Another excellent exploration eco-tourism programme in the Periyar National Park and Tiger Reserve involves package if hiking and rafting programme through some of the richest forest tracts of the national park. The national park is resplendent with its abundance of expensive timbers like teak, rosewood and sandalwood.
This is a shared experience with other tourists operated by Kerala Tourism Development Corporation. The Periyar Lake attracts many species of water birds and offers good potential for wildlife sightings by the fringes of the lake. The lake itself features many creeks, islets and vantage point. A few years after the building of the Mullaperiyar the Periyar Lake Reserve created from the reservoir of the dam. The waters of the lake are home to the Periyar barb, a cyprinid fish endemic to this lake, the Periyar latia, only seen in the Periyar River and the Periyar trout, endemic to Kerala. Amongst the amphibians, you can spot here are endemic species such as the bicoloured Malabar frog, the Malabar gliding frog (a type of flying rhacophorid tree frog) and the Malabar Hills fungoid frog which are only found in the Western Ghats.
Bamboo Rafting at Periyar Lake inside Periyar Tiger ReserveChance to spot birds and wild animalsScenic views
Starting from the boat landing, a mosaic of habitats will be traversed before the party gets into rafts made of bamboos. The rafting is for about three hours and one gets a panoramic view of forest-clad hills reflected on the lake. Animals like elephant, gaur and sambar may be sighted close to the edges of the Periyar Lake.
You will then take a guided trek through the forest and then back to the raft to return to your hotel. The forests are rich in birdlife and arboreal animals like the Malabar Giant squirrel and Nilgiri langur.