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Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary

Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the outskirts of Kerala capital city on Indian Western Ghats. Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary comprises of the catchments of Peppara Dam on Karamana River close to Thiruvananthapuram, India. This sanctuary is quite interesting because of the presence of dam site, thick and dense forest zones, eucalyptus plantations, rocky terrain, crystal clear streams. All these together pose an amazing adventure destination for travelers. Thousands of visitors throng this place during season times. The soothing greenery of this location chills the minds of people who are in need of mood change. The forest region of Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary lies between the longitudes 76°40’ and 77°17’ east and latitude 80°7’ and 8°53’ north.

History

Peppara Dam got commissioned in 1983 to satisfy the drinking water requirement of the people of Thiruvananthapuram city along with its suburban areas. With increased focus on its ecological importance, it got the status of sanctuary in 1983. Earlier, this region was a part of Paruthippally range of Thiruvananthapuram Territorial Division. The entire region of forests comprises of part of Palode reserve (9.3 sq miles or 24 square kilometers) together with portion of Kottoor reserve (11 sq miles or 29 kilometers). The total area of water spread of this reservoir is about 2.25 sq miles or 5.82 square kilometers. In the recent years, a combined action has been executed by Kerala Water Authority, Kerala Tourism and State Forest Department to clean up the dam area and establish more leisure facilities and entertainment facilities in this zone. Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is located on Thiruvananthapuram-Ponmudi Road, exactly 50 kilometer northeast of the Thiruvananthapuram. The area of Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is slightly hilly with good elevations ranging between 330 feet (100 metres) and 5,633 feet (1,717 metres). Few of the major peaks present in Peppara Sanctuary are Nachiyadikunna (957 m), Koviltherimalai (1313 m), Arumukhamkunnu (1457 m), Athirumalai (1594 m) and Chemmunjimottai (1717 m). This region receives average rainfall of about 98 inches (2,500 millimeters). Major rivers like Karamana River along with its tributaries flow through this sanctuary. The various forest types present in this region include sub-montane hill valley swamp forest, Myristica swamp forest, southern moist mixed deciduous forest, west cast semi-evergreen, southern hill top tropical evergreen and west coast tropical evergreen etc. The vegetation include Pioneer euphorbiaceous scrub, moist bamboo brakes, southern secondary moist mixed deciduous forest, Riparian forest, grasslands, ochlandra reed brakes and Bentinckia condapanna brakes. A strong health indicator of any ecosystem is its diversity of Flora and Fauna. About 53 square kilometer of Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary lies in continuation with Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary towards southeast direction, the western region of the sanctuary is comprised of Agasthyavanam Biological Park and eastern part is decorated by Kalakkad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. With such a geographical richness, Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary serves as ideal destination for various amazing species of wildlife.

Climate and Best Time to Visit

The ideal time to visit Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is between the months of January and March. September to June is also advisable.

How to Reach

By Air

The nearest airport is at Thiruvananthapuram which is about 49 kilometers or 30 miles from Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary. Regular and frequent buses are available from Thiruvananthapuram airport to Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary.

By Rail

The Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is about 27 miles (44 km) from Thiruvananthapuram, the nearest railway station.

By Road

The place is conveniently and easily reachable from Vithurai on the Thiruvananthapuram –Ponmudi road.

Wildlife

Flora

Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is well known for its homogeneity and bio-diversity of beautiful flora. Diverse vegetation takes place in this region. The type of plantation depends on alleviation of soil. Southern moist and mixed deciduous forest is known to be the major vegetation found in this reserve. The most common flora found in Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary include Alstonia scholaris, Albizzia procera, Lagerstroemia lanceolata, Syzyguium cummini, Bombax ceiba, Hopea parviflora, Mesua ferrea, Palaquium ellipticum, Pterocarpus marsupium, T. bellerica, Terminalia paniculata etc.

Fauna

Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary has very rich population of wide mammalian fauna. The population of fauna includes both carnivores and herbivores. This sanctuary is emerging to be one among the biggest attraction among wildlife enthusiasts and also ornithologists. The sanctuary is reported to possess 27 species of beautiful fishes, 13 species of interesting amphibians, 46 species of curious reptiles, 233 species of amazing birds and 43 species of exciting mammals. The most commonly spotted mammals include Nilgiri Tahr, Nilgiri Langur, Bonnet Macaque, Sambar (deer), Elephant, Sloth Bear, Leopard, lion-tailed macaque, cormorant and Tiger etc. Among the major 13 species of attention-grabbing amphibians, the most common are Malabar tree frog, Indian tree frog, Jerdon’s bull frog, Indian bull frog, common Indian toad etc. Among the exciting species of fishes, there are Eel, Cat fish, Silver fish, Tilopia, Filament barb etc.

Avifauna

Among the 233 species of interesting birds in Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, the important sightings are Kerala laughing thrush, Black & Orange flycatcher, Nilgiri wood pigeon, Tiger bittern, Grey headed fishing owl, Forest eagle owl, Red winged crested cuckoo, Three toed kingfisher, Black rumped flameback, Painted bush quail and many more.

Activities To Do

The special activity in Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is to trek into the forest area. Special locations include Kalarkad waterfalls, Vazahuvanthole waterfalls and a casual visit to nearby settlement areas.