Periyar National Park Has An Area Of 777 Sq Km (300 Sq Miles), And Lies In The Western Ghats Between 914m And 1828m (2999 Ft And 5997 Ft) Above Sea Level. It Is Probably The Best Known National Park In India. The Main Attraction Is The 26 Sq Km (10 Sq Miles) Dam Built In 1895. It Is 52m (170 Ft) Deep At Its Deepest Part, And Tourist Boats Travel On Part Of It. The Best Time To Visit Is During The Dry Season (Feb-May) When The Animals Come More Often To The Lake To Drink. I Don’t Know Of Any Other National Park In India Where It’s So Easy To See Elephants.
Arrival/Accommodation
There Are Budget Hotels In Kumily, Approx. 4.5km From The Lake. If You Booked Accommodation In The Park, Stay On The Bus To Thekkady.
Related Travel Information
The Fauna Is Much The Same As That In Mudumalai National Park. The Only Animal Missing Is The Chital Deer, One Of The Main Animals In Many Indian Parks. Even The Samar Deer Is Seldom Seen, And As Far As Other Deer Are Concernedythe Park Is Poorly Stocked.
On The Other Hand, The Lion-Tailed Monkey Isn't Found In Mudumalai. Only About 800 Of These Animals Still Exist, And About One Hundred Of These Live In Periyar. Nilgiri Langur, The Black Version Of The Common Langur, Is Also Found Here.
It's Fun To Watch The Indian Giant Squirrel In Periyar Park As It
This Is An Important Indian Rubber Centre, And It Is The Jumping Off Place For The Periyar National Park, And For The Backwaters. Its Not Really Worth Stopping Over In Kottayam. It Is Better To Go Straight On With The Boat To Alleppey. The Trip By Scooter From The Bus Terminal To The Boat
Periyar National Park: Two Direct Bus Services Daily At 6.30am And 2.45pm To The Main Town In The Park, Thekkady.
If You Want To Stay At The Budget Hotels, Get Out In Kumily. It Costs 26Rs For The 185km (115 Miles) Trip And It Takes About 7hrs. Reservations Recommended. You Can Also Take A Train Or Bus To Kottayam And Then Catch A Bus.
There Are Also Direct Services To Madurai, Kannyakumari And Pon-Dicherry (615km-382 Miles).
Kerala, With An Area Of 38,863 Sq Km (15,001 Sq Miles), Is The Second Smallest State In India After Goa. It Has A Population Of 30 Million, And Is Densely Populated. The 575km (357 Miles) Long Coastal State Was The First State In India To Elect The Communist Party To Power, In 1956. Since Then The Congress Party Has Been Re-Elected.
This Can Be Explained By The Fact That Only Approximately 50% Of Its Population Can Read And Write. On The Street, Practically Only Malayalam Is Spoken And Understood. Kerala Produces About 70% Of India's Spices, About 70% Of Its
Between Periyar House And The Jetty, Some Of The Trees Have Their Botanical Names Displayed On Plaques. You Can See, For Example, A Teak Tree And The Mighty Ficus Religiosa.
Entry To The Park Is Prohibited Between 6pm And 6am Under The Threat Of Prosecution. Of Course, The Area Around The Park Hotels And The Road To Kumily Are Excepted.
