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A haven for rare tropical flora & fauna ,
this wild-life Sanctuary, nestled in the high ranges
of Kerala, offers an exotic holiday experience to the nature-lover.
The Periyar wildlife sanctuary, one of India's biggest wild life
sanctuaries, is a Tiger Reserve covering an area of 777 sq-km.
It's centrepiece, the man-made Periyar Lake at a height of 2000
ft.
covers an area of 26 sq.km.
The best time to visit Periyar is between October and May.
The hot months of March, April and May are the best times to
sight wild animals. Scarcity of water brings the animals , especially
the herds of elephants, down to the Periyar lake to bath and frolic in the
waters.
Wildlife in the sanctuary include elephants,
sambar deer, wild boar, Nilgri langur monkeys,
bonnet and lion-tailed macaques, porcupine, the Gaur, mouse deer,
bears, wild dogs, civets jackals, flying squirrels, mongoose,
pangolin cobra and others.
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Periyar Lake
The most convenient way to view wildlife is to take a boat cruise
on the lake, the only means of transport within the
sanctuary. Boat cruises on the lake take two hours. The morning and evening
boat rides usually provide the best chance of viewing animals before
they retreat into the
jungle.
More Pictures on
Thekkadi
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The
Flora
Periyar is
a luxuriantly vegetated tract, 75% of which is covered with ever
green and semi-evergreen forests. Moist deciduous forests,
grasslands and to a small extent Eucalyptus Plantations make
up the rest of the area. Sporadic patches of 'sholas', which
are sub tropical mountain forests, occupy the crest and
crevices of high altitude tracts, while clusters of bamboo
occur along water logged areas
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