Bird Watching and Nature trips

The Periyar Tiger reserve is a well known birding and wildlife destination. The evergreen forests are replete with insect life, rare orchids and other flowering plants besides reptiles, amphibians and mammals including the tiger. The bird life is extremely rich and include the Great Hornbill, Ceylon Frogmouth, White bellied Tree Pie, Greater Racket tailed Drongos, Ashy Drongo, Bronzed Drongo, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Hill Myna, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon,Great eared Nightjar, Wynaad Laughing Thrush, Indian Scimitar Babbler, Malabar Whistling Thrush ...

Chestnut bellied tree creeper, Velvet fronted Nuthatch, Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Nilgiri Flycatcher, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Black and Orange Flycatcher and several species of water birds like the Wooly necked Stork, Pied Kingfisher, Greater Cormorants besides raptors like Black Eagle, Black Baza, Spotted Owlets, Jungle Owlets, Changeable Hawk Eagle and Besra. The diversity of birds is a staggering 230- 300 species including winter visitors like the Blythe's Reed Warbler, Black hooded Oriole, Black Baza and Indian Pitta.

The three hour trail through the evergreen forest of Periyar during the months of November to March are some of the best for birding as migarnts as well as residents clamour for fruit and insect. In the winter months, Bombax ceiba trees are often covered in red blossoms that offer nectar. A common sight then is the mass gathering of at least 15 different species garrulously feeding in flocks. These flocks include Malabar Parakeets, Brahminy Mynas, Hill mynas, Gold fronted Chloropsis, Dollar bird, Purple Sunbirds, Racket Tailed Drongos. An even more wonderful sight is to watch a flock of Black Baza feeding on reptiles and lizards. The Tribal guides at Periyar are well tuned with nature and are eager to show all the diversity they have been vested with. The sounds of elephant herds moving silently with young calves through the forest is a sight to behold and so is the occasional sighting of a tiger or Indian dhol or wild dog.

We also recommend Gavi as an excellent destination for nature lovers who visit Villa Prakriti. The trip involves going through amazing landscapes of grassland with evergreen forests ensconced in their folds - terrific for spotting herds of Indian Gaur or bison, Asian elephant, Nilgiri tahr and Sambar. The programme is highly recommended and includes breakfast, lunch and refreshments besides a relaxed jeep ride that winds over hill and glade to the Gavi forest house.

Excellent tribal guides are available to take you on the three hour trail going through beautiful lush forest where trees clothed in epiphytes, ferns and mosses greet you.