Thekkady

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Thekkady (Idukki District) is the location of the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, which is an important tourist attraction in Kerala state, India, close to the Kerala -Tamil Nadu border town Kumily, located about 160 miles from Trivandrum. The sanctuary is famous for its dense evergreen, semievergreen, moist deciduous forests and savannah grass lands. It is home to herds of elephants, sambar, tigers, gaur, lion-tailed macaques and Nilgiri langurs.

The Periyar Widlife sanctuary is spread across 777 km², of which 360 km² is thick evergreen forest. The Periyar Wild Life Sanctuary was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1978. The splendid artificial lake formed by the Mullaperiyar Dam across the Periyar River adds to the charm of the park. The greatest attraction of Periyar are the herds of wild elephants that come down to play in the lake.

Thekkady has immense possibilities for Adventure Tourism. The Forest Department offers many programs including Periyar Tiger Trail, Nature walk, Bamboo Rafting etc. There are private organizations as well as government agencies (e.g.KTDC), who promote adventure tourism in Thekkady. Plantation tourism also is promoted by these agencies, so that the tourists can see and learn the cultivation of various spices of Kerala.

Thekkady is considered as a heaven of natural spices like pepper, cardamom,cinnamon,clove,chilly,tamarind etc.