Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
3.5
6:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Monday
6:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Tuesday
6:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Wednesday
6:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Thursday
6:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Friday
6:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Saturday
6:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Sunday
6:00 AM - 3:00 PM
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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3.5
948 reviews
Excellent
280
Very good
304
Average
204
Poor
94
Terrible
66
Muralikrishnan
4 contributions
Jan 2020 • Family
A laid back, lush green forest close to human habitation. The boat ride in the jig saw puzzle shaped lake, is a must do activity. If you are lucky you get to see elephants Indian Gaur, otters, deer and wetland birds. The ever changing landscape enchants tourists during the hour long boat ride.
Kumily the town bordering the sanctuary has a variety of hotels, resorts and restaurants to suit every pocket. It is a good place to buy spices and visit spice gardens too. The weather is salubrious round the year.
Kumily the town bordering the sanctuary has a variety of hotels, resorts and restaurants to suit every pocket. It is a good place to buy spices and visit spice gardens too. The weather is salubrious round the year.
Written 16 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Arvind Keith
Cypress, TX36 contributions
Jan 2023
To start with the lifejackets which are mandatory for all passengers were unfit for use.The fastening clips were missing,the reflective strips were missing on most jackets, and in some the seams were torn exposing the buoyancy material.
Clearly these have been not inspected for a long time and the lessons of the 2009 tragedy if any have been unlearnt and no safety culture exists.Saw a child without lifejacket and the staff don't wear them.
It was an overcrowded and unpleasant experience, and that no wildlife was sighted is nobody's fault.Would recommend giving this trip a miss.
Clearly these have been not inspected for a long time and the lessons of the 2009 tragedy if any have been unlearnt and no safety culture exists.Saw a child without lifejacket and the staff don't wear them.
It was an overcrowded and unpleasant experience, and that no wildlife was sighted is nobody's fault.Would recommend giving this trip a miss.
Written 14 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
grubbytech
Basingstoke, UK271 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
We took the boat trip this morning and it was a shitshow. It was noisy, people standing up and moving in front of us all the time, people not wearing life jackets and the crew did nothing to stop it. Clearly haven’t learnt from the disaster they had in 2009.
See my pictures for the evidence.
See my pictures for the evidence.
Written 8 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
andywendy h
New Zealand163 contributions
Nov 2019
We went for a Jungle Trek through the wildlife sanctuary . Our lovely local guide showed us Gaur, Malabar Squirrels, Jungle fowl, wild pigs, a Malabar Wolf Spider and some tiny bats. No tigers of course, we were on a walking tour and they are notoriously hard to find, even much further in to the park.
Written 19 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
_ritamanning66
Ashby de la Zouch, UK161 contributions
Jan 2020
the boats were very busy and it was almost impossible to take photos. You are allocated a seat and there are 4 seats in a row so it is pot luck as to whether you have a good seat or not. A little disappointed although we did see a few animals at a distance
Written 25 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vijay
Chennai (Madras), India348 contributions
Dec 2019
Saw a few animals while on the boat, nothing major, worth travelling once on the boat, most of them grazing or eating. best place to see animals is to go to anghamoozhy safari. we could not get tickets for that one.
Written 8 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jaymallya Banerjee
Mumbai, India69 contributions
Dec 2019
I took the longest 12 hour jeep ride(only 30 vehicles allowed per day) in anticipation of the real wildlife encounter over and above the famous boat ride but unfortunately the day being the solar eclipse day had a hard luck as could not site any animals. The morning journey is a bit too long to enter the forest almost three hours and by the time you reach the forest its already noon and the changes of citing animals are very less. You have a wonderful and bumpy ride through very deep forest which is wonderful and very exciting. There are 4 dams which are really breathtaking views.
Written 19 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tarun1412
Jaipur, India16 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
In the one hour boat ride, all we could manage to see were some different birds , 2 groups of bisons , some wild pigs .. rest all are stories.
We went into first slot of the day i.e 7:30am.
The boat ride is in all a sceneic joy. Don't forget to take binoculars(available at rent for 50rs) else the ride would be a dull one.
We went into first slot of the day i.e 7:30am.
The boat ride is in all a sceneic joy. Don't forget to take binoculars(available at rent for 50rs) else the ride would be a dull one.
Written 14 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gary V
New York City, NY3 contributions
Mar 2024 • Couples
The boat trip was pleasant enough but it was not easy to see wildlife. One of the boat operators helped us and others get some decent pics though because he knew where to look and had binoculars. Sometimes he would even use the binoculars as a zoom for our phones, and those were the best shots we got. The vegetation was pretty nice.
We heard from others that the guided walk was better than the boat ride. It's a lot longer but they saw more.
