THEKKADY.

THEKKADY.

Thekkady is located in the heart of  Cardamom Hill. It is the largest and most visited wildlife sanctuary in India, covering an area of ​​about 777 km². In the 19th century, the area around Thekkady was thought to be quite suitable for growing tea/coffee. The rapid increase in plantation area alarmed the King of Travancore, and to prevent encroachment on his favorite hunting grounds, he declared the area a reserve forest. According to another legend, the killing of an elephant by a British soldier made the Maharaja of Travancore very sad. He recognized the importance of conservation and turned the forests around the lake into a reserve in 1934 and named it Nellikkampetty Reserve. In 1978 the reserve was declared under the tiger project and now it is also known as the Periyar Tiger Reserve.

Most tourists who visit Thekkady dream of ferocious cats and many of them return disappointed. After a few visits to the forest, we learned that we should visit the forest for its beauty and charm, and not just for the hope of catching a wildcat. Sightings of them are rare and should be considered the icing on the cake. From Munnar we took a bus to Kumily – A small town on the outskirts of Thekkady. This city is also known as the spice garden of Kerala. The bus ride from Munnar to Thekkady was breathtaking and the view was breathtaking. It's one of those journeys where you feel that

Most of the time we complain about why the bus moves so fast and wish (unsuccessfully) that we could capture the beauty of this journey in our cameras. I would suggest other ghumakkars to take a taxi from Munnar to Thekkady stop in the middle and enjoy the beautiful journey. We arrived at Kumily at night. Our accommodation Lake Queen Tourist Home is about 1 km from the bus stop. After settling into the room, we inquired about the restaurant next door and learned that they have a restaurant downstairs - the Lakeland restaurant. The buffet served at this restaurant is delicious, plentiful and complete.