Thekkedi

State

Thekkady is a beautiful place located in central Kerala. While you travel to Thekkady, you will see nature in its purest form. Uninterrupted rows of lush green trees, chirping birds, velvety hills and stunningly beautiful landscape are what make Thekkady a hot tourism center. Thekkady is famous for its Periyar wildlife sanctuary, which houses some really exotic species of birds, animals and plants. Thekkady is also an important trade center and exports a variety of rare Indian spices. A visit to Thekkady is a must if you are traveling to India.

Thekkady is famous for its tea, coffee and pepper plantations. It has unending plantation gardens and one can literally smell the aroma of spices in the air. A visit to India's best wildlife sanctuaries will give you an experience that you won't forget for the rest of your lives. Make sure you take a cruise along the Periyar River for that mind-blowing experience.

The crisp and cool air will work wonders not just for your physical well being, but your soul too. All in all, it will be an experience that will have you transferred to Paradise every time you think of it. So get set to visit Thekkady, a place that will amaze you beyond belief.

Thekkady is one of the major destinations of the state of Kerala, the God’s own country. Due to its unmatched natural beauty and serenity, this small town is visited by a large number of tourists every year. The town also houses one of world’s most fascinating natural wildlife sanctuaries. Thekkady is also the major base point to access some of the other exotic sites in Kerala as well as in Tamil Nadu. A visit to Thekkady also provides you the opportunity to see wildlife at close ranges, besides the varied vegetation and a wide variety of birds. Lying at an altitude of 700-1900 m above sea level, Thekkady has a cool and comfortable climate. Out here, you can also go for treks and mountain walks.

Located in central Kerala, is a popular hill station and a wildlife centre. This town, which is an important plantation centre, conjures up images of elephants, unending chains of hills and spice scented plantations.
In the Periyar Forest of Thekkadi is one of the finest wildlife reserves of India and spread across the entire district are picturesque plantations and hill towns that hold immense opportunities for treks and mountain walks. The Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary offers a fairly good chance of seeing the great Indian tiger in its natural habitat.

Accessibility

Air: Nearest airport to Thekkady is Madurai, which is located at distance of 136 km away from Thekkady. Madurai is air connected to Chennai and Coimbatore. Nearest major international airport is Nedumbassery airport in Kochi, at a distance of 190 km way. Kochi airport is well connected to all cities in India and many cities abroad, including many gulf cities. Tourist taxi services are available from Kochi to Thekkady and charge is about Rs 4000.

Rail: Nearest railhead is Kottayam, which is placed at a distance of 114 km from Thekkady. Taxi services are available from Kottayam to Thekkady at the rate of Rs 2500. Kottayam is well connected to all railway stations in India. All express trains towards Trivandum passes through Kottayam.

Road: KSRTC public transport buses connect Thekkady with other nearby cities. Super fast buses are regularly available from Kottayam, Kochi and Trivandrum to Thekkady. The charge is less than Rs 2 per km.

Accommodation

Some known hotels and cottages that provide accommodation at Thekkady include Lake Palace Thekkady, Taj Garden Retreat, Spice Village, Shalimar Spice Garden. These include the high budgeted ones. The economical class includes Hotel Ambadi, Periyar House, Hotel Kumily Gate, Michael's Inn, etc.

Things to do

Border Hiking: Border Hiking is a trekking program conducted on the high terrains of the forests ranging to heights of 1000 to 1200 meters. A group of 13 people comprising of 10 tourists, 2 guides and 1 armed guard begin trekking in the morning at 8.

During trekking, the guides that are reformed ex-poachers narrate their fascinating stories regarding encounter of wild lives. Their exceptional knowledge about the terrain, flora and fauna of the jungles will help the tourists to know much about the forest and wild life.

In a day, maximum two border hiking groups are taken into the forest. Only people between the age of 16 and 65 are allowed to participate in border hiking.

Nature Walk: Thekkady offers immense potential to various adventurous activities. Nature walking programmers are arranged regularly covering various trekking routes around 4 to 5 km.

Nature walk provides excellent opportunity to explore the nature in its own turf. Normally, nature walk routes pass through forests and grasslands providing unique experience of watching rare birds and other small wildlife.

Nature walk programs are conducted by forest department between 7.30 to 11 am and 2.30 to 3.30 pm usually, a batch consisting of maximum five people with a well trained guide go into jungles for nature walk. As the guide is always a local inhabitant of forests, they are well versed with the jungle routes and wildlife behavior.

District
Idukki District
STD Code
04865
Termperature
Summer 20-36°C, Winter 16-32°C
Best time to visit
September to May