Periyar National Park, National park in Kerala, India
Periyar National Park is a protected area in Kerala, India, spanning forested hills and an artificial reservoir. The reserve sits in the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats and includes rainforest valleys, highland grasslands, and shoreline vegetation along the water body.
The forest area served as royal hunting grounds from the late 19th century and was officially designated a wildlife sanctuary in 1950. In the late 1970s, the reserve joined the nationwide tiger protection program, expanding conservation efforts for endangered big cats.
The park is often called Thekkady after the village at its edge, 4 km from Kumily. Its name comes from the Periyar River, which rises in the reserve's forests at Mlappara together with the Pamba. The surrounding land is planted with tea, cardamom and coffee, and the 1934 reserve was created to stop tea plantations encroaching on the forest around the lake.
The park lies 4 km from Kumily and Thekkady, reached from Kottayam (103 km east) or Madurai (110 km west). Temperatures range from about 15 °C in December–January to 31 °C in April–May, and two-thirds of the 2,000–3,000 mm of rain falls in the southwest monsoon from June to September. The highest point, Kottamala, reaches 2,019 m, while the Pamba valley drops to 100 m.
The reservoir was formed by a dam completed in 1895, making it among the oldest in South India. Water levels rise during monsoon season, reshaping the shoreline annually and creating new habitats for waterbirds.
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