It
was during summer we decided to plan a visit to Parambikulam tiger reserve. The
stay for a night was booked at Thunakadavu tree top hut. Even though the
reserve is managed by the Kerala government, the entry to this is only through
Tamil Nadu. After finishing up the entry formalities at Tamil Nadu Forest check
post, we entered the reserve.
The
reserve supports diverse habitat types viz., evergreen, semi- evergreen, moist
deciduous, dry deciduous and shola forests. Other unique habitats like montane
and marshy grasslands, locally known as 'vayals', are also found.
We
were welcomed by the deer family. They were grazing and they did not expect us.
When they saw us, they tried to escape, but adults on one side & fawns on
the other side of the road. Seeing them desperate, we moved our vehicle a few
yards back allowing them to unite and move into the forest without any tension.
Even though it was a reserve, the road that led to the Parambikulam dam had
many hairpins which we enjoyed to the fullest as there were no vehicles from
either side. We pulled down our window glasses to enjoy nature at its fullest.
We were surrounded by bamboo music, chirping sounds of birds, and occasionally
smelt of elephant dungs. The distance to Kerala check post was 11.6 Kms from
the Aanamalai tiger reserve check post (Tamil Nadu). To reach the Kerala check
post we must go past the Top slip where there are stays provided by Tamil Nadu
state.
Once you reach Parambikulam check post you must produce your details of stay so that you will be allowed entry to the information center which is 2 kms from the check post. You must make your own travel arrangements as there are no other provisions than few KSRTC services which run 2-3 times a day. People come here for a day trip as well. The entry to people & private vehicles is allowed only till the information center. Beyond this point the entries are restricted. Those who have made the bookings for a night stay can drive till the place of stay along with the guide who is appointed and will be with us always while in the reserve. The public can avail the safari services which are carried out on forest vehicles. Click here for more details regarding the accommodation & day tours conducted by Kerala forest. Click here to visit programmes & accommodation conducted by Tamil Nadu.
The
accommodation which we chose was Thunakadavu treetop hut which is a traditional
treetop hut with an attached bathroom. The package includes food, safari,
bamboo rafting & a trekking. The program starts with lunch and ends with
subsequent day breakfast. There are only buses for Safari and it takes place
twice a day. After lunch, we went to our room for a short rest and were asked
to be ready by 3.00 PM for safari. The safari starts from the information
center and is till parambikulam dam with various viewpoints in between and a
short stop at each place including a bamboo rafting. We stopped at Thunakadavu
reservoir, Kannimara teak, parivaripallam dam, parambikulam dam.
The
Kannimara teak is one of the oldest & largest teak in the world. The tree
is believed to be around 400 years old which has a height of 40 metres &
girth of 7.5 metres as measured in 2017. It needs at least 4-5 people to
encircle the tree with their outstretched hands. This teak is a sacred one for
the tribal folks here and is worshipped by them. The teaks we find here now
were once planted by the British. The trees were cut down & taken to
England. There are remains of the meter gauge tramways which were used to
transport the cut down trees to Cochin from where they were shipped. The oil
content in the teak here is more than the normal teak rest elsewhere, due to
which they are more resistant to termite attack & water.
After
a short stop, we started our safari ride towards Parambikulam dam. We must
cross a vayal (an open grassland) where we had seen a group of bison &
deers grazing. But this time something caught my eye which initially I thought
was a termite mound. And I shared the same with our guide as well. After a few
minutes of observation, he said it is not what we thought it was, it is a tiger
which later he changed to leopard. It was so camouflaged that the rest in our
group could not even spot it which was perfectly captured by Dillu using his
camera lens. It was a small one, watching us. It was a perfect hiding place and
maybe if we had not disturbed it, it might have caught a deer. After 5-7
minutes, when the leopard realised, we were not moving, it decided to move into
the forest.
