WindHaven Resort Tour Packages: Tourist Attractions

 

Ramakkal the newly discovered hill station of Kerala, the God’s Own Country, is located in the spice district called Idukki in Kerala, India.

Ramakkal-is the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and located centrally between the famous tourist attractions of kerala such as Periyar Tiger Forest of Tekkady, Munnar hill station, Kuttikanam and Parunthumpara and many more wild life attractions and spice farms.

 

Ramakkal-is approximately 45kilometres from Tekkady and 77 kilometers from Munnar. The nearest airport is Kochi (Cochin) international airport and all major air lines have services to this air port, the distance is about 190 kilometers. The nearest Railway station is Kottayam and is just about 140 kilometers away. The famous Kumarakam tourist spot is just 157 kilometers and the beautiful back water cruise and the beaches of Alleppuzha is about 185 kilometrs.

The history of name Ramakkal

 

Ram is the name of Hindu God and he is the re-incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Kal is a Malayalam(the language of Kerala) word for rock and Medu means land with hills and rocks. The locals believes that Lord Ram was in this place when he was searching his wife Sita who was abducted by Ravan the king of Lanka as illustrated in Ramayan. Lord Ram had set his foot on the tallest rock to search Sita and the rock was named as RAMAKKAL and the place was later named as Ramakkal.

Ramakkal gives a very large view of about seven small townships and adjoining fields surrounded by mountains in Tamil Nadu.
 

The Sun rises on the eastern hills and sets at the western mountains and the beauty of sunrise and sunset through the mountains surrounded by green forest is an unique view that can be experienced only at Ramakkal.
 

At night the view of the townships gives you a feeling that there is festival of lights in the forest. The place is a safe haven for a number of birds that will put you asleep in the night with their beautiful songs and their chirping songs will wake you up in the morning to start a beautiful day at Ramakkal.


A few small wild animals are seen occasionally at the hills and a large number of harmless wild animals can be seen in the trekking routes of Ramakkal.

The Wind Factor

Ramakkal-is an unique place to experience the wind effect. The wind gusts into the hills and recorded as maximum in Asia. The average wind speed is about 25 km/hour. Thousands of tourists from all over the world visits this place daily to feel light with the winds. It is very difficult to explain the wonderful effect of winds that fondles you on the hills. One must experience that feeling at Ranakkalmedu. Sometimes you have to seek shelter from the winds when you are about to fly with the winds. It’s an ideal place for paragliding.

The landscape, mountains and ravines have so much beauty and greenery that sooths your eyes. The panoramic view from the Ramakkal mount or the Kuravan mount must be felt to experience this beautiful hill station.

It’s still beholds the virginity of the mountains and forest as there is not much encroachments by the humans other than the few settlers who came just after the formation of the State.

Weather, except in monsoon ( June,July & August) and winter (November, December & January) it’s very pleasant with bright sunshine. Being high altitude and with gusting winds it is like heaven.. During Monsoon, it is mostly raining with strong winds and evenings are colder. Trecking becomes more adventurous and rain gives the forest and mountain more colour and beauty, it’s really marvelous to see the rain (probably to have a rain dance) on the mountains of Ramakkal. From November to February it’s like a paradise with beautiful sunshine.

The altitude of Ramakkal is about 3560 feet from the sea level and about 1500 feet from the plain of land adjoining the mountains in Tamil Nadu.

District Tourism Promotion council have some facilities on top of the mountain but yet to open for the public. You may stay in Tekkady or Munnar to Visit this beautiful hill station.

 

Read more about Ramakkal Visit Ramakkal Website

 

 

Periyar is a protected area, and a Project Tiger nature reserve in the South Indian State of Kerala, set high in the mountains of the Western Ghats at the border to Tamil Nadu. It lies in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta. The protected area covers an area of 777 km², out of which a 350 km² part of the core zone was made into the Periyar National Park and Tiger Reserve, sometimes dubbed the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. The park is often called by the name thekkady also. Thekkady is located four km from Kumily, approximately 100 km east of Alappuzha, 110 km west of Madurai and 120 km southeast from Kochi.

The Periyar protected area lies in the middle of a mountainous area of the Cardamom Hills. In the north and the east it is bounded by mountain ridges of over 1700 metres altitude and toward the west it expands into a 1200 Meter high plateau. From this level the altitude drops steeply to the deepest point of the reserve, the 100 Meter valley of the Pamba River. The highest peak is the 2019 Meter high Kottamalai.

The sanctuary surrounds picturesque 26 km² Periyar lake, formed by the building of Mullaperiyar Dam in 1895. This reservoir and the Periyar River meander around the contours of the wooded hills, providing a permanent source of water for the local wildlife.
The temperatures vary depending upon the altitude and it ranges between 15° Celsius in December and January and 31° Celsius in April and May. The annual amount of precipitation lies between 2000 and 3000 mm. About two thirds of the precipitation occurs during the southwest monsoon between June to September. A smaller amount of precipitation occurs during the northeast monsoon between October and December.
Approximately 75% of the entire protected area are covered of unaffected evergreen or semi-evergreen rain forest. There typically tall tropical tree species such as Vateria indica, Cullenia exarillata, Hopea parviflora, Canarium strictum, Artocarpus hirsutus and Bischofia javanica are seen. They reach heights of 40 to 50 Metres.

