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-   -   A night at the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/167136-night-parambikulam-tiger-reserve-2.html)

Just incase anybody is interested in birds..

The owl was the Jungle Owlet, and
the dark blue bird was the Malabar Whistling Thrush.

It is because of Elephants and Leaches. In my view, Terrain is not an issue

Two days after this trip, I have to return back to Kerala from Bangalore and I am from Ernakulam.I took the route via Bandipur. It was almost 6:00 Pm by the time I reached Bandipur Forest office and safari was already closed by then. The open land around the counter was filled up with spotted deer, Langurs, macaques and wild boars. I can still see spotted deer coming from distant forest to this area. If you happened to be there at by 8:00 Pm or later, it will be filled with spotted deer, Sambars and some elephants which I have experienced some time back






I had a walk across the open land and there is a police station. At one side of the Police station, there are some vehicles that met with accident. Mostly those vehicles might have hit animals during Night drive which was allowed earlier. Now this route will be closed by 6:30 Pm. Among that, one is a Maruti 800 (The model came after S80 ) which was almost damaged due to accident impact and remaining is done by rust.


Another one took my attention was a unusual looking Jeep. It has the side body similar to the shape of a Nissan Patrol, but chassis looks like Mahindra. The engine is 6 cylinders Perkins diesel. Compared to the body, the engine is in better condition. I was a bit amazed to see this 6 cylinder diesel engine in a Jeep. The firing order written in the engine is still visible. If anybody knows details about this vehicle, please update





Firing Order visible in the Picture


It was almost getting late when I started from there. Occasionally I met some Bisons and wild Elephants on the road side, Since I was only person in the car and not being very good at taking Photos at low light, there are only few clicks.

Beautiful set of snaps Arun, hope you enjoyed the stay. Parambikulam is in my radar for a long time but somehow I keep skipping (or it is getting skipped) for various reasons. September 19th weekend we (friends & colleagues) plan for a outing and I'm adding this place to our list, let's see if everyone agrees. I'll PM you for some help regarding Stay.

Nice travelogue Arunraj :thumbs up

I am planning a family trip to this place sometime within next month and have few questions

1. I am from Ekm. What is the best route from here?
2. I checked their website and can see multiple accommodation options. I have short listed Treetop Hut and Honey Comb complex. The rates are a bit confusing. They have different rates for Weekdays and holidays. Is the rate given per head or per room and what would be the best option while travelling with family.
3. Is bamboo rafting safe with a kid?

thanks in advance.

From Ernakulam, The best route is

Ernakulam---Ankamaly---Chalakkudy----Pollachi----Sethimadai----Aanapady(Parambikulam)


If you like scenic drive with hair Pins (41 I guess), forest,Tea estates, Wild animals, Then take below route. Suggest to take it for your return trip since this is a long route and takes time. Night driving is not allowed here I guess after 6:00 Pm since the checkpost will close at Malakkapara because of animals. I have came across Leopards, Elephants, Bisons, Deers,Sambars, wild dogs etc in this route. But most of these sighting happens during evenings or early mornings.This stretch of road, Malakkapara to Athirapilly used to show in some of Auto shows/Reviews in Malayalam channel. It was shown recently in triumph/Maserati review. I forgot the channel name

Parambikkulam-----Sethumadai--------Vaalpara------------Malakkappara--------Chalakkudy------Ankamaly (This comes via Athirapilly/Vazhachal falls route)

There was one occasion I got blocked by elephants almost 15 minutes and it was night 7:00 Pm. That day, I crossed the checkpost just before 6:00 Pm and my car got punctured in the middle. It was a new car (A wagon R, the first car in my family) just brought. I was not aware of where is the spare Tyre was kept, how to take it and I am in the middle of a forest with not torch or light. Luckily one Qualis taxi came across and that driver helped me to change the Tyre with the help of his headlight.


The number of persons allowed and rates depends on the type of the stay. Tree top/Tent is for two and island is for four. I am not sure about other stays. Please try calling the number provided and unlike calling other government offices, I find they are very helpful.

Please refer google maps for distance. Rafting is safe for kids

No on line booking as far as I know, but you can call them to book your room. While booking the room they will provide you with the details of their bank account, etc (SBI, anaimalai) to make the payment in advance. Forget not to take a print out of the payment details while visiting the park. Very friendly forest officers and the guides.

In one of my visits to Parambikulam, I was able to convince the guide to take me on a trek for almost 4 km one way and the trek still lingers in my mind for that eerie feeling.

2. In my personal experience, for a family with kids, Niche Tent is the best option. In fact, kids will enjoy Deers, Gaurs, and Peacocks relaxing next to the tent! Please avoid Honey Comb as you may not be able to enjoy the real forest experience as it is near Parambikulam Round bustling with activities. And the rate is for two per day per room and for kids, additional charges apply.

But one good advantage of staying in a tree top hut is that the occupant gets to visit the Kannimara Teak early in the morning before the place gets inundated with flock of regular tourists.

3. Bamboo rafting is very safe!

Thank for the amazing pictures. I am based in Kochi, moved here recently.
I was looking for places for weekend getaways and this seems like a great place to visit. Nothing can beat the lush greenery during and just after the monsoons. The places do come alive.
Are there any good recommended restaurants along the way to catch a bite, if going with the wife and kids- looking for the so called 'family' restaurant :-)?
Cheerio.

Pollachi there are some since its big town, Once you cross that, rest are small town and Villages. But you find OK type for a place like that, But nothing of the type, if you are looking something like in City.

Lovely pictures, I'd suggest if you could get your hands on Tamron 70-300 VCD, go for it.. My go to lens for long shots, it captures colors more vibrantly than Nikon :)

Thats a Nissan Jonga, Sorry state of the vehicle :eek:

Somehow I am not getting that satisfaction in Nikon since I moved from Canon to Nikon.But I can't tell what I am missing in Nikon, may be I am more used to Canon. Anyway I already sold my gears. Planning for canon 6D Paired with 150-600 (Preferably Sigma over Tamron). Any suggestion pls for body or Lens ?


Considered 5D mark3 because of Monstrous 50M Resolution which might be useful in birding, but from price point, it's above my reach and not being a professional in this field and not planning to generate any money with that, I thought I don't need 5d.

I'm a Nikon person.. Graduated to full frame Nikon 610 Fx body. On the lens part, I'm quite happy with Tamron lens, than Sigma..

I'm really sorry I cannot be of help on the Cannon part, but I suppose a full frame should satisfy you as a wildlife enthusiast.

Stayed for a day in Honeycomb, Parambikulam Tiger Reserve with family on 16th Oct 2015. Since it was a working day, not much crowd. Spotted lot of bisons, monkeys and deer. Could see elephants only from a long distance other side of the reservoir. Tribal dance was cancelled as they need at least 5 rooms to be booked. Bamboo rafting, dams and old teak tree visit was good. Roads were pretty bad inside the parambikulam range.

HI Arunraj,
I have booked Honeycomb for Nov 7th. When searching google maps, I can see a diversion after Kollengode which goes via Chemmanampathy to Sethumadai and do not touch Pollachi. Any idea how good this route is?

How did I miss this thread.

Arun I am planning for trip to Parambikulam. Most likely this weekend.
We should be a group of 10, I am trying to get accommodation there through an aunt of mine who is working with Govt of Kerala.

Can you please let me know of the preps needed from our end, and also must dos and donts there.

My bro in law is a photographer (of course I am not a camera geek), which has multiple lenses so I think that should be covered.

Please help.

And this is one beautiful travelogue and tempting with some brilliant pics. We come from the cochin side, so I assume we need to take a turn from Wadakkanchery right ?