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| Photo(c)Dr Ajay kumar Ojha |
The Eravikulam National Park is situated in the Kannan Devan Hills of the southern Western Ghats. The wildlife park with an area of 97 sq. km. can be reached via Munnar, the famed hill station of Kerala. Located in the Devikulam Taluk of Idukki district in Kerala, after reaching Munnar, one has to take the road going to Rajamala to reach this national park.
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| Photo(c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
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| Photo(c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
During the colonial days, the High Range Game Preservation Association managed the current park area as a game preserve for the erstwhile Kannan Devan Hills Produce Company. The local tribal members of Muduvan community, known for their tracking skills were employed as game watchers. They are the original inhabitants of the Kannan Devan Hills in which the national park is located. The area was taken over in 1971 by the Kerala Government and declared as a sanctuary in 1975. It was upgraded to a national park in 1978 in recognition of its unique ecological values. The planter community and the Muduvans continue their association with the protection and management of the park.
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| Photo(c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
The national park is a protected area and is divided into three regions - the core area, the buffer area and the tourism area. Visitors are allowed only to the tourism area that is in Rajamalai, the region lying beyond the road entry into Eravikulam.
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| Photo (c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
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| Photo(c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
Eco-friendly vehicles from the entrance of the park carrying the visitors and the forest personnel climb up the winding tarred road, the sprawling tea plantations on left would become more visible and so would be the panoramic view of the valley. Upon reaching the checkpoint, after alighting from the vehicle visitors are allowed inside the park only after completing the mandatory checking of the belongings. The only motorable road inside the park passes through the southern extremity inside the tourism zone (Rajamala) to the Rajamallay tea estate.
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| Photo (c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
As one keeps moving inside the park, he/she would notice sudden popping up of heads from grassy slopes or a pair of prominent horns from the edge of a rock watching your movements. These are the crowd pullers of the national park - the endangered Nilgiri Tahr. The Nilgiri Tahr is endemic to the southern Western Ghats. Once a shy animal, the Tahr over the years became less apprehensive to human presence. The fully grown male is known as a 'saddle back' and is much bigger and darker than the female and has a silvery saddle like patch on its back. Its predators include wild dog, leopard and tiger.
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| Photo (c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
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| Photo(c) Dr Ajay Kumar ojha |
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| Photo(c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
The park comprises mostly of high
altitude grasslands and with sholas (stunted group of evergreen forests) located in the valleys and folds of the park. Shrub lands are seen along the bases of the cliffs.
Standing inside the visitor zone of the park, one could spot the Anamudi peak, which is the highest (2695 m) south of the Himalayas. Turner's valley, which splits the national park roughly in half from northwest to southeast, is the deepest in the area.
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| Photo (c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
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| Photo (c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
Besides the Tahr, perhaps the crowning glory of the park area is the once-in-twelve-year flowering spectacle resulting from mass flowering of the shrub Neelakurunji (Strobilanthus Kunthianum). This phenomenon was last recorded in 2006.When it comes to faunal wealth in the park area, giving company to the Nilgiri Tahr are the rare Nilgiri marten, ruddy mongoose, small clawed otter and dusky striped squirrel. Elephants make seasonal visits to the park area.
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| Photo (c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
For birdwatcher, the park area is a dream come true. The park is home to about 120 species of birds, which include endemics like black and orange flycatcher, Nilgiri pipit, Nilgiri wood pigeon, white-bellied shortwing, Nilgiri verditer flycatcher and Kerala laughing thrush. The park remains open from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. It will remain closed during the breeding season of the Nilgiri Tahrs that usually occurs between January and March, every year.
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| Photo(c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
Eravikulam is about 13 km from Munnar. The nearest railway station is Aluva, about 120 km from Munnar and Ernakulam, about 130 km from Munnar. Madurai, about 142 km and Cochin International Airport, about 150 km.
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| Photo (c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha |
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