Scarcely 13% consists of damp leaves forest, 7% of Eucalyptus plantation and 1.5% of grassland. The remainder (around 3.5%) of the protected area is covered by the Periyar artificial lake as well as the Periyar River and Pamba rivers.

Altogether the reservation counts nearly 2000 kinds of flowering plants (Angiosperms), three kinds of seed plants (gymnosperms) and 170 different species of ferns. Among the Angiosperms, there are 169 families of sweet grasses and 155 kinds of Fabaceae. Orchids, with 145 representative types, are the most frequent flower.

About 350 of the occurring plant types can be used for medical purposes.

Mammals

Altogether 62 different kinds of mammal have been recorded in Periyar, including many threatened ones. There are an estimated 24 tigers in the reserve. Tourists also come here to view the Indian elephants in the act of ablution and playfulness by the Periyar lake. The elephant number around 900 to 1000 individuals. Other mammals found here include gaur, sambar (horse deer), barking deer, mouse deer, Dholes (Indian wild dogs), mongoose, foxes and leopards. Also inhabiting the park, though rarely seen, are the elusive Nilgiri tahr.

Four species of primates are found at Periyar - the rare lion-tailed macaque, the Nilgiri Langur, the common langur, and the Bonnet Macaque.

Birds

So far 320 different kinds have been counted in Periyar. The bird life includes darters, cormorants, kingfishers, the great Malabar hornbill and racket-tailed Drongos.

Reptiles

There are 45 different kinds of reptile in the protected area out of which there are 30 snake, two turtle, and 13 lizard species. Among those are Monitor lizards that can be spotted basking in the sun on the rocks along the lake shore. Visitors who trek into the Periyar national park often see a Python and sometimes even a King Cobra.

Amphibians

Twenty seven different kinds have been recorded, of which ten are endemic to the Western Ghats.

Fish

In the waters of the protected area 38 different fish types live, of which four are endemic to the Western Ghats. In artificial lake there are two introduced species : the tilapia originally from Africa and the carps introduced from Europe .

Insects

There is a remarkable variety of butterflies and there are about 160 different kinds in total. Some are dangerous enough to make a human seriously ill
Periyar Tiger Reserve

Periyar Tiger Reserve is one of the 27 tiger reserves in India.

Periyar Tiger Reserve is located in the Western Ghats in Idukki District of the Kerala state in India. The terrain of the Reserve is undulating and the drainage is dendrite. North-eastern boundary of the Reserve is a ridge, which also forms boundary between Kerala and Tamil Nadu states for 90 km.

Its a must to go for Jungle Trek during your visit to the Periyar National Park. There are different kind of options available for the Jungle Trek. There are options available for the short trek of 4 hours starting in morning and afternoon. One can also trek with the night patrol with the forest guard through the jungle, when there are better chances of spotting wildlife from up close.

During the trek the flora and fauna can be experienced at close quarters and if one is lucky enough there are chances to sight the bigger animals of the cat family.

Thekkady

Thekkady (Idukki district) is the location of the Periyar National Park, which is an important tourist attraction in the Kerala state of India.
 
Situated close to the Kerala -Tamil Nadu border town of Kumily, it is located about 257 km (160 miles) from Trivandrum, 114 km from Madurai Airport, 185 km from Cochin International Airport and 114 km from Kottayam railway station. The sanctuary is famous for its dense evergreen, semi-evergreen, moist deciduous forests and savanna grass lands. It is home to herds of elephants, sambar, tigers, gaur, lion-tailed Macaques and Nilgiri Langurs.

The Periyar Wildlife sanctuary is spread across 777 km² (300 sq. miles), of which 360 km² (139 sq. miles) is thick evergreen forest. The Periyar Wild Life Sanctuary was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1978. The splendid artificial lake formed by the Mullaperiyar Dam across the Periyar River adds to the charm of the park. The greatest attraction of Periyar are the herds of wild elephants that come down to play in the lake.

Thekkady is considered a heaven for natural spices such as black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon and clove.
 
Periyar wildlife sanctuary

The sanctuary is spread over an area of about 777sqkm and comprises of a thick evergreen forest with exotic wild life. The sanctuary was declared a tiger reserve sometime in 1978. It has an artificial lake formed by the Mullai Periyar Dam, built across the Periyar river[1].

Murikkady

This place consists of spice and coffee plantations. It is about 5 km from Thekkady.

Chellar Kovil

This is located about 15km from Kumily and leads to the Cumbum district of Tamil Nadu. This place has a lot of waterfalls and cascades.

Mangala Devi Temlple

It is situated about 15km from Thekkady and sits at an altitude of 1337m above the sea level. It is only open during the Chitra Pournami festival.

The Tree House New Tree House with Deluxe Facilities Available.