Thekkady Travel Guide: Periyar Lake, Spice Hills and Kumily

Kerala Tourism says the name Thekkady comes from thekku, the Malayalam word for teak. Kumily, on the edge of the sanctuary, is the busy plantation and market town and the main bus station of the Periyar region, while Thekkady itself is the quieter area of forest, lake and plantation around the reserve. Boat cruises, trekking programmes and rooms in the reserve are booked on Periyar Tiger Reserve's own website, which carries the Kerala Forest Department's online bookings, and watchtower reservations are made at the Forest Information Centre in Thekkady.

Periyar Lake and the boat cruise

The reserve covers 925 sq km, Kerala Tourism says, and the lake at its centre was formed in 1895 when the Mullaperiyar Dam was built across the Periyar. A boat ride on the lake is the usual way to see gaur and sambar, and the Idukki district administration adds that smooth-coated otters can be seen from the boat and that hornbills, Nilgiri langurs and bonnet macaques feed near the landing. Do not expect tigers from the water. Our Periyar boat safari books the slot through the reserve's booking system for you, with a private guide and life jackets. Wear muted colours, switch off flash and keep voices and phones down.

Walks, treks and bamboo rafting in the reserve

Kerala Tourism lists the reserve's eco-tourism programmes: a nature walk or guided day trek, the Periyar Tiger Trail for trekking and camping, border hiking, bamboo rafting, jungle patrol, night camping at the Jungle Inn, bullock cart discoveries, the Bamboo Grove eco-lodge and a Tribal Heritage Programme. Bamboo rafting glides past Periyar Lake, and border hiking follows the terrain along the reserve's borders, where gaur, sloth bear, elephants and birds are possible. The Forest Department offers these programmes, so book through the reserve itself. Nature walks, rafting and a spice plantation visit can be added to our boat safari, depending on your interests and fitness.

Spice plantations around Kumily

The air around Kumily smells of spice, Kerala Tourism says. Cardamom, the small variety, is the main crop, grown alongside cloves, nutmeg, pepper and cinnamon, and Kerala produces about 70 per cent of India's cardamom. Most hotels and travel agencies run plantation tours, which show how spices are grown, harvested and processed, and some plantations have guest houses that visitors can use with the owner's prior permission.

Vandanmedu and the cardamom auctions

Kerala Tourism calls Vandanmedu one of the world's largest cardamom auction centres, and says 12 of the world's 20 auction centres are in the Cardamom Hills of the Periyar valley. To watch an auction you need prior permission, and the centres hold theirs on different days of the week. Outside auction hours it is a place for a walk through cardamom plantations.

Murikkady, Pandikuzhi and Pullumedu

Kerala Tourism names these among the drives around Kumily. Murikkady is known for coffee, cardamom and pepper plantations in a cool climate. Pandikuzhi, between Chellarkovil and the Tamil Nadu border, is the starting point of the Chellarkovil waterfall and a favourite with photographers and trekkers. Pullumedu, "green meadows", is reached by a jeep ride along winding roads beside the Periyar. Kerala Tourism describes serpentine roads with hairpin bends around Kumily, so go in daylight.

Vagamon and Peermede

Kerala Tourism lists Gavi, Peermede and Vagamon among the places to visit from Kumily. Peermede, a hill station at about 915 metres, was a summer retreat of the Travancore rajas. Vagamon has grassy hills, pine forests and tea plantations, three hills sacred to Muslims, Hindus and Christians, and a paragliding site. Allow a day for either.

Take the lake cruise, add a guided walk or a bamboo raft, spend an afternoon on a spice plantation and, if the timing suits, watch a Kalaripayattu show: Kerala Tourism lists a Thekkady centre that stages regular performances in a kuzhi kalari, the sunken arena of the martial art. It is not a training school, and the shows are scheduled and often arranged through local resorts. Our Kalaripayattu experience covers the art form. For a slower stay, our Kerala Ayurveda Retreat spends three nights here: a consultation with the resort's physician on arrival, daily treatment on days 5 and 6, an optional boat ride on Periyar Lake between sessions, and rest as part of the programme. Every tour and experience we run here is on our Thekkady tours and experiences page.

Thekkady shares Kerala's two monsoons. IMD's normals put the dry stretch at December to March: across the state, 34.9 mm of rain falls in December, 8.4 mm in January, 14 mm in February and 32.8 mm in March. The south-west monsoon normally reaches Kerala on 1 June, and June and July bring 643 and 720 mm across the state.

The north-east monsoon brings a second wet spell. Kerala's October normal is 303 mm, more than September's 259.5 mm, and IMD's district table gives Idukki, where Thekkady lies, a normal of 302.6 mm for the first 24 days of October, the highest of any Kerala district in that table. Kerala Tourism puts temperatures at about 13 °C in December and January and about 30 °C in April and May. Monsoon rain can affect boat schedules and lake levels, so check conditions before you book. The state's rainfall pattern, month by month, is in the Kerala best-time guide.