Periyar

lidboymk2

Is Periyar really worth a visit or do we need to go somewhere else to see some good wildlife. Our planned route is - Cochin -Munnar - Periyar - Kanjirapally or Kottayam and then the coast.Thanks for any info.

spike

In my opinion it's well worth the trip.

I loved the place, did a great jeep safari, took the whole day, including hike and boatride.

I can recommend the Meadow view inn. For me easily the best guesthouse I stayed in in India.

lidboymk2

Thanks I really want to get as much info as I CAN. Did you go to Munnar, could you tell me a bit more about the places you visited?
Thanks

aarosh

For some more information on Munnar read Very Long Trip Report, Part 5 - Munnar

__________________
Have you seen Jonathan Spollen, last seen in Rishikesh in February 2012?


Legal age for getting married is 21 years. Legal age for drinking is 25 years. How does one survive the first 4 years of married life?

lidboymk2

I have just read some awful reports on Periyar on tripadvisor, can someone give me an honest review, or should we go somewhere else to see animals?
Thanks

spike

I've seen quiet a few animals in Periyar. No tiger though, but they are rarely seen. During our trek, our guide took us really close to a family of wild elephants, impressive. We saw lots of deer, monkeys and some more animals I don't remember the names of.

From the balcony of our guesthouse we could spot animals too.

We also did a elephant walk but that wasn't too good. A short walk and then we could wash the elephant in a muddy pool.

There's also a martial art demo in Kumily wich is good.

lidboymk2

Thanks, we are really keen to do a tour of Kerala and 2 days at Periyar and now I am not sure.

spike

Go for it, or you'll never know

Just don't stay in the village of Kumily, too noisy.

lidboymk2

We have been quoted Spice Village I think

hfot2

You might also want to take a look at this old thread: here

We spent 3 nights at the Lake Palace in the Periyar sanctuary about 5 years ago. It was lovely, albeit expensive. You feel quite special being able to take as many boat rides [free] as you want and sitting in reserved seats in the front of any boat.

There were, however, few large animal sightings due to the high water level when we were there. Neither elephants, nor tigers (we didn't expect to see tigers), but there was other wildlife to be seen.

Staying in the sanctuary itself was a special treat if you can arrange it.

distaff

vandy

I personally have not been inside Periyar so I can't really comment.

Spice Village I have heard is good but Pricy.

Google Ambadi Hotel and see what comes up.

I stayed at Mickeys Cottage, a small comfortable Homestay.

There is a Wildlife park near Munnar called Chinnar, I was told by a local that you need to go there reasonably early in morning by 7am - 8am to see any animals.The road journey to Chinnar is also quite Spectacular.

vandy

selar

last time I went to Periyar,the only animals I saw were cows and goats.

vandy

vandy

pundabee

I try to stay clear of Tripadvisor because it really is painful to read reviews written by people who are, basically, clueless.

Below are a few extracts from the negative reviews:

The complaint seem to be that you don't see any tigers from the boat (one of many) traversing Periyar Lake four times a day. Even the dumbest of the dumb should realise that spotting a tiger from that activity is impossible.

Generally, the negative reviews relate to the boating activity, and it is pretty terrible and should be abandoned by the people in charge. After all, Periyar Tiger Reserve is there for the protection of the area, and letting up to 1500 people travel to the boats on a daily basis in noisy and polluting vehicles whilst littering the surrounding areas with plastic is not conducive to this end.

Another review states that:

All fine except the reviewer is not talking about Periyar Tiger Reserve but Gavi which is a different place.

What remains is the fact (which I believe it is) that in order to get a fulfilling experience from Periyar Tiger Reserve you have to participate in proper, non-touristy activities that actually go into the forest/jungle rather than activities that are skirting the Reserve. The Tiger Trail springs to mind.

lidboymk2

Thanks for all the info