Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary

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Location
Situated 50 Km from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Major wildlife species
Elephant, Sambar, Barking deer, Wild boar, Tiger and Panther.

Best Time to Visit
January to May.

A Glance on Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary
The 53 sq km Peppara National Park is emerging as a hot tourist spot in Kerala. The lush green vegetation of the park supports many wildlife species. Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is built around Peppara dam on the Karamana River and was declared as a sanctuary in 1983. The park is filled with high terrains and mountains. Apart from the variety of wildlife, there are 13 tribal settlements in the park.

Attractions in the Park
Wildlife Attractions
Major attraction of Peppara National Park are elephants, sambar, leopards, lions, barking deers, wild boars, tigers, panthers, wild dogs, malabar squirrels, lion-tailed macaque, nilgiri langur, king cobras and pythons. Water birds like darter, little cormorant, pied king fisher and egrets are also common. Many kinds of snakes including the king cobra and python are also present in this sanctuary. The area has a variety of moth and butterflies.
Vegetation
Almost 60% of the forest area is covered by Southern moist mixed deciduous forests. The lower hills are filled by this kind of forests. At 1000m and above are the Southern hilltop tropical evergreen forests. This type of forest is of stunted evergreen and is generally found on the elevation on the top of hills. They are exposed to heavy wind and less favourable soil and climatic conditions. In the mid of the high hills, West coast semi-evergreen vegetation is found. A transitional zone between evergreen and moist deciduous, this type occurs mostly in hill slopes from 150 to 1050m. The riparian areas also contain them.

The Park Trip
A trip in the park can be made on a Boat ride, Jeep Safari or Elephant Safari. Boat cruise on Peppara lake is the best option to view the park.

How to reach
Air
Thiruvanantapuram International Airport is connected to almost all the major cities of India and world. Internally, one can hire taxis, buses or auto rickshaws for reaching the destination from airport.
Rail
The Trivanmdrum railway station is a major oint in South India and is therefore connected to all the major cities of India.
Road
The city has very well developed roadways connections to rest of Kerala and nearby states. Some major cities distances are: Chennai- 708 Km, Banglore- 753 Km, Mumbai- 1543 Km, Coimbatore: 413 Km and Calicut- 382 Km.

Where to stay
Vithurai on Thiruvananthapuram are the two nearest towns to the sanctuary. These cities have good options for stay, which include star rated hotels, economy and budget stay options, guest houses and government owned rest houses.