The Silent Valley National Park in kerala wildlife sanctuaries has an area of 90 sq km is located in the north eastern corner of the district. wildlife sanctuaries kerala is famous wildlife tourism. Perhaps, nowhere else can one also find such a representative collection of peninsular mammals, over a 100 species of butterflies and 400 species of moths and other fauna like the Ceylon Frog Moth, Great Indian Hornbill, the Nilgiri Laughing Thrush and the Lion-tailed Macaque.
The river Kunthi descends from the Nilgiri hills, an altitude of 2000 m above sea level, and traverses the entire length of the valley and rushes down to the plains through the deep forest. The river Kunthi never turns brown and is always crystal clear, perennial and wild.
The evapo-transpiration from these forests is much higher than from any other surfaces. This cools the atmosphere, helps easy condensation of water vapour and thus causes the summer rains.
Situated on an area of 777 square kilometers in the Cardamom hills region of the Western Ghats the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the largest and most frequented wildlife reserves in India. 350 square kilometers area forming the core region was declared as a National Park in 1982. In 1895 a dam was built across Periyar River to provide irrigation facilities in Tamil Nadu.
It is visited by the wildlife enthusiasts with a view to spotting tigers and leopards.
But sightings of these animals are all but assured. However, this place is ideal for watching other animals in their natural habitat. Other animals include elephant, wild pig, sambar, gaur, Malabar flying squirrel, stripe-necked mongoose and over 260 species of birds including blue-winged parakeet, Nilgiri wood pigeon, white-bellied tree pie, laughing thrushes and flycatchers.
Located close to the border of the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the park makes an ideal base to have a sojourn while undertaking long journey across the Ghats between Madurai and the coast. It's also a convenient place for excursion to the Cardamom hills, combined with the well known pilgrimage center of the Sabarimala, a couple of tea factories, spice plantations, and spectacular view of the forest waterfalls all of them a stone's throw distance.
Kerala provides ideal locations for National Parks, surrounded by ridge and forest area. At the National Parks of Kerala you can watch the animals in their natural habitats along with the rare varieties of animals and birds. Come with Kerala Hub on a tour to Kerala where you can visit the National Parks of Kerala.
Thatekkad Bird Sanctuary is one of the most popular National Parks of Kerala.
This Bird Sanctuary is situated in the dense tropical evergreen and deciduous forests and grassland patches. Thattekad Sanctuary is located in the Kothamangalam Taluk of Ernakulam district on the northern bank of the Periyar River. It is a home to a microcosm of India's bird population with about 500 winged species. The renowned ornithologist, Dr. Salim Ali designed the Thattekad Bird sanctuary. This Bird Sanctuary is spread over an area of 25 sq. km. covered with deciduous forests and plantation of rosewood, teak etc. Rare birds like the Crimson-Throated Barbet, Bee-eater, Sunbird, Shrike, and Black winged Kite, and the Night Heron are also commonly sighted here.
Thattekad Bird Sanctuary is a rare haven in Kerala, which offers picturesque landscapes, and is a nature lover's paradise. Bombay Natural History Society has identified 253 species here. The rivers are rich in fish life and are shallow for most of the year.
Kerala is home to many popular National Parks of India.Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the National Parks in Kerala spread over an area of 285 sq. kilometers. The Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is laid with serene vegetation in a valley between the Anamalai ranges of Tamil Nadu and the Nelliampathy ranges of Kerala.
This National Park in Kerala offers a scintillating sight of rare wild animals. The area
has quite a few hill tribes here like Malayars, Kadas, and Muthuvaas. This wildlife sanctuary has some marshy land and scattered patches of grassland, thickly forested with stands of bamboo, sandalwood, rosewood, and teak. Here you can find little remains of the original teak forests, other than the famous Kannimari teak tree, the largest in Asia as teak plantations. The tree is about 5 km from Thunakadavu, and is one of the prime attractions at the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary.
On your tour to Kerala you can visit the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, which has the largest population of Gaurs (bison). It is also a home to elephants, sloth bears, wild boars, sambhars, chital tigers, panthers, and crocodiles. There are also bonnet macaques, spectacled cobras, kraits, vipers, turtles, darters, little cormorants, and black eagles. Parambikulam is open throughout the year, but is best avoided during the monsoon. Between June and August, the monsoon rains lash, making hillsides unstable and causing slush, mosquitoes, drippy roofs and other nuisances.
Situated at an altitude of 450-748 mt above sea level, this sanctuary occupies the forest land between the Cheruthoni River and the Periyar river.
This sanctuary extends over the Thodupuzha and Udumpanchola taluks of Idukki district, spreading over 77 sq. km and is about 450 - 748 m above sea level. The Idukki Reservoir formed by three dams - Cheruthoni, Idukki and Kulamavu - extends to 33 sq km.
There is a scenic lake around the sanctuary, covered by an enchanting canopy of tropical ever-green and deciduous trees, and offers boat rides. Elephants, bisons, bear, wild boars, sambar wild dogs, jungle cats, tiger, wild boar etc are seen here apart from various species of snakes including cobra, viper, kraits and numerous non-poisonous ones. Birds include jungle fowl, myna, laughing thrush, black bulbul, peafowl, woodpecker, kingfisher etc.
The wildlife here is similar to that of Thekkady. This sanctuary lies adjacent to the world renowned Idukki Arch Dam. The lake on the three sides of the sanctuary offers a panoramic view to the tourists.
Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is composed of the dense forests and the Peppara dam built on the Karamana River and was declared as a sanctuary in 1983 to increase the drinking water supply to Thiruvananthapuram and the adjoining suburbs. Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is merged partially with the Palode reserve (24sq.kms) and the Kottoor reserve (29sq.kms); all the three together forming the whole of the area covered by the Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary. The wildlife sanctuary covers an area of 53 sq.kms with the reservoir spread in an area of 5.82 sq.kms. Located about
50kms. North East of capital city Thiruvananthapuram in Nedumangad taluk of Thiruvananthapuram district, the topography of the wildlife sanctuary is quite hilly.
The major wildlife species found in the wildlife sanctuary are: tiger, panther, wild dog, lion tailed macaque, elephant, gaur, sambhar, barking deer, mouse deer, wild boar, Nilgiri langur, Malabar squirrel etc. The bird species especially the water birds like darter, little cormorant, pied king fisher and egrets are most commonly seen in the sanctuary. Several species of snakes including the king cobra and python are dominantly present in this sanctuary. The Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is also famous for its wide variety of moth and butterflies. Apart from the wildlife, there are 13 tribal settlements in the Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Nagarhole National Park bordering the state of Kerala was designated as a game sanctuary in 1955. In 1974, it was merged with the Mysore forests within the Nagarhole Wildlife Sanctuary. The deep valleys and the picturesque landscapes make it a picture perfect tourist destination. The most distinguishing feature of this National Park is the numerous open grassy swamps called 'hadlus' in the local language. The dry as well as the moist deciduous forests mainly having teak and eucalyptus trees cover the whole of the wildlife sanctuary.
The wildlife species commonly seen in the national park include: tiger, leopard, elephant, sambhar, chital, panther, sloth bear, gaur and other mammals like giant squirrel, slender loris, langurs, wild boar, muntjac, the tiny mouse deer, pangolin and macaques. The easily visible birds out of the 250 bird species include the Indian Pitta, Green Imperial Pigeon, the Malabar pied hornbill, Malabar Trogan and the great black woodpecker. The jungle cat, leopard cat and rusty spotted cat are also the other wildlife species found within the national park.