The Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, in Kerala, is one of the 15 Project Tiger reserves in India. Over a century ago, a British engineer, Col. J. Pennycuick, chalked out a plan to dam the Periyar River; subsequently, a dam was constructed at the proposed site in 1895. This resulted in the adjoining forests being granted protection, by the Maharaja of Travancore.
The 55 sq. km reservoir and its surrounding forests provide protection to the animals within. Today, Periyar is undeniably one of the most impressive wildlife sanctuaries in the world. The terrain is basically hilly, and the only flat areas of the sanctuary are the grasslands, at the edges of the lakes. Impregnable forests and open grasslands make for a sustaining environment, for both the carnivore and herbivore population of the reserve.
Periyar is famous for its pachyderm population, which number around 800. Periyar is probably one of the few places where one can observe elephants in their natural surroundings, unhindered, and approach to within 20 meters of them, fearlessly. . Apart from elephants, the other animals to be seen in the sanctuary are gnar, wild pigs, sambar, barking deer, mouse deer, dhole, lion-tailed macaque, the Nilgiri langur, and very rarely, a tiger. There are now an estimated 40 tigers in the Periyar reserve.
Best time to visit : October to April.