When
the leopard was out of our sight, we decided to continue the rest of the
safari. After capturing a few Bisons, Nilgiri Langurs, Spotted Deer we stopped
at Parambikulam reservoir for Bamboo Rafting. There was a small island in the
reservoir where a big tusker was enjoying walking surrounded by numerous
fishing egrets. The tusk was elongated, pointed & beautifully curved like
an arch. But, since the sun was down already, we could not capture it. But I
got enough time to enjoy the sight. After a 15 min ride on a bamboo raft, it
was time for some cultural events.
During
our safari, the guide informed us that the water from Parambikulam reservoir is
carried to Aliyar dam through a canal built inside the Parambikulam reserve. On
our way to our campsite from the visitor centre earlier that day, we had seen
fencing around a canal. When we enquired about that fencing, our guide had
already shared the information about Aliyar dam & this contour canal.
Initially, there was no fencing, but when the predators chased the prey, even
though they escaped the predators, a quite number of animals died falling into
this open canal while running for their lives. The Aliyar dam project was
inaugurated by then Prime minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who also
addressed the public. Now a circular garden has been created where the stage
was built for the same. There are several tea shops run by the tribe and a
community hall where the cultural events are held. There was a half an hour
dance with locally made musical instruments presented by the people living
there.
It
was dark by the time, all these events finished and it was time to return to
our respective places of stay. On our way back, we got to see a group of Bisons
& spotted Deer on the road itself here and there. Since it was dark, they
all were roaming freely through the reserve. We were lucky to see 2 jungle
rabbits as well.
After
a palatable dinner, we slept to get up early in the morning for a trek. We got
up at 5.00 AM & got ready for the trek and sat on our balcony waiting for
the call from our guide. He signalled us around 5.45 AM and we had to go to the
visitor centre by our own vehicle. The sun was trying hard to reach us through
the thick & tall trees. On our way, we had to stop our vehicle & dim
the light as we saw a pair of reflecting eyes. The day began with a leopard
sighting. It waited for a while and then ran into the thick bushes. What more
do you need to start off a day with. The grasses were not tall, but they were
thick & dry enough that any animal can easily hide which we realised only
on losing our sight off the leopard even when we can see clearly meters ahead.
The trek begins from the visitor centre. We were welcomed by a group of peacocks who were flying from here & there from the top of staff quarters and passing signals to others in the reserve. Initial 20–30-minute walk was normal terrain after which we had to cross streams, climb big boulders up & down like the way the stone age man used to do. It was really a hard trek for me. I could climb only because of Dileep.
Our guide was moving ahead at a safe distance from us observing around and checking on us as well. Once we reached a point where we were surrounded by only the hustling sound of wind & flowing water, our guide stopped and he waited for us to join him. He whispered that now on we must be silent & try to move in minimal or no sound. After walking along the stream for a while, he pointed something on a pebble in the stream. When I realised what it was, I could only hear my heart beat. It was a tiger paw in the wet mud. It seemed like the tiger had tried jumping over the rivulet during which the water splashed on a dry pebble nearby. We walked along the tiger paw for another 5-10 minutes and every next second, I felt we were face to face or it would pounce on any of us from the bushes. But after a while, a point reached where we could see the paws disappearing into the deep forest and we were supposed to take the other direction so as to reach the point from where it all started. From there, till the end of our trek I kept imagining that we were stopped by a tiger which was very close & looking at us & neither of us could move from our respective position. Every second passing on felt like hours and the never-ending forest. I was sweating even in that cool forest. I felt my heart was ready to jump out of my body.
The rivulet which we were following or crossing every now & then was one of the water sources which would become thin, but never dried up even during sultry summers. So, the possibility of any of the wild animal encounter was 100%.
I kept praying during the entire trek and luckily, we were neither chased by any predators nor the elephants. We got to see black langurs, peacocks, a porcupine, mongoose, and red jungle fowl.
It
was around 9.30 AM when we reached the visitor centre finishing our trek. The
trek ended with a sighting of a group of beautiful peacocks. After reporting at
the visitor centre, we reached back to our campsite for freshening up & a
breakfast. We were dying from hunger after 3 hours of our trek. Every minute
detail of this trip had been endearing, so we decided to get back here once
again before we turn old. May be then I will be carrying a brave heart enough to encounter any predator 😉
Click here for more photos from this trip.