After two days of tea- gardens at Munnar, I were excited about our next destination- Thekkady. About 80 kms south of Munnar, lies Thekkady which is really where the Periyar Reserve Forest is. The Reserve was first established in 1972 as the Periyar Tiger Project, though not much is spoken of those reclusive creatures. Instead , the Pachyderms rule the jungle here! Whatever be the purpose of your visit to this land, Thekkady is not be missed. One can stay at Thekkady within the Sanctuary or at Kumily, a small spice town once- now a thriving tourist destination- if not for anything, just the spice plantations! The Forest gates closes down at 6 pm upto 6 am and the forest department is rather protective of their wards. One is not allowed to venture unattended into the jungle. For the hardy ones with a penchant for adventure, the forest department allows overnight stay in rudimentary bamboo huts so you can soak in the jungle. There are jungle walks, and guided treks and for the willing yet lazy, there are jeep safaris organised. I must say that all the hotels and lodgings advertising on the web and magazines promising a great wildlife experience are really situated OUTSIDE the sanctuary at Kumily. But first the spices...
Kumily on its part, is a bigger town than Munnar, threateningly close to the Periyar Sanctuary. This is largely a spice trading centre, and doing very good business from the looks of it. Being near the Tamil Nadu border also allows good 
amount of Cashew to be brought in. Walk into any shop and you will be told that the spices sold here are straight from their own plantation. They will even arrange for a Plantation visit- which by the way, is quite informative. I found plenty of coffee beans being sold here. The aroma of the roasted coffee beans is heavenly and even though I normally am not a coffee person, I couldn't resist buying the beans. There is a plantation called Deepa World owned by an ayurvedic practitioner, who I suspect has become an entrepreneur by simply opening his plantation up for organised tours. He charges per head a neat sum of Rs. 100/- for a by -the- rote tour given by a "guide" who turned out be his student! The tour was very mechanical. However, I learnt new things about very commonly found creepers and shrubs, and felt humbled by my complete ignorance of the existence many wondrous herbs.
Kerala is known for its plantations- pepper, nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, ginger, bay leaves... and has been trading in spices since more than 2 millenniums . Buying spices for my kitchen was very exciting. The sweet fragrance of green cardamom and cinnamon is enough to cloud ones sense of proportion! My mother simply went crazy....Lets just say that I had to buy a bag to transport back all that I bought!
Moving back to Thekkady, what makes this place special is its wild life, which one can witness up close. The better way to enjoy nature and all that it has to offer is to stay within
the Sanctuary. KTDC has three resorts- Luxury, Mid- Range and Budget. Aranya Vilas, Aranya Nivas and Periyar House. It is advisable to book ahead if one is travelling in the high season. I took a risk and was lucky to get the last room in the Periyar House resort. The Manager an extremely courteous man, coaxed us into trying the evening boat ride . Tickets for boat rides are available at the Jetty and the KTDC resorts' counter. Carrying a camera will cost you extra, and a videocam will set you back a good Rs.200/-, but the money spent here is worth it. There are about 4 smaller boats and one grand Boat called Jalaraja. These are run by the KTDC and prone to running on schedule.
The Tuskers are, however, rarely sighted. They prefer keeping aloof- possibly make a dash for the water during dusk or dawn. In any case, as intelligent as they are, they must surely have learnt the motor boat timings and keep off at the designate hours... The boats make so much noise they can be heard all over the country anyways! I did try the afternoon trip and we were rewarded handsomely by two ladies with knee length baby lolling around in the water- enjoying an afternoon dip! What a glorious sight- such oversized beasts gently splashing about like water babies.... We also sighted a rather large herd of white socked Bisons, some deer, Indian Sambar, antelopes, wild boar and a couple of otters rolling in the water !
There are many things aside from elephant watching that can be attempted- like elephant rides, bathing an elephant or getting an 'elephant' shower... yes, they all seem to revolve around those pachyderms ! For those wanting a taste of local beverage- toddy can be tried along with fried fish that is served. And since we are talking of food, Karimeen fry and Meen Moilee are THE things to gorge on. Karimeen or Pearlspot , a fresh water fish is to a keralite what Hilsa would be to a Bengali, or Ladyfish to a Mangalorian. You miss out on Karimeen fry and one can safely say that you haven't experienced Kerala. Hmmm.. what about the vegetarians? How about Idiappam, with Potato stew, Appam with Peas curry, or Puttu with ishtew... Inviting, isn't it !
