Parambikulam - Nature lovers’ paradise

(From our Visit in October 2016)

How about living on a tree with basic amenities on the banks of a calm and serene lake amid deafening silence broken only with the roar of an elephant, call of a Malabar Langur or croaking of toads from down under?

Stress and strain of driving hundreds of kilometers on the winding roads of Western Ghats with numerous hair-pin bends dissipates within minutes as you enter the pristine Tiger Reserve of Parambikulam in Pallakkad district of Kerala. Not a dried leaf on the ground is disturbed by human beings.
With no mobile connectivity, life looks much more peaceful and you do not require a professional audio recording device to capture the scream of a peacock or alarm call of spotted
deer that roam around your ‘Tree top Hut’. Chirping of numerous birds on tall teak trees and bamboo tree-grass surrounding the water body seem to be providing right background score for nature’s song of silence.

A journey on a bamboo raft on the blue waters of Parambikulam Reservoir on Parambiyaar river provides you a sneak peek into the flora and fauna of the protected national park with an occasional gaur or elephant coming to its banks at far-end for water. Unlike its ilk, Parambikulam is not commercialized and the food prepared by the aborigines with fresh pond fish and locally grown veggies give you a different experience.

Tamil or Malayalam-speaking tribals working as forest guards accompany you on your 3-hour safari into the jungle. You could go in your own vehicle or take the Forest Department’s rickety
van. Kannimara – the 460-year- old teak tree revered as God by the locals is awe inspiring.

Early morning venture into the forest gave us a chance to watch peacocks fending themselves from attack of pack of wolves. Barking deers, wild boars, and Nilagiri Langoors were there in
large numbers. 

With only 27 tigers remaining (as 2016 census) in 277 sq.km. of core area,
sighting a big cat is a luck, says Murugan, our guide for two days in the forest. He finds them only once in a week.

We booked out stay with the forest department calling over phone Nos. 9442201690; or 9442201691. Forest Development Agency sells some handicrafts made by the locals with locally
available material and probably you could buy a hat/cap or T-Shirt with a tiger’s picture to remember the stay.

A romantic place to visit and it could get adventurous if a group books cottages on an island in the Parambikulam reservoir.