Thekkady

Tea, coffee, cardamom, pepper, vanilla growing areas. A walk through the spice plantations of these areas can be a memorable experience.

The rolling hills, velvet lawns and rare flora and fauna cascading the Holy Shrine of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala and the Makara Jyothi illuminations are the main attractions of this place.

From the top of this hillock, you can have a panoramic view of the lush green woods of Periyar Tiger Reserve, the beautiful Periyar Lake, surrounding Kumily township and of course adjoining Tamil Nadu borders.

Vandanmedu is one of the world's largest cardamom auction centers. An excursion through the widespread cardamom plantations at Vandanmedu is an intoxicating experience.

The cool mountain air, mist, grass-covered hills, velvet lawns etc amek Wagamon a perfect holiday resort. The chain of three hills Thangal Hills (Muslim name) Murugan Hills (Hindu name) and Kurisumala (Christian name) is a mark of religious harmony.

This is a dawn to dusk range hiking and rafting programme through some of the richest forest tracts of Periyar Tiger Reserve. Starting at 8AM from the boat landing, a mosaic of habitats will be traversed before the party gets into rafts made of bamboos. The forests are rich in bird life and arboreal animals like giant squirrel and Nilgiri langur. The rafting is for about three hours and one gets a panoramic view of forest-clad hills reflected on the lake. Animals like elephant, gaur and sambar are sighted keeping close to the edges of the lake. The team hitchhikes back to the boat landing by about 5PM. An armed guard and 4 guides will accompany a maximum of 10 tourists. Tea, snacks and packed lunch will be served enroute.

Boat cruises on the Periyar Lake. Typical boat ride will be for 2 hours and cost ₹150 per person.

Elephant ride for 30 min (cost approx ₹350).

Fabulous show of Kathakali.

The guided day trek. Different nature trails traversing diverse habitats form the trekking routes, generally 4 to 5 km in length. This is an interpretive programme offering excellent opportunity to watch birds, butterflies and other wildlife. The trails often pass through evergreen and moist deciduous forests interspersed with marshy grasslands. The programme is offered between 7AM and 10:30AM and between 2PM and 3PM and lasts for about 3 hours. A maximum of 5 persons can go for trekking at a time along each nature trail, accompanied by a trained tribal guide. The nature walk is the right programme to feel nature, hear her whispers and smell her flowers.

The programme is unique in being conducted by a team of poachers who turned protectors of the forests. The team members are hardy and dependable with an intimate knowledge of the forest terrain. The programmes are 1 night/2 days and 2 nights/3 days. The first day’s trek starts at noon and ends by noon in the second or third day. The team consists of a maximum of 5 visitors, 5 guides and 2 forest officials. Normally 20 to 35 km of trekking distance will be covered, depending on the route chosen. Here, one may chance to encounter much indigenous wildlife like Nilgiri langur, giant squirrel, elephant and who knows, even the tiger! The trek route passes through hills and valleys with a variety of tropical plants and wide-open spaces. Enroute vegetarian meals will be prepared and served and country tents will be pitched for holing up in the night. Trekking groups are accompanied by armed forest guards with good communication equipments, and geared to face any emergency situation. Remember to listen to unusual and strange adventure stories of the former poachers, now your guides and protectors of the forests. Preconditions for joining the tiger trail: visitors who are medically fit and aged between 15 - 65 are advised to take the tiger trail. Visitors should be serious nature lovers willing to sacrifice some of the luxuries and comforts of a hotel.

Nr Thekkady & Kumily, a lot of spice plantations are present. Typically they will charge around ₹50 to ₹100 for showing you around the plantation and explain it to you.

The endless rolling hills and mountains surrounding Thekkady offer very good opportunities of trekking to the adventure enthusiasts. The jungles and hills inside the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary are amongst the popular trekking trails in this region. Trekkers must obtain prior permission from the wildlife authorities and they are accompanied by a guide that will lead them safely through the Reservoir woods. Kurisamala to Kumily and Kumily to Pandikuzhi are some of the most favorite trekking routes and Pullumedu, Kurisumala, Ottakathalamedu and Grampi are noteworthy trekking bases in this area. Daily treks are organized by the Kerala Forest Department that begin from the boat landing station - Thekkady and lead to Nellikkampetty and Manakkavala. Making a way through Thekkady woods is really a thrilling and enchanting experience