Periyar : Kerala’s Wilderness

I still remember the Geography class of my 10th standard, when i was faced with the question of marking Periyar forests on map of India. Today i feel a sense of pride, to have marked the location with my footprints. Located in Southern Kerala, Thekkday a wilderness destination, is the home of Tigers and Elephants of Periyar National Park.

A 3 hour bus journey to Thekkady form backwater town of Kottayam passes through waterfalls, plantations, and mountains covered in white clouds.The bus takes sharp turns along the meanders of narrow roads, with one side hills covered with tall lines of trees, and the other side having steep descent. The wind flews by the ears, as the bus roars forwards, and the view outside makes one truly believe that its not just the destination but the journey that matters.

Bicycle seems to be the perfect ride for relishing a journey. Its neither slow enough to feel boredom, neither fast enough to steal away the moments. One could just paddle along the path that lies ahead, moving forward at a controlled pace, observing the surroundings, smelling the local aroma, feeling the gust of wind created by the passing vehicles. And cherry on top of the cake is, if the trail passes by hilly area, covered with deep forests. Paddling through ups and downs of the road, passing by picturesque views of valleys in far distance makes all the effort worth it.

Mountains coloured green with patches of dark red and yellow sprinkled here and there, a lake on the foot of these mountains, reflecting the sunlight, water having ripples created from the steamer that just passed by, birds sitting on bark of tree, devoid of leaves, standing tall in middle of the water, this is Periyar lake, habitat of Kerala’s wilderness.

Thekkady lying on the borders of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, brings an end to the journey through Kerala for me. Now, another day, another state, another journey.

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