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Periyar Tiger Reserve homestay accommodation, India

country:India
location:Periyar tiger reserve, Kerala 
price:From £40 per room per night (on bed & breakfast basis for a couple)
vouchers:Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday
 
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description
Set against the backdrop of the misty mountains of Kurushumala, the lush meadows of Periyar nearby and the calm village ambience make this a great base from which to explore the beautiful area of Periyar. The homestay is ideally located less than a kilometer from Kumily town, the spice garden of India and borders the famed forest of Periyar Tiger Reserve.

The rooms are well appointed and equipped with modern facilities. There are additional facilities like internet access, doctor on call and guided day tour programs in and around Periyar. Periyar is known worldwide for the Periyar Tiger Reserve which is spread over an area of 777 square kilometers and home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. If you are a nature lover you can either do a nature walk or go boating in the reserve, which is a great opportunity to spot the wild gaur, the elephants, the Malabar giant squirrel, the Sambar deer, the spotted deer or even the tiger.
special things to do and see here
The Mannan Tribal Visit: Mannan Tribes are only found in this part of the world. The program includes walk through the plantations, visit the tribal huts and the tribal museum visit.

Bamboo Rafting: Bamboo Rafting is a day long activity which involves trekking through the Tiger Reserve and rafting on the traditional tribal raft. Great opportunity for wildlife sighting.

Forest Trekking: Bamboo Rafting is a day long activity which involves trekking through the Tiger Reserve and rafting on the traditional tribal raft. Great opportunity for wildlife sighting.

Wildlife near Periyar Lake: Periyar Tiger Reserve has an area of 777 sq. km of forest. The Activities in the reserve give you a great chance to encounter the wildlife.

Boating at the Periyar Lake: The forest department organizes boating at the Periyar Lake. The program is two hours and is a leisurely way of exploring the forest.

Cloud Walk: Three hour trek to the Kurushumala hills, right behide the homestay, guided by the tribal guides. This also involves trek through the forest and tribal village visit.

Plantation Visit: Kumily is known as the 'Spice Garden of India' - ideal place for a plantation visit. The spice plantation visit is a guided walk through local plantation with a naturalist.

Site seeing: 10 minutes drive from the homestay to the viewpoint at Lower Camp - A panoramic view of the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu.

Vineyards of Tamil Nadu: The vineyards are half an hour drive from Koshys. The vineyards are located at a village called Gudalur in Tamil Nadu
rooms, food and facilities
We have 3 deluxe rooms which are well appointed and equipped with modern facilities. Wardrobes for safe keeping, writing tables and chairs are provided for each of the three rooms with attached modern bathrooms with flowing hot water showers. Outside the bedrooms there are amenities like the dining hall, a mini kitchen, a visiting area, reading room; TV room, a sit out area and the spacious roof top exclusively for the guests. There are additional facilities like internet access, doctor on call and guided day tour programs in and around Periyar.
how to find us
By road: We are less than a kilometre form Kumily town and half a kilometre from Periyar Tiger Reserve entrance.
By rail: The nearest Railway station is Kottayam (110 Kms)
By air: Periyar is 200 Kms from the Cochin International Airport and situated on the hills at 2500 ft above sea level. We provide pick up from Airport on an additional charge of £ 45 for an a/c car (for 2 people)
how this holiday makes a difference
Environment
We use solar energy for heating water. We use terra-cotta tiles to moderate the temperature and help us avoid the use of heater. We try to avoid using plastic in our property. We have a wormicompost unit for waste food items and use organic fertilizer for our garden. We encourage our guests to use paper bags and follow eco tourism principles.

Since Periyar is known for its wildlife, conservation awareness is given maximum priority. We are actively involved in the Clean Green Kumily Project, which involves awareness classes on cleanliness and planting of trees and flowering plants at the road sides. We advise our guests not to carry plastic items when they are going on forest bound activities. We have a variety of books in our reading room about the wildlife at our locality. We believe that this awareness will help our guests appreciate the importance of preserving them.

Community
So far we’ve been able to employ local villagers, a source of income for the tribal community by promoting their handicrafts and also provide livelihood for the tribal guides by encouraging our guest to participate in the forest activities. We buy raw material from local shops, hire local vehicles and also promote shops so that the benefit from tourists, is not just for us, but also for the whole village.

Helpers at the homestay are local villagers and most of the purchasing is done locally. The milk is bought from the nearby cattle farm and vegetables from home gardens. Fresh fish is bought from the tribes and mushrooms from the villagers

The guides for the forest activities are local tribes – who where poachers trained to become forest guards instead. We encourage our guests to do the forest activities so that these forest guards have a reasonable income from the job they do. We spend a major portion of our income on local awareness programs, the Green Clean Kumily project and the Agri Horti Culture Programs.

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