We heard from others that the guided walk was better than the boat ride. It's a lot longer but they saw more.
Written 16 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RatheeshRNath
Kochi (Cochin), India601 contributions
Jan 2013 • Family
Thekkady situated 170km from cochin is where you can watch the famous Periyar wild life sanctuary. Thekkady and Kumily are confused most of the times where we stay at Kumily during our Thekkady trip as most of the hotels are at Kumily and thekkady has few KTDC hotels only. Thekkady and Kumily are just 1 km apart
Cochin to thekkady takes not less than 5hrs. Munnar is 110km and Alleppey is 140km from Thekkady. Thekkady is famous for the boating at Periyar lake and during this trip we can enjoy wild animals, periyar wild life sanctuary and Mullaperiyar dam from long view and note that these can be seen only during this boating and can not reach by vehicle. Thekkady also has lot of eco tourism activities as well adventurous activities. At thekkady one can go to watch Kathakali shows, Martial arts, Magic, Musical fountain, tribal dance, elephant safari, elephant bath, elephant shower and can do Ayurveda massage as well can go for spice tour.
For a person who is not interested in adventurous/eco-tourism activities, one night stay is enough at Thekkady or second day should be for relax. For an adventurous person you can extend stay depends on the activities you wish to do here. If you are planning to stay only one night at Thekkady try to reach as early as possible to get tickets for boating. To book ticket either you need to be in queue and they charge 150/- per head else you can do advance booking through KTDC lake palace where they charge 500/- per person. Decide on this depends on the rush at the time of travel. For advance booking you can contact KTDC lake palace where they provide bank account details and can do booking on doing payment. You are required to produce ID card while booking ticket for boating. For boat timings check photos which are uploading in this article. While entering Periyar tiger reserve (this is the place where you can do boating) you need to take entrance ticket. There is a waiting area to wait for the boat. If your stay is at KTDC hotels in thekkady, try to reach before 5PM as entrance will be closed after this.
After boating, you have the options of going for elephant ride, elephant bath, elephant shower, Ayurveda massages, spice tour etc., till evening (Rates are uploaded in photo section).
Rate and timings for different activities at Thakkeady (This rate and timings is as on January 2013)
1. Kathakali - 200/Head - 1hr (5 to 7PM)
2. Martial Arts - 200/Head - 1hr (6 to 7.15PM)
3. Tribal dance - 300/Head - 1hr (6 to 7PM)
4. Musical fountain - 150/-Head - 30min (7 to 7.30PM & 8 to 8.30PM)
5. Magic show - 200/Head - 1hr (12Noon to 1Pm & 5PM to 6PM)
You can move to your hotel after enjoying the activities and most of the hotels in thekkady are in city itself, very few require travelling by car and make sure that location of hotel is as per your preferences. You can even find resorts with Tree house
If you are unable to get boat ticket on first day try to go for first boating on second day before proceeding to next destination. If you find rush at Thekakdy try to be in queue by 5.30 to get tickets for first boating and first boating is at 7.30.
If you are staying at Thekkady for 2 nights, either relax or choose from the adventurous actives as per your likings. You can go for full day Gavi tour which includes trekking, view points, boating etc and make sure you book this on the day of arrival itself.
Ticket charges for Gavi tour is as below and vehicle charges will be extra.
Programme details
1. DAY PACKAGE
8.00- 8.30 AM- registration. Trekking through Forest under trained Guide after break
fast. Return by 12.30, have South Indian vegetarian lunch and there after boating in
Gavi Lake (row boat), visit to cardamom plantations and curing house, Sabarimala
view point and museum of skelton of animals. Leave the place after evening tea by 4.30
Tariff: -Rs.1000/- per pax (Full board)
2. GREEN MANSION JUNGLE LODGE
Check in time- preferably after noon by 2 PM.
Check out - after 24 hrs. or 2 PM next day whichever is earlier.
Events: - A trained Guide will be attached to your group through out the package.
Trekking through Forest, Boating in Gavi Lake (row Boat), visit of
Cardamom Plantations and curing house, Museum of skelton of Animals
and early morning Jeep safari through forest road- 2 ½ hrs.
Tariff: - Rs.2200/- per pax per day (full board )
3. SWISS COTTAGE TENTS:
Stay in permanently pitched Cottage Tents in Forest with attached bath room. All
events and conditions are same as in "JUNGLE LODGE"
Tariff: - Rs.2500/- (full board) per pax per day
4. JUNGLE CAMPING
Night stay in portable small tents in deep forest. Guides and helpers will be staying
there. Dinner will be prepared and served there it self. All events and conditions are the
Same as in "JUNGLE LODGE" except Jeep Safari. Not desirable for ladies and kids.
