Kerela in a Week: Periyar

PERIYAR RESERVE: FROM THE BOAT

Munnar to Periyar is about 4 hours drive and we headed there post breakfast to comfortably reach by mid-day. Periyar or Thekkady is a protected area and national reserve for tigers.  There are numerous spice plantations in the area and we stopped at one. There was a short tour where our “guide” pointed out to the various plants.. hibiscus leaves for great hair, herbs for muscle ailments and allergies, aloe vera for the skin and of course cardamom, star anise, coffee beans to name a few.

KALARI : WORSHIPPING THE GODS, FIRE AND WEAPONS AT ONSET

TREE HOUSE AT THE SPICE PLANTATION

A WONDERFUL MEAL@ AYUR VEG. CAFE

Next we headed to the Elephant Park where one take ride them in amongst their habitat and bathe them. We were lucky and allotted a tusker and quite enjoyed our ride. But our luck ran out soon- when we reached the Periyar Reserve we were told that the Reserve Boats were out of order and only 2 were available to take visitors inside the santury. Unable to get tickets, we were told to come back early morning next day and be in line by 5.45 AM! Yikes!

KALARI: FIERY FIGHTING

 Down but not out we decided to watch a Kalari show run by the Thekkady Kalari Association. Kalari can be called the “martial arts” of India. This turned out to be a good decision. Kalari students showed off their moves with wooden staffs, steel s swords and shields. It was quite fantastic and small boys seemed to have a time of their lives! All in all a great day but it had tired us- we ended with a thali meal at a local eatery. With a wonderful dinner we slept at the Wildernest our alarm set for 5.00 AM the next morning!



PERIYAR: ITS LONELY ON TOP!

  BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Aaah….the sun was yet to rise when I rose the next day. That is a rarity for me and unheard of on a holiday. But then..we figured we stood a good chance of seeing a tiger or two for an early morning drink at the Periyar Lake. We took the Boat ride but once again spotted no animals except the bison and some deer. And of course lots of birds and monkeys! But, oh well, we took the chance. Later in the morning, as we chatted with the staff we got to know that tiger or elephant sitings on these boat rides is extremely rare. The best chance is on the 3.30 PM boat ride. But, if you have the time and energy, there are day long excursions into the Reserve. For this however, one needs a whole day – early morning to late evening.

OUR TUSKER FOR THE ELEPHANT RIDE



ROOM @ WILDERNEST, COMFY AND COZY