Into the Wild

We were up bright and early to head into Periyar National Park in the hope that we would see some animals and a few of the 300 plus birds who call this place home.

As the sun came up we spotted a couple of shadows in the trees – elephants, sadly the only sighting to be had all day of these elusive creatures.

We crossed the man-made lake on a bamboo raft, partly submerged even before it took our weight. Miraculously all 12 of us made it to the other side. We had our doubts.

On the bird front we saw everything from kingfishers diving for food to numerous water birds – herons, egrets and even an eagle. We were lucky to see a pack of wild dogs, their bright red coats and black-tipped tails standing out against the bright green grass as the sun came up.

We saw langurs and a couple of giant squirrels high up in the trees. Our guide was really good at spotting them. He also told us that after 5 years in the park he had only seen a tiger twice. There are only about 40 left now so the chances of seeing them were never going to be good.

We were surprised at just how many people were visiting the park. It’s one of the few places we’ve seen that seems to be rubbish-free. It’s also one of the few places we’ve seen where there are lots of other tourists, the drawcard being the national park and its inhabitants.

We finished the day with a cooking class with lots of laughter and a great meal.Read more