took to the forests. We took a short drive on the Mysore road, enjoying views of the Bandipur national park on both sides, and saw the pugmarks of a tiger very close to the highway. We saw the Wayanad snake park, near Sultan�s Battery, where the forest department has kept a king cobra and a massive rock python, and the natural history museum near the park checkpost.
The ways of the wilderness are amazing indeed, we wondered, as we left the sanctuary, for our return journey to the hotel. The evening sky was a remarkable mix of hues, a breathtaking backdrop to the hills of Wayanad.
THE SANCTUARIES AND NATIONAL PARKS OF KERALA
Periyar National Park
Periyar is one of the leading tiger reserves of India, but few visitors get to see a tiger during their visit to the park. Spanning 777 square kilometres, the mixed forest of deciduous, semi-evergreen and evergreen flora is set around a 55 square kilometres reservoir that is the epicentre for wildlife viewing by boat. The wildlife here includes tiger, sloth bear, wild dog, elephant, sambar, barking deer, mouse deer, wild boar, otter, porcupine, civet, common and Nilgiri langurs, lion-tailed and bonnet macaque, giant and flying squirrel, great and grey hornbill, darters, cormorants, mynahs, oriels, racket-tailed and other drongoes, bulbuls, kingfishers and birds of prey. Turtles, snakes and lizards of various species can be seen basking near the lake. Besides boat rides, nature treks are offered by the forest department, and there are longer tiger trails trekking tours with staying facilities inside the sanctuary.
There are accommodations in different price categories at Thekaddy, Kumily and Vandiperiyar, besides three KTDC properties � Aranya Niwas, Periyar house and Lake Palace � within the sanctuary, and forest rest houses. An interesting option is to stay in converted spice estates like the Spice village, the Shalimar Spice Garden and the Taj Garden retreat.
Ernakulam National Park
The 97-square-kilometre Eravikulam National Park, featuring the Anamudi peak which is the highest in peninsular India, has a Sola forest mix of grass covered hills and rain forest flora. The highlight of the park is the Nilgiri Tahr, best seen in Rajmalai range, and a variety of birds typical of the Nilgiri habitat. The national park has elephant, tiger, leopard, Nilgiri langur, lion-tailed macaque and giant squirrel, but special permissions are needed to visit the interiors of the sanctuary. Munnar, 16 kilometres away, has a wide range of hotels, resorts, club houses and guest houses offering good accommodations.
Neyyar Sanctuary
The 128-square-kilometre Neyyar sanctuary is centred around a nine-square-kilometre reservoir, offering boat safaris. The sanctuary has elephants, tigers, bear, gaur, deer and wild boar, but most visitors return after seeing only lion-tailed macaque and Nilgiri Langur. The landscape is breathtakingly beautiful, reminiscent of Periyar, and the boat ride through narrow channels, past islands and along woodlands can be exciting. The higher ranges are covered by grassland inhabited by Tahr and other herbivores, but trekking permits are essential. There is a lion safari park, where some lions can be seen in an enclosure from mini-buses, and a crocodile park. Only basic accommodation and meals are available, and it is best to make the trip from Trivandrum 32 kilometres away.
Paramikulam Sanctuary
This 285-kilometre sanctuary is one of the finest places to view Gaur (Indian bison) in southern India. The forest tract is interspersed with reservoirs. The checklist includes tiger, panther, wild boar, elephant, langur, macaques and tahr in the forest, and crocodiles and otters at the reservoirs, but accommodation can be a problem with only Spartan forest rest houses near the sanctuary. Most visitors make a trip from Coimbatore or Pallakad, both more than 100 kilometres from the sanctuary.
Chinnar Sanctuary
Set along the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, the Chinnar sanctuary comprises mainly deciduous forests and scrub flora, and is well-known for its Grizzled Giant Squirrel, an endangered species. Other wildlife, including elephant, gaur and tiger, can be seen by chance. Lots of langur, macaque and peafowl can also be seen. This is a good birding area. There is a forest tree house and rest houses at Chinnar, accommodation can be obtained by permission from the forest department, and budget hotels at Mayavoor. Munnar, 58 kilometres away, has good hotels, resorts and clubs.
Idukki Sanctuary
This sanctuary is home to elephant, gaur bison, sloth bear, wild boar, deer and dhole wild dog. The nearest place to stay is Kottayam, 20 kilometres away.
Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary
Set along the Vembanad lake, this backwaters bird sanctuary is home to darters, cormorants, herons and egrets. During the winter months, the water bodies attract storks, ducks and other migratory birds, in large flocks from the north. Coconut lagoon and Taj Garden retreat offer accommodations at Kumarakom, and recently new lake resorts and a KTDC property have opened near the lake.
Peechi-Vazhani Sanctuary
125 square kilometres of moist deciduous forests, set along Peechi and Vazhani dams, the sanctuary is a good place for jungle fowl, peafowl, forest birds and waterside birds. Boating and walking are good ways to watch the bird life and small mammals.
Thatekkad Sanctuary
One of the best birdwatching spots in Kerala, the sanctuary is a patch of woodland set between tributaries and distributaries of the Periyar river. The sanctuary is well known for its hornbills, Ceylon frogmouth, jungle fowl, mynahs, parakeets, rose billed rollers and forest birds, as well as water birds. Macaque and squirrels can also be seen at the sanctuary. The Hornbill house offers accommodations at the sanctuary.
Wayanad
An impressive sanctuary of deciduous and bamboo forests, swamps and grasslands, near rivers like the Kabini, Wayanad borders Nagarhole and Bandipur in Karnataka. The sanctuary is a fine place to see elephant and gaur bison, besides spotted deer, sambar, barking deer, wild boar, langur and macaque. Sloth bear, tiger and panther are present in this area. A good variety of birds, including peafowl and Grey jungle fowl, can be seen. There is a snake park, with king cobra and rock python. Good places to stay are Green Gates at Kalpetta, Green Magic and Vythri resorts at Vythri, hotels at Sultan�s Battery, and forest rest houses.
Silent Valley National Park
This prime rain forest of 90 square kilometres, best known for being completely silent with not even the buzzing of cicadas disturbing the tranquillity, came into the limelight during the 1984 national campaign to save it from a proposed dam project. The park is well-known for monkeys, birds and butterflies, and also has tiger, panther, elephant and tahr. Palakad, 85 kilometres away, is the nearest place with accommodations other than the forest rest houses.
Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary
This 53-square-kilometre sanctuary, near Trivandrum, has a fine reputation for watching birds of the Western Ghats, and is inhabited by elephant, sambar, leopard and macaque, but is generally closed for visitors.
Aralam Willife Sanctuary
This sanctuary, near Kannur, is home to elephant, mouse deer, sambar and other wildlife, besides a range of birds, but is difficult to visit.
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