Thekkady and Periyar Tiger Reserve: Lake Cruises, Forest Walks and Tips

One of India's best-known wildlife reserves, around a forest lake in the Cardamom Hills — boat cruises, jungle walks and spice gardens.

Thekkady, next to the town of Kumily, is the gateway to the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats. At its heart is a forest lake where elephants, gaur and sambar come down to drink, watched by visitors on slow boat cruises.

A forest saved by a Maharaja

In 1934 the Maharaja of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, declared the forests around Periyar Lake a private reserve to stop tea plantations spreading into them. It became a wildlife sanctuary in 1950, joined Project Tiger and became the Periyar Tiger Reserve in 1978, and its core was declared a national park in 1982.

The reserve covers about 925 square kilometres of hills, from the deep Pamba valley to peaks over 2,000 metres, and both the Periyar and the Pamba rivers begin in its forests.

Mullaperiyar Lake at Mullakkudy Photo: Sibyperiyar · CC BY-SA 3.0

The lake

Periyar Lake was created when the Mullaperiyar Dam was built in 1895, flooding the valley. It covers about 31 square kilometres and winds between the wooded hills, and the dead tree trunks still standing in the water give it a strange, quiet beauty.

An evening on Periyar Lake Photo: Sibyperiyar · CC BY-SA 3.0

💡 TipTake the first boat of the morning: animals are most active then, and the lake is often wrapped in mist.

Seeing wildlife

Elephants are the reserve's best-known residents, and the boat cruises often pass herds on the shore along with gaur, sambar and wild boar. Tigers live here too but are seldom seen. Guided nature walks, bamboo rafting and trekking programmes, booked through the forest department, go deeper into the forest.

Kumily and the spice gardens

Kumily, just outside the reserve, is a busy little town of spice shops and homestays. The hills around it are covered in cardamom, pepper and coffee, and many spice gardens offer guided walks.

When to visit

The cool, dry months from December to April are the best for wildlife, when animals come to the lake to drink. The heavy monsoon rains fall from about May to October.