Boat
Touring The Park By Boat
The Park Management Has Four Boats Available For Sightseeing Trips (5rs Per Person). There Are Three Other Boats Owned By The Hotel Aranya Niva That Will Also Take Non-Guests, And They Cost 6rs If They Are Full. You Should Reserve In Plenty Of Time At The Information Centre Or At The Reception Desk In The Aranya Niva, As The Number Of Boats Available.
Depends On The Demand. The First, And Perhaps Best, Trip Leaves At 7am (Hotel Boat). The Rangers’ Boat Leaves At 9am. All Boats Depart From The Jetty At The Information Centre And The Trip Lasts 2 Hours.
The Boats Travel From The Jetty In Thekkady To The Dam Wall And Back Again, Past Numerous Dead Trees Which Loom Out Of The Water And Have Done So Since 1895 When The Dam Was Built. They Are Used By Darts (Also Called Snake Birds) To Dry Their Wings. The Dart Got The Nickname Of Snake Bird Because When It Is Fishing Only Its Long Neck Sticks Out Of The Water, And It Looks Just Like A Swimming Snake. You Will Also See White Egrets, Kingfishers, Herons, And With Luck, Turtles Or A Playful Otter. Two Types Of Otter Live In The Park, The Common And The Clawless.
There Are No Crocodiles. Often On The Banks Are Herds Of 20 Or More Wild Boar And Sometimes Sambar Deer Or Gaur, And Almost Certainly Elephants, The Pride Of The Park. Over 1000 Of The Thick-Skinned Giants Live Here. The Elephants And The Other Animals Are Used To The Roaring Of The Boat Engines And Usually Don’t Take A Great Deal Of Notice. Although, I Did See An Elephant Pick Up A Stone In Bis Trunk And Throw It At A Boat. Don’t Expect To See One Of The 50 Tigers Or 20 Leopards, Though You Could Be Lucky Like Martin And Barbar Williner Were. They Were Able To Watch A Tiger For About 30 Minutes.
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 PreserŽvation 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.
Jaipur local transport
Jaipur is a sprawling city where moveŽment is restricted without transport. For purŽposes of sightseeing, tourist taxis and RTDC buses are available. City sightseeing tours by coach are conducted by RTDC. RTDC also arranges cars on hire at fixed rates.
Cars and drivers can be hired through the travel agencies.
Self-drive rental cars can be hired at the Hertz office which has a desk at the Holiday Inn Hotel on Amber Rd.
There are no metered taxis. But insist on paying by the meter when using three-wheeler auto-rickshaws. Almost all deluxe and standard hotels have a travel desk to help
