Athirappilly Waterfalls (22-Feb-2015)

Well I hope I was born to visit this place :D...To be frank I 've been here so many times right from my childhood. I made a solo motorcycle tour to this place because I lost all the earlier photographs. Anyway about Athirappilly, its a great place to visit. Athirappilly waterfall lies in the Vazhachal forest division, Thrissur district. It is the largest and most beautiful waterfalls in Kerala so it is nicknamed "the Niagra of India". This waterfall is in Chalakudy river. There has been numerous film songs shot here because of the scenery, like for eg:- Annakkilli song from the movie "Four the People". This is one of the highest rated scenic places in Kerala.

One of the most ridiculous things here is the ticket counter. Its located almost half a kilometer away from the entrance. I parked the vehicle and came to the entrance and they said "go get the ticket". I asked "where is the counter?" they said "here only, just on the downside". I walked and walked and I kept on asking people as I walked, "where the hell is the counter?" they all kept pointing to a place. Then I started running because it was almost the closing time and I asked them "why the hell is this counter so far away from the entrance?" and they asked me a question "didn't these people tell you to stop and take the ticket here?"..I said "*&%#$^"..Frankly speaking the counter should have been much much nearer. Hope they 'll rectify this problem soon........

This place is also a must to visit place in Kerala........

Its dangerous if you get in the water. Please don't do that.......

And remember guys when you are taking photo at the bottom of waterfall be very careful with the water mist flying around. This will deposit on your camera lens and will make the photo look like watercolour or water ever it is. Please cover your camera lens and only expose during the exposure. Covering with hand works well. If you got better ideas use it. Well that experience of mine will tell you that I 've been here so many times :D........

My route map:

And some snaps:

Chimmini dam/wildlife sanctuary (08-Feb-2015)

This was my solo motorcycle tour to Chimmini dam/wildlife sanctuary. Well there is only dam here to see and regarding trekking programs you 'll need to contact the authorities, I even doubt whether there are any trekking programs available. Here you have nothing much to see other than the scenery behind the dam. The river and the mountains offer a good enough sight. It lies to the west of Parambikulam tiger reserve (which is a must to visit place).

My route map:

Here are few pictures:

Periyar Tiger Reserve (18-Jan-2015)

If you ask a keralite whether Thekkady is one of the most beautiful places in Kerala? They will probably say there is only boating in Thekkady. A usual answer you are probably going to get.

Thekkady is the entrance to one of the best wildlife sanctuaries in our country and in fact one of the best in the world  "the Periyar Tiger Reserve". While boating you see the glimpses of reserve but what lies inside is the real beauty. This place is a must to visit place. If you don't then you are probably missing something really special the nature has to offer.

To reach Periyar Tiger Reserve you 'll need to reach Kumily first. Being a high range Kumily is slightly cooler so do have your winter gear especially if your are sensitive to cold. The nights get really cold here. Best time to visit would be from November to March.

Staying in the reserve is extremely expensive you would find it much cheaper outside. We had food from Mama's restaurant its good food there.

Consolidation of Periyar as a wildlife sanctuary was in 1950 and in 1978 it was declared as a tiger reserve.

There are plenty of programs in the reserve for you:

1. Nature walk,

2. Green walk,

3. Cloud walk,

4. Border trekking,

5. Bamboo rafting (half/full day),

6. Bamboo grove,

7. Pugmark trail,

8. Jungle inn,

9. Jungle scout,

10. Tiger trail (1 night & 2 days / 2 nights & 3 days),

11. Tribal dance.

When we reached, almost all the programs were booked except for nature walk, green walk & pugmark trail. So we opted for nature walk.
Note: Please book your program via phone in advance to get the program you want, most of time almost all the programs will be booked.

Animals and birds in the resereve:

1. Around 50+ tigers are present as of the date, 

2. A lot of elephants,
3. wild pig, 

4. Indian giant squirrel, 

5. Travancore flying squirrel, 

6. gaur, 

7. sambar, 

8. jungle cat, 

9. sloth bear, 

10. Nilgiri tahr, 

11. lion tailed macaque, 

12. Nilgiri langur, 

13. Salim Ali's fruit bat, 

14. stripe necked mangoose, 

15. Nilgiri marten, 

About 265 species of birds can be seen in the park, including migrants. 

Endemic birds include the,

16. Malabar grey hornbill, 

17. Nilgiri wood pigeon, 

18. blue-winged parakeet, 

19. Nilgiri flycatcher, 

20. crimson-backed sunbird, 

21. and white-bellied blue flycatcher. 

Other birds include the 

22. black baza, 

23. spot-bellied eagle-owl, 

24. Nilgiri thrush, 

25. little spiderhunter, 

26. rufous-bellied hawk-eagle, 

27. brahminy kite, 

28. great hornbill, 

29. Sri Lanka frogmouth, 

30. Oriental darter, 

31. and black-necked stork,

Reptiles include the

32. king cobra,
33. Malabar pit viper, and
34. striped coral snake.
35. caecilians,
36. Malabar gliding frog,
37. Asian toad,
38. fungoid frog, and
39. bicolored frog,

fishes include the

40. Periyar trout,
41. Periyar latia,
42. Periyar barb,
43. channa barb, and
44. Travancore loach.

Insects including the

45. lime butterfly,
46. Malabar tree nymph, and
47. Travancore evening brown, and
48. many kinds of moths, such as the Atlas moth.

In 2014 India is having the highest number of tigers in the world, about 2200+ tigers yeah woooo.........
Although Periyar tiger reserve is not the tiger reserve with highest population of tigers but........
Periyar Tiger Reserve is listed among the world’s top 100 Green destinations

Link below:

http://www.bignewslive.in/periyar-tiger-reserve-listed-in-worlds-top-100-green-destinations/#.VMexY2iUeSo


During January 2015 The Periyar Tiger Reserve won the NTCA/National Tiger Conservation Authority biennial award for encouragement of local participation in handling and managing the reserve.
Last year, Periyar tiger reserve has highest monetary income in india followed by Kanha and Corbett. I can definitely understand why............................

Note: Please be very careful with elephants and don't go close to them under any circumstance. They can outrun you, oh yeah they are faster than humans. It is the elephants here that you need to be more careful than the tigers.

Here are the pics from our nature walk:

Entrance to boat landing

a bonnet macaque, these guys are big trouble

 A bamboo raft which we needed to cross the lake

 While on the raft

While starting our nature walk

 An elephant's footprint few days old

 Tiger pugmark few weeks old

 Going into the bush

 spotted elephants

 A mother with her baby

 our guide Babu

 An old remains of a tiger kill, Bison horns.

Nilgiri Langur

This motorcycle tour was the best I have done till now.