India: Periyar NP – Lake Periyar Cruising

Cruising Periyar National Park aka Peryar Tiger Reserve is a premier wildlife reserve in Kerala and a UNESCO World Heritage site for its unique found. Yes there are tigers here and they are seen quite often, especially during the dry since. We didn’t get so lucky in the monsoon season though. The must thing to do is the boat cruising along the shores of the Peryar Lake, with stunning views of the lake surrounded by lush evergreen forests, rolling hills, and grasslands, with opportunities to spot wildlife along the shore. We spotted elephants, wild boars with large families, samba deer, and even a large group of gaurs (Indian bison – next post). We also got lucky to spot Nilgiri Langurs – slender, leaf-eating monkeys with glossy black fur and lighter, golden-brown faces. And of course plenty of birds – cormorants, kingfishers, fish eagles, hornbills, and much more!