Thekkady – The Abode of Gods

Serenity, placidity, beatitude, repose… I’d like to add one more word to the list of synonyms for tranquility – that’s Thekkady. For a regular tourist, Thekkady is all about a two-hour boating in the calm lake amid dense, evergreen, deciduous forests and savannah grass lands, but it is home to thousands of varieties of plant life and wildlife, which cannot be seen anywhere else in the world.

If you have travelled to other tourist destinations in Kerala like Munnar, you may wonder what’s so exceptional about this boating. To find an answer for yourself, you have to experience it. I have seen people who prefer Thekkady to Munnar, Kumarakom or any other hot destination; why? Just for the tranquility.

I’ve been planning to revisit Thekkady for quite a while but was heartbroken when I made it there. The weather was completely unfavourable for my lens. But I was thanking my lucky stars that I decided to go boating despite the bad weather, one of the rarest sights, a full rainbow, was awaiting me.

Situated at about 700-1900m above sea level and spread over approximately 12.07 sq.kms, the splendid artificial lake formed by the Mullaiperiyar Dam across the Periyar River locates the oldest wildlife sanctuary in India established in 1895 and has been given the status of an Tiger Reserve in 1978.

Below this thick green canopy roam herds of elephants, sambar deer, tigers, oaters, lion tailed macaques and Nilgiri langurs, but you have to be really lucky to see a tiger while boating. Yet you have the opportunity for trekking, mountain walk, and jungle patrol, which will definitely get you the glimpse of a tiger.

 There’s only one place like Thekkady, and that’s Thekkady. The magnificence of this place is just beyond words and thus paying a visit becomes a must.