KUMAAR HOLIDAYS
NO. 42, Chowdary Nagar Main Road,
Valasaravakkam, Chennai-600087
Cell: 78109 86933 / 78108 96933 / 93810 61000
E-mail: kumaarholidays1@gmail.com
Website: www.kumaarholidays.com
Eravikulam National Park is a 97 km² national park located along
the Western Ghats in the Idukki district of Kerala in India, between 10º05'N -
10º20'N latitude and 77º0'E - 77º10'E longitude. See:map
Eravikulam National Park is administered by the Kerala Department of Forests
and Wildlife, Munnar Wildlife Division.
Geography:
The main body of the park consists of a high rolling hill plateau
with a base elevation of about 2,000 m. The terrain
consists of high altitude grasslands interspersed with sholas. Anamudi
(2695 m, the highest peak in India south of the Himalayas
is inside this park. Many perennial streams criss-cross the park. They merge to
form tributaries of the Periyar river and Chalakudiyar
River on the west and the east flowing Cauvery
River in Tamil Nadu. See:
Lakkom Water falls is in this
region.
Flora
Three major types of plant
communities are found in the Park - grasslands, shrublands and forests. The
terrain above 2000m is covered primarily by grasslands. However, there are
numerous small patches of forests in hollows and gullies in these areas. The
deeper valleys are extensively forested. Shrublands predominate along the bases
of the cliffs and interspersed in rocky slab areas. The antibacterial Eupatorium glandulosum is found here.
Fauna:
Twenty six species of mammals have been recorded in the park including the largest
surviving population of Nilgiri Tahr,
estimated at about 750 in number. The other ungulates are
Gaur, Indian
Muntjac and Sambar Deer. Golden
Jackal, Jungle
Cat, Wild dog,
Dhole, leopard and tiger are the main
predators. Some little known animals such as Nilgiri
langur, Stripe-necked Mongoose, Indian
Porcupine, Nilgiri Marten, small clawed otter, Ruddy
Mongoose, and Dusky palm squirrel are also found.
Elephants
make seasonal visits.
132 species of birds have been recorded which include endemics like Black-and-orange Flycatcher, Nilgiri
Pipit, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, White Bellied Shortwing, Nilgiri Verditer Flycatcher and Kerala Laughingthrush.
Endemic butterflies confined to the shola-grass land ecosystem like the Red
Disk Bushbrown and Palni Four wing are among the
101 species in the park.
19 species of amphibians have been recorded in the park.
New species of frog found
A new bright reddish-orange-coloured frog with multiple glands and extremely
short limbs has been discovered in the Eravikulam National Park. The newly
discovered species is restricted to less than three km2 on the peak
of Anamudi and
deserves immediate conservation priority, scientists S.D. Biju of Delhi
University and Franky Bossuyt of the Free University of Brussels said in Current
Science. The frog has been assigned the name Raorchestes resplendens.
This frog, as compared to all other members of the genus, has multiple
prominent glandular swellings: laterally behind the eyes, on the side of the
dorsum, on the anterior side of the vent, on the dorsal side of the forearms
and shanks, and on the posterior side of tarsus and metatarsus. Additional
distinguishing characteristics include the colour of the iris (which is bright
red), and extremely short leg
Visitor
Information
Trekking route in Eravikulam
National Park:
Private vehicles are not allowed
within the park. You can park your vehicle in the parking area by paying a
nominal fee and enter the buses. Six mini-buses are operated by park staff as
part of the visitor-management programme as well as a pollution-control
measure.
In peak season, there are long
queues for getting the buses in Eravikulam national Park.
So you should reach at least before 830 AM for a comfortable journey to the
park. Tickets are issued till 430 PM. INR 65 is charged per head as an entry
fee for Indian nationals. Foreign nationals are charged INR 245 per head. Of
this amount, INR 75 goes towards the mini-bus. The remaining amount helps the
park infrastructure.
The mini-bus takes you on a 30 min.
ride up the hills along a scenic view. The bus ride ends at a small photo
gallery, a store and has passenger conveniences. From there, visitors are
encouraged to take a short trek of around 1.3 km (25-30 min.) to a vantage
point. The trek has splendid views of the nearby hills and lets you observe the
steep face of the mountain. Once you are back from the trek, return buses take
you down the hill to the park entrance.
Littering is banned inside the park.
A well formed security wing is working to protect the park day and night. The
park is accessible from Kochi (Kerala) and Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu)
airports, which are located at about 148 km and 175 km respectively. Munnar is the
nearest town (13 km), well connected by roads from Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The nearest railway station is Aluva in Kerala (120 km from Munnar) and Coimbatore
in Tamil Nadu (165 km.)
NATURE
Just Ahead
KUMAAR HOLIDAYS
NO. 42, Chowdary Nagar Main Road,
Valasaravakkam, Chennai-600087
Cell: 78109 86933 / 78108 96933 / 93810 61000
E-mail: kumaarholidays1@gmail.com
Website: www.kumaarholidays.com
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