Eravikulam National Park
Location: 15 km from Munnar.
Visiting hours: 7:00 am to 6:00 pm.
A sanctuary for the endangered mountain goat of South India, the Nilgiri Tahr ( Hemitragus hylocrious), the Eravikulam National Park stands out for the stark beauty of its rolling grasslands and sholas, spread over 97 sq km in the Rajamalai hills.
Anamudi, the highest peak (2695 m) South of the Himalayas, towers over the sanctuary in majestic pride. The slopes of the hills abound in all kinds of rare flora and fauna. The Atlas moth, the largest of its kind in the world, is a unique inhabitant of the park. Other rare species of fauna found here are the Nilgiri Langur, the Lion-tailed macaque, leopards and tigers.
An ideal place for trekking, facilities are provided here and tourists are allowed to go on foot up to Anamudi.
A protected area, the sanctuary is divided into three regions - the core area, the buffer area and the tourism area. Visitors are allowed only to the tourism area - Rajamalai - the region lying beyond the road entry into Eravikulam. Here one can observe the Nilgiri Tahr at close quarters.
Don't make this your destination for a monsoon visit because visitors are not allowed here during this season.
Getting there: Eravikulam is 15 km from Munnar.
Nearest railway stations: Kottayam, about 142 km from Munnar; Ernakulam, about 130 km from Munnar.
Nearest airports: Madurai (Tamilnadu) about 142 km; Cochin International Airport, about 150 km.
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