Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary near Idukki

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The Chinnar wildlife sanctuary near Idukki district in Kerala is at Devikulam Taluk. This place is located 60 kilometers from Munnar. The sanctuary covers a total area of 90 square kilometers. Some of the places in the sanctuary are located at a height of 500 meters above the sea level and some other areas of the sanctuary are located at an impressive height of 2400 meters above sea level. This green area in Kerala was previously known as Chinnar national park, but it was in 1984 that the national park was declared a wildlife sanctuary. The Chinnar wildlife sanctuary provides a natural habitat to a number of birds and animals. The presence of lush green trees in the entire sanctuary is well appreciated by the species living here and by the tourists also.

The Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is known for preserving Giant Grizzled Squirrel, which is an endangered species. The sanctuary has been declared protected for the Giant grizzled squirrel. Other species however, have not been given less importance and the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary provides a very conducive habitat to animals like deer, gaurs, elephants, hanuman monkey and tigers etc. Besides animals, tourists can also see some other beautiful types of reptiles such as pythons, vipers, cobras and kraits. These reptiles could be found in any part of the sanctuary. Chinnar wildlife sanctuary is also famous for some of the beautiful peacocks in the country. Tourists can have a look at this beautiful national bird of India walking down any part of the sanctuary.

Boating facility adds to the charm of this wildlife sanctuary near Idukki. Tourists find it adventurous to enjoy the boating facility being provided by the authorities of the wildlife sanctuary. Tourists have the option of enjoying a number of other adventurous sports also. Trekking and mountain climbing are some of these adventurous sports which any tourist can look forward to. It is the uneven terrain of this wildlife sanctuary which makes it possible to organize mountain climbing and trekking.

Tourists can reach Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary near Idukki by air, by rail or by road. The nearest airport is around 200 kilometers away from the sanctuary. The Cochin International Airport is at Cochin. Kottayam is the nearest railway station. Tourists can come to the sanctuary from Ernakulam and Pollachi railway stations also. The sanctuary is well connected to roads and tourists can reach the mainland sanctuary from any part of the state.

Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is accounted as one of the greenest sanctuaries in India. The big vegetation cover of the sanctuary includes dry deciduous forest, high shoals, thorny scrub forests and wet grasslands. The sanctuary is enriched by flora such as strobilanthus kunthianus, arabica, leucofolia, santalum album and elaeocarpus recurvatus. One unique experience tourists can have in the Chinnar Wildlife sanctuary is that tourists can spot animals on either side of the road. They do not have to go deep into the sanctuary to see these animals. This is not the case in most of other wildlife sanctuaries.