Tarrif: - Rs.10000/- Full board. (Minimum rate - 4 persons can be entertained -
Rs.2500/- each for extra persons.)
Children upto the age of 6 year have free entry and those between 6 and 12 - half of the tariff
Gavi is situated deep inside forest in the "Poonkavanam of Lord Ayyappa" near Ponnambalamedu. You have to travel 20 kms through forest road to teach Gavi. Any vehicles can be used for your journey, but the No.of the vehicle should be intimated to us well in advance to arrange permit. Confirmation of all the overnight stay programme only after remittance of total amount advance before two days, after ascertaining availability.
You can book eco-tourism activities at Eco-tourism information Centre
Some of the eco-tourism activities you can try are Nature walk, Green walk, Jungle scout, full day Bamboo rafting, Half day bamboo rafting, Boarder hiking, Tiger trail, Bamboo grove, Bullock cart, jungle camp etc. (Details and rate are uploaded in photo session of same article)
Before leaving Thekakdy purchase some home made chocolates, spices, tea etc. Check photo section for picture of rate chart at different places in Thekkady
Distance from various places to Thekakdy
• Kumily - 2km
• Munnar - 110km
• Kumarakom - 138km
• Cochin - 170km
• Kodaikkanal - 120km
I hope above details give an idea about most of the activities you may do at Thekkady and should help you while planning a trip to Thekkady.
Thank you
Cochin to thekkady takes not less than 5hrs. Munnar is 110km and Alleppey is 140km from Thekkady. Thekkady is famous for the boating at Periyar lake and during this trip we can enjoy wild animals, periyar wild life sanctuary and Mullaperiyar dam from long view and note that these can be seen only during this boating and can not reach by vehicle. Thekkady also has lot of eco tourism activities as well adventurous activities. At thekkady one can go to watch Kathakali shows, Martial arts, Magic, Musical fountain, tribal dance, elephant safari, elephant bath, elephant shower and can do Ayurveda massage as well can go for spice tour.
For a person who is not interested in adventurous/eco-tourism activities, one night stay is enough at Thekkady or second day should be for relax. For an adventurous person you can extend stay depends on the activities you wish to do here. If you are planning to stay only one night at Thekkady try to reach as early as possible to get tickets for boating. To book ticket either you need to be in queue and they charge 150/- per head else you can do advance booking through KTDC lake palace where they charge 500/- per person. Decide on this depends on the rush at the time of travel. For advance booking you can contact KTDC lake palace where they provide bank account details and can do booking on doing payment. You are required to produce ID card while booking ticket for boating. For boat timings check photos which are uploading in this article. While entering Periyar tiger reserve (this is the place where you can do boating) you need to take entrance ticket. There is a waiting area to wait for the boat. If your stay is at KTDC hotels in thekkady, try to reach before 5PM as entrance will be closed after this.
After boating, you have the options of going for elephant ride, elephant bath, elephant shower, Ayurveda massages, spice tour etc., till evening (Rates are uploaded in photo section).
Rate and timings for different activities at Thakkeady (This rate and timings is as on January 2013)
1. Kathakali - 200/Head - 1hr (5 to 7PM)
2. Martial Arts - 200/Head - 1hr (6 to 7.15PM)
3. Tribal dance - 300/Head - 1hr (6 to 7PM)
4. Musical fountain - 150/-Head - 30min (7 to 7.30PM & 8 to 8.30PM)
5. Magic show - 200/Head - 1hr (12Noon to 1Pm & 5PM to 6PM)
You can move to your hotel after enjoying the activities and most of the hotels in thekkady are in city itself, very few require travelling by car and make sure that location of hotel is as per your preferences. You can even find resorts with Tree house
If you are unable to get boat ticket on first day try to go for first boating on second day before proceeding to next destination. If you find rush at Thekakdy try to be in queue by 5.30 to get tickets for first boating and first boating is at 7.30.
If you are staying at Thekkady for 2 nights, either relax or choose from the adventurous actives as per your likings. You can go for full day Gavi tour which includes trekking, view points, boating etc and make sure you book this on the day of arrival itself.
Ticket charges for Gavi tour is as below and vehicle charges will be extra.
Programme details
1. DAY PACKAGE
8.00- 8.30 AM- registration. Trekking through Forest under trained Guide after break
fast. Return by 12.30, have South Indian vegetarian lunch and there after boating in
Gavi Lake (row boat), visit to cardamom plantations and curing house, Sabarimala
view point and museum of skelton of animals. Leave the place after evening tea by 4.30
Tariff: -Rs.1000/- per pax (Full board)
2. GREEN MANSION JUNGLE LODGE
Check in time- preferably after noon by 2 PM.
