Silent Valley has a very eventful history in comparison to the other wildlife parks in the country. The local name for the park is Sairandhrivanam (the forest in the valley) and had been a centre of hot debates and protests in the decades of the 70's and 80's of the 20th century. The history of the park goes way back to 1888 when the region was declared a reserved land under the Forest Act and later notified as a Reserved Forest by the Government of Madras in 1914. Located in the Kundali Hills of the Western Ghats, the Silent Valley National Park holds a valuable reserve of rare plants and herbs. The park is rich in its wildlife, and elephants, lion-tailed macaques and tigers are the most common denizens of this park. A visit to this park should be considered a lifetime experience, as this is the last representative virgin tract of tropical evergreen forests in India. Though smaller in size in comparison to the other national parks in India, what makes it unique is the sylvan environment the region has along with its high altitude peaks and several rivers that run through it. Silent Valley has a very eventful history in comparison to the other wildlife parks in the country. The local name for th e park is Sairandhrivanam (the forest in the valley) and had been a centre of hot debates and protests in the decades of the 70's and 80's of the 20th century. The history of the park goes way back to 1888 when the region was declared a reserved land under the Forest Act and later notified as a Reserved Forest by the Government of Madras in 1914. In the later half of the 1970's, Kerala State Electricity Board decided to construct a Hydel Power Project in this region and when in 1980, this region was declared as National Park, the area of Hydel Project was not included. This started fierce discussions and protests and the Board had to drop its plan. Subsequently, in 1984, the park was again renotified as a National Park with the project area included. In 1986, the Silent Valley was declared the core area in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.       [top]

Kerala is home to many popular National Parks of India.Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the National Parks in Kerala spread over an area of 285 sq. kilometers. The Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is laid with serene vegetation in a valley between the Annamalai ranges of Tamil Nadu and the Nelliampathy ranges of Kerala. Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary This National Park in Kerala offers a scintillating sight of rare wild animals. The area has quite a few hill tribes here like Malayars, Kadas, and Muthuvaas. This wildlife sanctuary has some marshy land and scattered patches of grassland, thickly forested with stands of bamboo, sandalwood, rosewood, and teak. Here you can find little remains of the original teak forests, other than the famous Kannimari teak tree, the largest in Asia as teak plantations. The tree is about 5 km from Thunakadavu, and is one of the prime attractions at the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary. On your tour to Kerala you can visit the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, which has the largest population of Gaurs (bison). It is also a home to elephants, sloth bears, wild boars, sambhars, chital tigers, panthers, and crocodiles. There are also bonnet macaques, spectacled cobras, kraits, vipers, turtles, darters, little cormorants, and black eagles. Parambikulam is open throughout the year, but is best avoided during the monsoon. Between June and August, the monsoon rains lash, making hillsides unstable and causing slush, mosquitoes, drippy roofs and other nuisances. On your tour to Kerala you can enjoy a ride in the boat cruises, which can be arranged in the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary. The Rest House of the State Forest Department at Thunakkadvu, Thellikkal, and Elathode offer comfortable lodging facilities. A tree house in the Reserved Forest area in Thunakkadavu has to be booked in advance. There are two watchtowers one at Anappadi, 8km from Thunakadavu, and other at Zungam, 5km from Thunakadavu.       [top]

The drive to Thekkady itself is enchanting as the road winds through tranquil countryside, rich plantations and thick jungles. The sanctuary is, 60 kms from Idukki, 190 kms from Cochin, 130 kms from Madurai and 114 kms away from Kottayam and is open throughout the year, but the best season is from September to May. The sanctuary is centered around the large artificial lake formed by the dam across the Periyar river. The main attraction is a boat trip over an area of 26 sq. kms. in the man-made lake of Thekkady. The forest department would also provide elephant rides and trekking for 10 kms in the sanctuary. Thekkady falls in the pictursque hill district of Idukki in Kerala. Idukki derives its name from the Malayalam word Idukki meaning a narrow, steep guage. Thekkady in Kerala State, India, one of world's most fascinating natural wildlife sanctuaries, where you can watch and pet wildlife at handshaking distance. The vegetation, the flora and fauna and the birds of Thekkady are uniquely rich, vast and varied that it does not bear resemblance to any other wildlife sanctuaries in the world. Even a casual visitor to this place will not fail to observe the peculiar ecological pattern of Thekkady. Thekkady - The very sound of the name conjures up images of elephants, unending chains of hills and spice scented plantations. Here, in the crisp, cool air of the Western Ghats you will experience the most enchanting holiday with the animals of the wild and the simple unsophisticated mountain people. The Periyar Tiger Reserve named after the Periyar river is one of the most prestigous wild life tracts on the Western Ghats. The Periyar Lake which runs through the middle of the sanctuary was created in 1895 by building a dam across the Periyar River to divert the water for irrigation. The forests around the lake were declared as Reserve Forests. The first step towards conservation was taken by the Maharaja of Travancore by apointing Mr.Robinson as the first game warden in 1899. Based on his recommendations, the forests around the lake was turned into a sanctuary called Nellikkampetty Sanctuary in 1934. The sanctuary was declared as a Tiger Reserve in 1978 under the Project Tiger Scheme. In 1982, the core area of the Sanctuary (350sq.kms) was notified as a National Park.       [top]

