One of the most sought-after wildlife sanctuaries in southern India, Periyar wildlife sanctuary lies in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta and shares its boundary with Tamilnadu. The 925 sq km area of the sanctuary is divided into core and buffer zone. The 350 sq km area of the sanctuary falls in the protected area for the tiger and declared as Periyar National Park in 1978. The sanctuary provides shelter to the beautiful lake, created during the construction of Dam in 1895. This reservoir is the only source of water for the animals.

Periyar national Park is located around the Western Ghat hills and encircled by the thickly wooded tress, water bodies, and vast grasslands. Further Periyar River flows amidst the sanctuary and enhances the beauty of park. Besides Periyar, the Azutha and the Mullayar are another two rivers that flows down the park.

The Flora of the Park
The vegetation of the sanctuary varies according to altitude. The deeper valley boasts of tropical evergreen forest with extremely thick tree cover that has reached at amazing height of 130-140 feet. The low altitude area includes marshy grass lands near the bank of lake and other water bodies. There are also some forests of semi-evergreen which are the perfect shelter to many important animals.

Fauna of the Park
Mammals
The Periyar wildlife sanctuary is the perfect home to the more than 62 different kinds of endangered mammals. Here you can find more than 50 tigers (2010) in their natural habitat. It is also the largest home to Asiatic Elephants. The number goes to 900 to 1000. Apart from tigers and Elephant, the sanctuary provides shelter to the lion-tailed macaque, the Nilgiri Langur, common langur, Bonnet Macaque, Gaur, Wild Pigs, Sambar, Barking Deer, Mouse Deer, Dole or Indian wild Dog etc and many more.

Reptiles- the Park has more than 45 species of reptiles which compromise off 30 snake, two turtle, and 13 lizards. Even you can see monitor lizard, python, and king cobra basking in the sun.

Avian life- the park includes 320 species of residential as well as migratory birds, among them Darters, Cormorants, Kingfishers, The great Malabar hornbill and racket-tailed Drongoes are commonly seen birds in the sanctuary.

Extra punch
Boat Cruise- Since Periyar wildlife sanctuary has three magnificent rivers, so the best way to explore the beauty of the park is boat cruises. Even you can go to nearby attractive places such as Cardamom Hills, Kuliy hills, Allepey and many more.