Check out - after 24 hrs. or 2 PM next day whichever is earlier.
Events: - A trained Guide will be attached to your group through out the package.
Trekking through Forest, Boating in Gavi Lake (row Boat), visit of
Cardamom Plantations and curing house, Museum of skelton of Animals
and early morning Jeep safari through forest road- 2 ½ hrs.
Tariff: - Rs.2200/- per pax per day (full board )
3. SWISS COTTAGE TENTS:
Stay in permanently pitched Cottage Tents in Forest with attached bath room. All
events and conditions are same as in "JUNGLE LODGE"
Tariff: - Rs.2500/- (full board) per pax per day
4. JUNGLE CAMPING
Night stay in portable small tents in deep forest. Guides and helpers will be staying
there. Dinner will be prepared and served there it self. All events and conditions are the
Same as in "JUNGLE LODGE" except Jeep Safari. Not desirable for ladies and kids.
Tarrif: - Rs.10000/- Full board. (Minimum rate - 4 persons can be entertained -
Rs.2500/- each for extra persons.)
Children upto the age of 6 year have free entry and those between 6 and 12 - half of the tariff
Gavi is situated deep inside forest in the "Poonkavanam of Lord Ayyappa" near Ponnambalamedu. You have to travel 20 kms through forest road to teach Gavi. Any vehicles can be used for your journey, but the No.of the vehicle should be intimated to us well in advance to arrange permit. Confirmation of all the overnight stay programme only after remittance of total amount advance before two days, after ascertaining availability.
You can book eco-tourism activities at Eco-tourism information Centre
Some of the eco-tourism activities you can try are Nature walk, Green walk, Jungle scout, full day Bamboo rafting, Half day bamboo rafting, Boarder hiking, Tiger trail, Bamboo grove, Bullock cart, jungle camp etc. (Details and rate are uploaded in photo session of same article)
Before leaving Thekakdy purchase some home made chocolates, spices, tea etc. Check photo section for picture of rate chart at different places in Thekkady
Distance from various places to Thekakdy
• Kumily - 2km
• Munnar - 110km
• Kumarakom - 138km
• Cochin - 170km
• Kodaikkanal - 120km
I hope above details give an idea about most of the activities you may do at Thekkady and should help you while planning a trip to Thekkady.
Thank you
Written 1 May 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi,
My wife and I are considering a 2 week tour in Kerala and Periyar is on the radar to stay for 2 nights. We are interested in a guided walk/trek in the reserve and yours sounds about right. Can you give more information please like footwear, length of walk, cost etc? Do we need to pre book (through our tour operator or hotel) or can we book the day before? We are looking at late November 2020.
Written 15 February 2020
Ps the walk was at a easy pace
Written 16 February 2020
1. How long does the boat ride take ? I will be traveling with an infant, hence worried.
2.Whats the best route to take, when travelling from Bangalore ?
3. Is there any place worth visiting between Periyar and Bangalore , so we can halt there one day and then continue to Periyar, to avoid a single day long journey with kids.
Thanks
Written 28 January 2020
90 minutes, will be windy and chilly
Driving will be 9 hours from Bangalore
Written 7 February 2020
Can someone please provide a direct email contact that I can reach out to with questions?
Written 13 November 2019
Unfortunately I can not respond with HTML or website links (message from TA) so if you take out the spaces this is the address I used. aranyanivas @ ktdc. com
Written 15 November 2019
hi david, was this part of a package tour or did you organize it yourself? was it close too other attractions and how did you get there? thanks
Written 5 July 2019
Agent in Norfolk arranged it, 2 weeks brilliant BUT DO NOT FLY EMIRATES> Very expensive, lousy srvice , Try another airline!
Written 26 July 2019
How much is the total fees I’ve to pay if I’m taking a boat ride ?
Written 1 March 2019
Can you tell me what the difference is between the Nature walk and green walk and if you prefer one over the other. I don't think we will have time for both. Thanks Louanne
Written 23 October 2018
How is the situation in Thekaddy? Are the roads safe to drive? We will check in at Cardamon County. Please advise.
Written 14 August 2018
How is the weather n safety around Munnar, Periyar Thekkady area? We are visiting next week.
Written 4 August 2018
Can’t comment on weather, but we never felt safety was an issue, we travelled through and stayed in the area without any problems. We had a driver to take us from place to place, but were on our own daily, a busy area but we felt safe.
Written 4 August 2018
Winter months or just after monsoon is the best time to visit.
Written 29 May 2018
for more detail of the rates, refer to the periyar wildlife sanctuary website.
Written 26 February 2018
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