Jungle attracts both Jaishree and me. Even during our non-holiday times we hear Jungle calling us. The images of wild terrain float in our eyes. This romance with Jungle and wild life started with our honeymoon in Bandipur. After that this affair is never ending. I was showing photographs of our Bandipur trip to my friend Avinash Dubey and his wife Bhavna, and both of them came with the same question, “Have you been to Thekkady”? So when we planned our Kerala trip, next destination from Munnar was Thekkady.

Thekkady is situated in the lap of scented cardamom hills. It is India’s largest and most visited wildlife sanctuary that is spread over an area of around 777 sq Km. In 19^th century the area around Thekkady was found quite suitable for Tea/Coffee Plantation. The rapid increase of the plantation alarmed King of Travancore and to prevent his favorite hunting ground from encroachments he declared this area as reserve forest. According to another Legend the killing of an elephant by a British soldier made Maharaja of Travancore very sad. He realized the significance of conservation and turned the forests around the lake into a sanctuary in 1934 and christened it as Nellikkampetty sanctuary. In 1978 this sanctuary was declared as part of Project tiger and now it is also known as Periyar Tiger Reserve.

Most of the tourists visit Thekkady dreaming to see the ferocious cats and many of them return disappointed. After a few visits to the Jungle we have learnt that a Jungle should be visited for its own beauty & charm and not in the only hope of encountering wild cat. Their sightings are rare and should be expected as the icing on the cake.

From Munnar we took the bus to Kumily – A small town at the periphery of Thekkady. This town is also known as the spice garden of the Kerala. The bus journey from Munnar to Thekkady was breathtaking & views were stunning. It was among the journeys when you feel that

जहनो-नज़र में हर वक़्त, मंज़िल ही क्यों रहे,
जब तक रहे सफ़र, सफ़र का मज़ा क्यों ना लें

Most of the time we were complaining that why the bus was moving so fast and we wished (unsuccessfully) to be able to capture the beauty of that journey in our camera. I would suggest fellow ghumakkars to take taxi from Munnar to Thekkady stopping in between and enjoying the beautiful journey.

We reached Kumily at night. Our accommodation Lake Queen Tourist Home was around 1 Km from the Bus stand. After settling in the room we enquired for nearby restaurant and came to know that they had a restaurant downstairs – Lakeland Restaurant. The buffet served in that restaurant was delicious, rich and fulfilling.

Next day we hired an Auto and it drove us towards Periyar Wild life Sanctuary. Kumily is around 4 km from the Sanctuary and is a small touristy strip of Tourist centers, hotels, Ayurvedic Massage Centers and spice shops. On the way to Thekkady there was music in the air – the wind was playing with Bamboo groves.

Periyar wild life Sanctuary is centered on 26 Sq km artificial lake created by British to supply water to the dry parts of Tamilnadu. The forest Department and KTDC conduct boat trips that last for around 2-3 hours. We decided to do the trip and bought the ticket. There was a big crowd to board the boat. As the boat returned from previous trip, passengers on the boat disembarked and we boarded the boat and rushed to occupy a good viewing position.

As boat moved, the silence of the Jungle was slightly perturbed by the boat slicing through the water, leaving waves that undulates gently to the banks interrupted occasionally by the stumps of the trees trying to break free from the water. As this Lake is result of construction of a dam on Periyar River many trees could be seen submerged in the water. Even when these trees were reduced to stumps they provide resting place to the water birds – generosity suiting to these magnanimous living beings.

I was praying to see the wild elephants coming to the shore and frolicking in the water. Prayers remained unanswered. When we visited Thekkady, there were ample rains. That time was not the best time for wild life sighting. The best time for wild life sighting is March-April when water reservoirs inside Jungle starts to dry and more and more of wild animals are driven to Lake to quench their thirst.

In between we stopped at Edapalayam Lake Palace. King of Travancore constructed this building in the midst of Lake to entertain his guests. It is now being converted into a heritage hotel. I belong to Udaipur, a place that boasts of a more popular Lake Palace. I was unaware of and hence was pleasantly surprised to see a Lake Palace in distant south too.