amount of Cashew to be brought in. Walk into any shop and you will be told that the spices sold here are straight from their own plantation. They will even arrange for a Plantation visit- which by the way, is quite informative. I found plenty of coffee beans being sold here. The aroma of the roasted coffee beans is heavenly and even though I normally am not a coffee person, I couldn't resist buying the beans. There is a plantation called Deepa World owned by an ayurvedic practitioner, who I suspect has become an entrepreneur by simply opening his plantation up for organised tours. He charges per head a neat sum of Rs. 100/- for a by -the- rote tour given by a "guide" who turned out be his student! The tour was very mechanical. However, I learnt new things about very commonly found creepers and shrubs, and felt humbled by my complete ignorance of the existence many wondrous herbs.
Kerala is known for its plantations- pepper, nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, ginger, bay leaves... and has been trading in spices since more than 2 millenniums . Buying spices for my kitchen was very exciting. The sweet fragrance of green cardamom and cinnamon is enough to cloud ones sense of proportion! My mother simply went crazy....Lets just say that I had to buy a bag to transport back all that I bought! Moving back to Thekkady, what makes this place special is its wild life, which one can witness up close. The better way to enjoy nature and all that it has to offer is to stay within
the Sanctuary. KTDC has three resorts- Luxury, Mid- Range and Budget. Aranya Vilas, Aranya Nivas and Periyar House. It is advisable to book ahead if one is travelling in the high season. I took a risk and was lucky to get the last room in the Periyar House resort. The Manager an extremely courteous man, coaxed us into trying the evening boat ride . Tickets for boat rides are available at the Jetty and the KTDC resorts' counter. Carrying a camera will cost you extra, and a videocam will set you back a good Rs.200/-, but the money spent here is worth it. There are about 4 smaller boats and one grand Boat called Jalaraja. These are run by the KTDC and prone to running on schedule.The stars of Periyar are the Aanas, or the Elephants. The idea of meeting the giants itself is so thrilling. 
No matter how matured, sane, respectable, well behaved, it is very easy to turn into shrieking kid the very moment you see those rolly-poly characters! It is said that the best time to see animals is to take the early morning or the last ride in the evening. There are rides throughout the day, and I decided to try as many as I possibly could. The evening ride over the Periyar lake takes you all the way to the elephant herds who ususally visit the waterfront to tank up for the night. Sometimes one can witness them taking dust bath, or simply wade in the lake. A few other animals also give appearances. Birds, mostly Herons, cranes, Cormorants, ducks, finches, kingfishers are commonly seen preening on the dead submerged tree trunks.
No matter how matured, sane, respectable, well behaved, it is very easy to turn into shrieking kid the very moment you see those rolly-poly characters! It is said that the best time to see animals is to take the early morning or the last ride in the evening. There are rides throughout the day, and I decided to try as many as I possibly could. The evening ride over the Periyar lake takes you all the way to the elephant herds who ususally visit the waterfront to tank up for the night. Sometimes one can witness them taking dust bath, or simply wade in the lake. A few other animals also give appearances. Birds, mostly Herons, cranes, Cormorants, ducks, finches, kingfishers are commonly seen preening on the dead submerged tree trunks.
The Tuskers are, however, rarely sighted. They prefer keeping aloof- possibly make a dash for the water during dusk or dawn. In any case, as intelligent as they are, they must surely have learnt the motor boat timings and keep off at the designate hours... The boats make so much noise they can be heard all over the country anyways! I did try the afternoon trip and we were rewarded handsomely by two ladies with knee length baby lolling around in the water- enjoying an afternoon dip! What a glorious sight- such oversized beasts gently splashing about like water babies.... We also sighted a rather large herd of white socked Bisons, some deer, Indian Sambar, antelopes, wild boar and a couple of otters rolling in the water !
There are many things aside from elephant watching that can be attempted- like elephant rides, bathing an elephant or getting an 'elephant' shower... yes, they all seem to revolve around those pachyderms ! For those wanting a taste of local beverage- toddy can be tried along with fried fish that is served. And since we are talking of food, Karimeen fry and Meen Moilee are THE things to gorge on. Karimeen or Pearlspot , a fresh water fish is to a keralite what Hilsa would be to a Bengali, or Ladyfish to a Mangalorian. You miss out on Karimeen fry and one can safely say that you haven't experienced Kerala. Hmmm.. what about the vegetarians? How about Idiappam, with Potato stew, Appam with Peas curry, or Puttu with ishtew... Inviting, isn't it ! 
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