Periyar and the Precious Elephant Sighting

We then headed back to Kerala, slightly further south, to Kumily, and stayed at Green View, with a green view and Nilgiri langur monkeys.

And having seen a Hindu ceremony, it was time for a Keralan Catholic one

Kumily is on the edge of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, where we spent a great day with the rangers. There were 12 tourists, an armed guard, and 6 other rangers, and we started on hiking through the park then continued by bamboo raft.

Another hike, lunch, a rest, then back again, and so far the only new wildlife we had seen was a kingfisher. Slightly despondent, we return by raft, then the final hike and … finally we see an elephant … who stays for a while … then ambles off!

After all this activity, time for some downtime, so on to Backwater Farm at Cherthala, where we will end our road trip … we’re on our own from here on!

Chris & Elaine’s Indian Safari 2013

53132606-F3C6-4296-8C5C-1DD814CBEBF4My husband Chris and I decided to go away to celebrate our two big birthdays which meant we needed to be away six weeks to take them both in … and since funds aren’t unlimited, where better to go when it’s chilly in England than Southern India.

I booked the whole trip in advance with help from guidebooks, Tripadvisor, blogs and forums. Accommodation was booked direct with owners, concentrating on homestays and small accommodations with character where possible, as we wanted to know we were in India, rather than stay in an impersonal hotel room.

While away, I sent diary emails to my friends and once home, thought I could share it more widely in my first blog, to go with all the accommodation, restaurant and attraction reviews I’ve posted on Tripadviser. Hopefully this will help inspire and assist you on your Indian Safari!

Journal Entries

Delhi and the Largest Hindu Temple

Bangalore and the Eiffel Tower

Hassan and the Hoysala Temples

Mysore and the Magical Palace

Edakkal and the Candlelit Cave

Kalpetta and the Coffee Beans

Mudumalai and the Elephant’s Bottom

Coonoor and the Cheap Chuffer

Fort Kochi and Those Fishing Nets

Munnar and the Misty Views

Madurai and the Meenakshi Temple

Periyar and the Precious Elephant Sighting

Cherthala and the Beautiful Backwaters

Alleppey and the Busy Backwaters

Pariyanampetta Pooram and the 19 Elephants

Varkala and the Malabar Coast

Trivendrum and the Attukala Pongala

Map