Jagniwas Lake Palace of Udaipur
That was a cloudy day. The clouds casted a spell on mighty Sun and turned the burning Sunrays into soothing blessings. That was a very good weather to have a cruise in dazzling green surroundings.

On flip side, the boat was crowded and the noise of the Engine and people on board were enough to put off any serious wild life enthusiast. That was a nice cruise but did not give us the real feel of visiting the Jungle. We came to Thekkady with high hopes of seeing the jungle, but were largely unsatisfied.

At that time we came to know that Forest officials also organizes three hour walking tour in the Jungle. Bingo! That was what we were looking for. When we enquired at the counter we were told that trekking in Jungle was not allowed with a three-year-old kid. We cursed our luck.

A French couple was standing there with their daughter of almost Rachit’s age. The French Gentleman came to us and inquired about the possibility of us joining them in the walking trail. Walking required minimum of four persons and they were looking for partners. With small baby they felt that it would be easier for them to have a trail with couple sharing the same constraint. When we asked forest officials that how they allowed them for the trail? They also allowed us. I am not clear that why they did not allow us to trek in the beginning itself. Were they worried about the capabilities of an Indian child walking for around 2-3 hours in the Jungle?

We were told that the trekking would be in the buffer zone of the Jungle. First we were prepared to thwart any attack from bloodthirsty monsters. We were not prepared against man-eating Tigers but the Leeches. We wore Leech socks guarding ourselves from the best frontier Leeches like to attack unaware trekkers. This token preparation set the tone of our trekking and excited all of us specially Rachit.

Rachit is strange; he hates walking on the roads. Whenever we walk on roads he starts complaining that he is tired and I should lift him up. Replace tar roads with mountain trails, forest trails and he would be very excited and even if he were on my shoulder he would force me to put him down.

We had to move from Tourist zone to buffer zone. For that we crossed the Periyar Lake on Bamboo boat. That was our first experience of sailing on Bamboo boat. We sailed across the Lake on several Bamboos tied together in the lush green background. The cool gentle breeze was sailing with us across the Lake. The only barrier between the water and us were the Bamboos. We were sailing closest to the water. The boat was pulled from other end with a rope. It would have been more adventurous if bamboos were used for rowing also. In that case though I am not sure that in which part of other side of Jungle we would have landed.

With that crossing we left the Tourist Zone behind and entered the Buffer Zone. Thekkady is covered with dense evergreen, Semi-evergreen, Moist deciduous Forests and Savannah grasslands. We walked in the Jungle listening the murmuring of the dry leaves and getting awed by the Giant trees.

We crossed water streams on bridges made with tree trunks by Forest Rangers. Crossing those streams on the trunks, keeping our balance, was also very enjoyable part. Though I was sure that we would not encounter deadly cats on our walking trails still murmuring of dry leaves and screeches of Langur were good enough to make us anxious and cautious.

We all formed very nice group. We were walking in a pace well suiting to our kids to let them run behind butterflies, appreciating wild flowers and picking up broken twigs and quills.

Kids also struck a chord between them. Amazingly kids easily communicate with each other and for them language is never a barrier. The kids enjoyed walking and never complained about getting tired. Finally after walking for 2-3 hours we reached other side of the Lake and walking across it we came to the same place from where we started. We never realized that how fast those beautiful hours passed.

Boat was ready to be pulled to the other side this time. At that time Rachit was very shy and most of the time he remained glued to us, but on that day he left us and walked quickly to occupy the position of his liking on the boat.

Once on the boat, I looked back at the Jungle the last time & thought that this might be the way the earth looked once – raw, uncaged & with wild tall trees all around.

Will I be able to go back there again when my kids would grow and we could enjoy the Jungle Safari for longer hours?

Activities

We had several restrictions because of the baby, but ghumakkars without such restrictions can indulge in following activities:

Bamboo Rafting – Dawn to Dusk range hiking and rafting programme.

Jungle Inn – The programme is a one-night stay in a watchtower situated in Thekkady forests.

Bullock Cart Ride – This programme is a visit in a bullock cart to the farming areas of diverse agriculture crops of mangoes, Tamarind, onion, Jasmine, sunflower and other vegetables.

Periyar Tiger Trail – It is an adventurous trekking and camping programme inside the forest for one night and two nights.