And when God’s own country beckons, you wouldn’t want to skip the divine experience of traversing the quaint city of Thekkady. Also, referred to as Periyar, Thekkady is located in Kerala. As I recall my visit to Thekkady, I remember how the locals also refer to this place as Kumily. Confused? Well, let me explain. Kumily is the place where we lodged while Thekkady is the Wildlife Sanctuary that we visited. These two places are adjacent to each other and you might just need to travel for 2-3 km to reach Thekkady from Kumily. We stayed at the best resort in Thekkady – Woodnote Thekkady. The stay in the resort was very pleasant and the ambiance was good.
The Breath-taking experience at Thekkady
I started from Cochin and it took me around 5 hours to reach my destination. Thekkady is around 170 km away from Cochin and I seamlessly covered that distance over 5 hours. If you take a package trip instead of heading straight, you could first visit Munnar and head to Thekkady or start from Alleppey (Kumarakom) to visit Thekkady. Leave it to you; both those places are equally mesmerizing. You’ll enjoy the road trip whichever way you choose to reach Thekkady.
Are you still thinking about why I call it a spectacular experience? Well, Thekkady is a famous Wildlife Sanctuary as I already mentioned and if you thought that such a place might not interest you, reading through this blog might just present you with another perspective!
The beautiful terrain of Thekkady offers boating facility to its guests and I enjoyed every moment of that boat ride where we were taken around the Sanctuary through the Periyar Lake. This immersive experience of sighting the natural flora and fauna around is a truly remarkable one! Yes, I was also fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the wild animals during our boat ride through the lake. Remember, you need to maintain silence for spotting the animals.
Before anyone else could speak, my 8-year-old jumped with excitement as she pointed out to the Mullapperiyar Dam. If you want to view the Periyar Sanctuary and the Mullapperiyar Dam, the boat ride is indispensable. You can look for KTDC bookings for purchasing a ticket to visit the Dam. We had booked our tickets in advance which made it quite convenient to get there. You can check out the detailed timetable for the boat ride and book your tickets accordingly.
The next halt was at the Periyar Tiger Reserve and yes we needed tickets to enter this absorbing wild zone! As soon as we entered the Tiger Reserve, we speckled a temple and as we moved forward, there was the boating area. If you are an admirer of nature like me, insure yourself for as you might just get lost in the verdant paradise at the Periyar Reserve.
The Tiger Trail is worth a walk and lie we did, you can book for accommodation inside the Reserve itself. There are three notable hotels here; the KTDC Aranya Nivas, the KTDC Lake Palace, and the KTDC Periyar House. If you’ve reserved any of these hotels for a stay, make sure you reach there before 5 pm. The Reserve closed its entrance after that.
We were delighted to check into the den. Oh no! Not the tiger’s den but I meant our hotel room J If you already have pre-booked tickets, you can head straight to the boating area. Just in case, you have forgotten to get them, you can queue up to purchase the tickets from the boating counter.
The Jetty at Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary and visit to the Periyar Tiger Reserve is simply thrilling! After, this visit we headed for some fun-filled activities in Thekkady. The Elephant ride is a must and if you have children, you might just have to ride it against your wishes. You can watch the Elephants splish-splash and splatter water as they bathe. And yes, you can participate in this activity with a ticket purchased for such activities.
Each time I pronounce Kerala, I am driven to a dreamy landscape that lies lush blanketed by a clear blue sky and lined with pristine water bodies. This escapade is incomplete without indulgence! And by this I mean the Ayurveda Spa/Massage at any of the centers at Thekkady is drool-worthy. Relax and rejuvenate, you are on holiday!
I enjoy shopping in Thekkady from local markets and was happy to bring home wholesome spices and some homemade chocolates from the local Thekaddy marketplace. Most well-rated hotels at Thekkady organize different functions for their guests that offer a flavor of Kerala’s rich cultural heritage. From the classical dance form Kathakali to watching the martial arts performers and enjoying the tribal dance, there’s so much to do at Thekkady.
While we chose a resort equipped with Tree House, you can book any hotel in the Thekkady town area. Most of the resorts offer the convenience of travel around the city as they are easily accessible. You can reserve a hotel that’s centrally located to make sure not much is wasted on traveling.
Among the other activities in Thekkady, you can explore a dozen of things via the Eco-Tourism of Kerala. Some of these include jungle camping, bamboo rafting, boating, fishing, spice walking among many other intriguing activities.
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