The district has a total area of 1,03,417 hectares, i.e.,28.47% of the total land under forest cover. The major forest area is concentrated in Nilambur and Wandoor blocks and Melattur in the Western ghats. Of the forests, 80% is deciduous and the rest is evergreen. Teak ,rosewood, venteak, choropin, mahogoni, etc. are the important trees. Other varieties like kulamavu and villapine are used in the plywood industry. Bamboo is extensively grown in all parts of the forest. The district has also several man made plantations, mainly of teak. A mammoth effort under the Nilgiri Biosphere Project is underway to protect and regenerate the natural forests. Afforestation is also being done under the Wasteland Development Programme. - Elephants, deers, tigers, blue monkeys, bears, boars, rabbits etc. are found in the forests along with a variety of birds and reptiles. Forests are the main source of raw material for a number of wood-based industrial units. Besides timber, firewood and green manure, forest produces like honey, medicinal herbs, spices etc. are collected. Minor forest produces are collected by the tribals. A Girijan Society functions for ensuring fair prices for collected items and for arranging supply of essential commodities to the tribal families. Bamboo for pulp factories is mainly supplied form Nilambur forests. The forests are protected by two forest divisions-Nilambur North and Nilambur South. The social forestry division promotes planting of trees outside forest lands, for protecting the forests.       [top]

Konni is an important junction on the Kottayam-Punalur route. It is about 11 kms. from the district headquarters .It is an important center for cash crops like rubber, pepper,coffee and ginger which form the backbone of the agricultural economy of the state. Konni is also known for its elephant rides and the Anakoodu where elephants are tamed and trained for work. Konni is the gate-way to the forest bordering the district. In the past, wild elephants caught from the forests were brought here and put in wooden cages known as 'Aanakoodu' to be tamed and trained for work.       [top]

Established in 1973, the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is contiguous to the protected area network of Nagarhole and Bandipur of Karnataka on the northeast and Mudumalai of Tamil Nadu on the southeast. Rich in bio diversity, the sanctuary is an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve , which has been established with the specific objective of conserving the biological heritage of the region. The sanctuary is rich in flora and fauna. The management lays emphasis on scientific conservation with due consideration for the general lifestyle of the tribals and others who live in and around the forest. Elephant, spotted deer. Bison, tiger, cheetah, wild bear etc. can be spotted here. Elephant rides are arranged by the Forest department.       [top]

Wayanad, Kerala Tree House 86 feet above from the ground level. Each Kerala Tree Houses has a Double bed with an attached bathroom with flushing toilette, telephone shower, wash basin with running water, carpeted veranda and sit-out. Food is prepared from fruits and vegetables grown in the organic farm. The vegetables and fruits are grown in the organic farm without any pesticides or chemical manure. The visitors will learn the art of living in a gentle relaxed care free, and an easy going way. The abundance of flora and fauna which can be found amidst the landscape is characterized by its great bio-diversity. The Rainforest is located at an altitude between 3750 feet & 4500 feet from sea level. The nearest Railway Station is Calicut, 2 hours from Shoranur railway Station . There are no soft drinks or alcohol on site but if you want, you may be able to smuggle in a few bottles. Evenings are even quieter, but the wind may pick up in the middle of the night and rock the treehouse, and remember how high up you are when you wake up in the morning       [top]

Once the private game reserve of the Mysore maharajas, Bandipur, the large forest (866 sq km) south of the river Kabini is now part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and one of WWF’s Project Tiger sites. It neighbours the Nagarhole National Park, the Mudumalai National Park in Tamil Nadu and Wynaad in Kerala. All together this area makes for the largest protected forest in India. Bandipur has a sizeable population of wildlife - elephant, spotted deer and sambar, gaur and flying squirrel, four horned antelope, Nilgiri langur and sloth bear. Amongst the reserve’s most prominent animals are its 1,900-odd elephants. The Royal Bengal tiger (75 in the Park) and leopard are even more elusive here than elsewhere because the moister region that they inhabit falls under the protected core area where casual visitors are not allowed. Mostly dry deciduous forest with an abundance of teak on the periphery, the moister core area of Bandipur, has large tracts of fragrant sandalwood and rosewood. However, some summers this area too gets unbearably dry and during these times the animals migrate to the neighbouring wetter Mudumalai Park.       [top]