Whenever we hear the name of any National Park or a Tiger Reserve, we constantly imagine it to consist of an elephant or jeep safari. What if we tell you it will be a jungle boat safari this time? Excited Huh!! We are even more excited as we will be taking you all on another amazing trip in the beautiful state of Kerala, Thekkady.
In case you don’t know who we are……
We call ourselves Travel Freaks……..
After a fantastic time at Munnar, we moved southwards in the state of Kerala to one of the most stunning wildlife reserves in India, the Periyar forest of Thekkady. Periyar Forest is one of the oldest tiger reserves in the country. Now that we have explored Munnar, you might be interested to know……
Table of Contents
1. What is the best possible way to reach Thekkady from Munnar?
There are three routes that you can take to reach Thekkady from Munnar. All the routes generally take 3 to 4 hours to reach. We will let you know about the route that we took during our trip.
We had planned to depart by 9 o’clock in the morning after breakfast from Munnar. It was a cold February morning. We could hear the sound of the temple bell while having breakfast. We were excited for the next part of the tour. Here we go; our journey started. The route included Munnar, Devikulam, Pooppara, Udambanchola, Ramakkalmedu and Thekkady. It was so scenic that we felt like halting briefly every now and then. By 1:30 PM, we reached our stay at Thekkady.
Apart from the route mentioned, you can also take the NH85 Route or Chithirapuram, Anachal, Rajakkad, Karitode, and Nedumkandam route to reach Thekkady. Of course, you can take your route until or unless you are not travelling by any public transport. The cost of booking a private cab can be approximately 5000 INR. Nevertheless, the price can vary depending on your negotiation skills.
Backpackers have the privilege to take the KSRTC bus. There are 5-6 buses that ply between Munnar and Thekkady. You must go to the Old Munnar Bus Station to catch the bus. The first bus generally departs by 6:30 AM. Reach out to the bus station beforehand for any last-minute changes in the schedule.
Returning to our story, as we reached Thekkady, you might be curious about…….
2. Where to stay in Thekkady?
We reached our accommodation in Thekkady by 1:30 PM. It was located on Thamarakandam Road. The best part of Thekkady was that numerous stay options were available depending on the budget. The cost can start anywhere from 1000 INR for two persons per night.
The ambience of Thekkady was also appreciable. We did spot spice stores just outside our accommodation. Yes, Thekkady is also renowned for its spices. The whole place was surrounded by greenery that felt like walking down the road.
Soon, we had our lunch by 2:30 PM in our accommodation. By 3:00 PM, we decided to walk around the town and immerse ourselves in the beauty of the place. In the late evening, we bought a few spices from a nearby shop. We suggest you buy a few, especially cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper.
It was a fantastic way to begin our stay at Thekkady. By 8 o’clock, we had our dinner and ended our day. We were more excited about our Periyar Forest Safari the next day.
Now the most important question……
3. How was our experience at the Periyar Forest Tiger Reserve?
We woke up quite early, by 4:30 AM so that we could depart by 5:30 AM. We could hear our bus honking from 5:25 AM for us. We got onto the bus and left for the Forest Entry Gate in no time. We reached there within 20 minutes. There was already a long queue of buses in front of the gate.
Finally, the gate opened by 6:30 AM, and we reached the parking lot. It was a cool morning, with temperatures between 12-15 degrees Celsius. Our departure time was at 7:30 AM. It was a 1.5-hour boating trip. The ticket prices were 255 INR per person for adults and 85 INR per person for children. You can also book tickets online.
We grabbed the best possible seat to get a clear view of both sides of the Periyar Lake. As usual, life jackets were a must as long as we were in the boat. Soon the boat departed with our excitement level crossing the threshold level.
Initially, we spotted some of the rare bird species. We could not even recognise most of them baring Kingfishers; they were sitting on the dead trees on the river. We spotted some of the best-known wild boars and gaur just adjacent to the shore of the Periyar Lake. A few elephants were also there. There were mongoose kinds of species drinking water from the river. Last but not least, we spotted a few crocodiles soaking in the morning sun.
It was an incredible 1.5-hour experience. Soon after landing from the boat, we stared at the surrounding greenery. We walked slowly towards a souvenir shop. Just outside the shop, many monkeys were waiting to snatch food packets from the travellers. Be careful while walking in and around the reserve, especially from the monkeys.
Now that we are done with the boat safari, adventure seekers can opt for night trekking or accommodation within the tiger reserve. It would be an experience of a lifetime.
Now that we have shared our experience, you might be eager to know what we did next during our stay at Thekkady. Well, by 10 AM, we had the packed breakfast that we bought from our hotel. By 11 AM, we returned to the parking to return to our stay.
Now that we were done with the boat safari, we visited the following places after lunch that might interest many of you. The first one we visited after lunch was ………
4. Elephant Junction
It took us 20 minutes to reach the junction. It was located close to our stay. The place was quite crowded with travellers from across India. Elephant Junction offers elephant-related activities such as elephant rides, bathing, and feeding sessions. There were associated entry tickets that cost from 400 INR for 30 minutes to 6000 INR daily.
We were pretty happy to witness the hilarious actions of the baby elephants. We stayed there for 30 minutes before moving on to the next destination……
5. Chellarkovil Viewpoint
A 45-minute drive from the Elephant Junction took us to this breath-taking viewpoint. The viewpoint was located just at the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Hence, the place gave us a stunning panoramic view of the Tamil Nadu plains and west ghats of Kerala.
Additionally, the setting sun seemed to be as beautiful as anything. We sat there for around an hour before returning to our stay. An amazing day came to an end. Our hotel’s accommodation manager arranged a bone fire for us as we would be departing the next day.
We enjoyed dancing and singing some popular Bollywood songs until midnight. A memorable two days at Thekkady came to an end. In case you wish to explore more in Thekkady, you can also visit
- Pullumedu Village
- Kadathanadan Kalari Centre
- Vandanmedu
We hope you have an idea about Thekkady and how to plan it. We are just a click away if you need any help or suggestions. Do follow us for more exciting stories on Kerala.
We are not going anywhere without this last question……
6. What kind of help are we going to provide?
Let us inform you that we prepare itineraries not only for anywhere in India but also for Asia. We have been travelling since we were toddlers. So here in our blogs and stories, we will give you a glimpse of our journey and help you plan your trip.
Read about our Uzbekistan blogs.
Read about our Kazakhstan blogs.
Read about our Singapore blogs.
Read about our Vietnam blogs.
Read about our Cambodia blogs.
Read about our Bali blogs.
Read about our Kuala Lumpur blog series.
Read about our Sri Lanka blogs.
Read about our Nepal blogs.
Read about our Char Dham blogs.
Read about our Ladakh blogs.
Read about our day trip to Hyderabad.
Read about our Madhya Pradesh blogs.
Do follow our Instagram handle @mindfulllofvacations and watch for the next destination story of Kerala. For any query related to any trip, drop a mail at @mitkau007@gmail.com.
by mitkau