You Are Only Allowed To Walk Through The Park With A Guide. There Is A Guided Trek% 9am Each Day Which Costs 4Rs Per Person. Mostly Western Tourists Use This Service, As Most Indians Don’t Find It Thrilling. Usually, There Are Twctgroups Of About A Dozen Nature Lovers. You Shouldn’t Let The Thought Of Walking In Single File Through The Jungle Put You Off. It Is Really Worthwhile. On The Three Hour Walk You Get A Good Dose Of Jungle Atmosphere, And You Will Almost Certainly See Some Indian Giant Squir¬rels, Monkeys And Probably Elephants. You Can’t Fool With Elephants Though, As It’s Because Of Them That It Is Prohibited To Walk Through The Park On Your Own. If It Comes To A Close Encounter, Follow Your Guide’s Instructions To The Letter.
The Only Poor Thing About This Tour Is That It Begins Too Late (Usually About 9.30am). By This Time Most Of The Animals Have Crawled Into A Shady Spot. It Is Also A Shame That Most Of The Guides Don’t Speak Much English, And Can’t Usually Answer Even The Simplest Questions.
Apart From The Standard Programme, Sometimes The Information Centre Will Organise A Guide For A Group Between 7am-10am. You Just Pay The Normal Price, But The Guide Usually Expects Some Extra Bakshish For Himself For His Extra Work. This Tour Is Mainly For Zoologists, Journalists And Really Keen Animal Lovers.
The Regular Morning Guided Tour Was Brought In Mostly Because The Park Management Could No Longer Turn A Blind Eye To The Large Number Of People Wandering Around On Their Own. Smokers Were A Bushfire Threat, And Inexperienced People Were Placing Themselves In Danger From The Elephants.
Sometimes The Guides Will Close A Route. You Need A Permit From The Wildlife Preservation Officer For The Walk To Mangala Devi Temple About 1400m (4593 Ft) Above Sea Level. You Will Usually Get It Without Any Problems. It Is 13km (8 Miles) From The Checkpost/Hotel Ambadi. From Kumily You Can Take A Jeep Taxi Which Costs Around 200Rs.It Is Not Worthwhile, As It’s More Like Motorcross! At The Temple, The Park Border And The State Border Between Kerala And Tamil Nadu Come Together. You Might Even See A Nilgiri Tahr, A Sort Of Mountain Goaf.
Related Travel Information
Fees
Park Entry Is And Movie Cameras . No Charge For Ordinary
Cameras.
Eating
The Selection Of Groceries And Cheap Food
Is A Nearby Reserve. It Was Declared In 1976 And Has An Area Of 70 Sq Km (27 Sq Miles). The Area Around Periyar Park Is Not Famous For Its Animal Life But For Its Tea Plantations, E.G. Vandiperiyar On The Road To Kottayam. In The Mountains Around Iddiki (Sometimes Written Idduki), 50km (31 Miles) From Kumily, The Kerala 'Grass' Is Grown. Like In Manali There Is A (Drug) Smokers And Trekker Cene. They Visit And Sometimes Live In The Outlying Villages. Buses From Kumily To Iddiki Run Between 6.15am And 9.45am And 1.15 And 6pm.
It Is On The Lake, Ph 26 And Is Responsible For The Boat Trips (Except Those Run By Hotel .Aranya Niva), Elephant Rides, Guided Trekking, And The Renting Of The Rest Houses/Machans Inside The Park. The Wildlife Preser¬vation Officer In Kumily Is Responsible For The Mangala Devi Temple-KERALA 321
In The Three Large Hotels In The Park, There Is No Restriction On Your Length Of Stay, But You Are Only Supposed To Stay A Maximum Of Three (Jays In The Two-Room Rest Houses, Although It Depends On The Demand.
Connections
Some Buses Leave From The Hotel Aranya Niva Or Periyar House, And For Some You Have To Go To Kumily.
Kottayam (115km-71 Miles): Around 8 Services Between 4.45am And 6.30pm.
Quilon (185km-115 Miles): At 5.30am.
Ernakulam (176km-109 Miles): At 5.45am, 9.30am 12.45pm And 2.30pm.
Madurai(135km-84 Miles): At6.15atn, 10.30am, 12.30am And 4.30pm. Trivandrum (286km-178 Miles);-At 8am And 1.30pm.
Kovalam: At 930am. There Is Also A Direct Servipe To Kodaikanal (141km-88 Miles) At 6.30pm But It Leaves From Kumily Behind The Tamil Nadu Checkpost.
Numerous cheap lodges.
Mini lodge doubles
The lake queen lodge is slightly better, singles 45rs and doubles 9o rs. Hotel woodlands is at the end of the village, doubles 4ors with bath dors. The hotel ambadi is right near the checkpost at the entry to the reserve,
And offers 2-bed cottages for 85 and loors (all have bath) and a 10 bed Dormitory. Other accommodation is available in private homes for about 2ors.
In thekkady (just inside the park) is periyar house, ph 25, singles 6ors and doubles loors. All double rooms have bath and hot water. The hotel aranya nivas, ph 23
