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Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala -- 25, 26, 27 June 2005 The Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala, or better known to tourists as Thekkady, is a pristine jungle set amidst the lush green rainforests of the Great Western Ghats. The vegetation is typical of the Ghats- Tropical Moist Deciduous and Semi Evergreen. The highpoint of the Reserve is the lake Periyar - formed due to the damming of the river Periyar. The tourism zone is called Thekkady, where tourist facilities such as information centre, boating, refreshment shops exist. Accommodation inside the reserve is available in three beautiful places - Periyar House, Aranya Nivas and Lake Palace - in ascending order of price and luxury. All three are run by Kerala Tourism Development Corporation(www.ktdc.com). Periyar is rich in flora and fauna and the wildlife is truly magnificient. Though the elephant population is not anything to be boasted - mainly due to extensive poaching in past years - the sanctuary does house a viable population of wild asian elephants. The reserve is one of the 27 Project Tiger reserves in our country. Tigers, Leopards, Wild Dogs, Sloth Bear, Sambar, Elephant, Nilgiri Tahr are some of the big mammals that can be seen if one is lucky. More secretive and elusive rareties include the King Cobra, Malabar Pit Viper, Forest Eagle Owl among many others. The reserve is rich in bird life, naturally. Some of the bird rareties include Malabar Trogon, Great Indian Hornbill among others. Bonnet Macaque, Nilgiri Langur, Common Langur and Lion Tailed Macaque are four primate species that inhabit the reserve. In June 2005, We(my wife and self) spent 3 days and 2 nights at Periyar House. We spent most of the time lazing around Periyar House and rambling up and down the road to the boat landing from Periyar House. This itself yielded a lot of bird species that I'd wished to see. Apart from this I also spent a lot of time alone inside the moist forests around Periyar House, where I got to see the beautiful Malabar Trogon, Whitebellied Treepie, Orange Headed Thrush and a roosting Collared Scops Owl. The boat ride in the lake in late evening while it was drizzling, showed herds of Sambar grazing on the river banks, a couple of elephants and a lonely otter. From the photography point it was difficult due to the bad light that prevails during this season. It showered now and then, and light was pathetic inside the canopy. But the most beautiful of the birds are only to be seen inside the canopy. So I did manage a few photographs at high film speed and using flash often. Birds seen include Collared Scops Owl Crested Serpent Eagle White Bellied Treepie Rufous Treepie Hill Myna Jungle Myna Racquet Tailed Drongo Jungle Babbler Black Rumped Flameback Malabar Grey Hornbill Scarlet Minivet Large Cormorant Little Cormorant Woolly Necked Stork White Throated Kingfisher Scarlet Minivet Mountain Imperial Pigeon Yellow Browed Bulbul Small Sunbird Orange Headed Thrush Red Whiskered Bulbul Asian Fairy Bluebird Malabar Parakeet Malabar Trogon Jungle Crow White Cheeked Barbet Common Hawk Cuckoo (Call) Mammals include Elephant, Muntjac, Otter, Sambar, Bonnet Macaque, Nilgiri Langur, and Malabar Giant Squirrel.