People primarily go to Thekkady to explore Periyar National Reserve and to indulge in Kerala’s iconic masterpiece art forms-mainly Kalari and Kathakali.
We followed a similar pattern;we spent effectively two nights and more than one day in this border town with Tamilnadu called Thekkady.
Date of travel: 25.10.22 – 27.10.22
Where did we stay:
Thekkady town offers many resorts,hotels and homestays as per your requirement and choice.We stayed at this beautiful homestay called Jungle palace homestay.Owner of this house is a kind person and this property offers a beautiful view of periyar national reserve.
You can relax at the homestay’s beautiful and spacious gallery for morning and evening tea.Owner told us that if you are lucky animals like spotted deer,wild buffalo can be seen right from this gallery.
Kalari martial art form and Kathakali dance show:
These shows are one of the top attractions in Thekkady.One time watch show gives you an idea of Kerala’s rich history and culture.This place always remains crowded so getting tickets can be a task.We liked the Kalari show as performance is so electrifying and commendable.
Boat safari in periyar national reserve:
Thekkady town is mainly located in and around periyar national reserve park.Exploring periyar national park through jeep safari or taking boat ride through periyar lake is the main activity in Thekkady.
Getting tickets for boat safari is sometimes challenging as it is an important tourist spot in the area. Nearly everyone visits this national park at least once for the boat ride. You can reserve a ticket online for the boat safari, but online seating is limited.
Boat safari experience:
Boat ride is quite regular; more than 100 people in one boat which takes you to approximately 60 minutes long ride through periyar lake.Landscape around lake and jungle is picturesque.Untouched deep calm water,dense forest, wild bird noise gives you complete experience of Jungle.We saw spotted deer,wild monkeys,wild buffalos and various birds from distance.
KTDC’s resort is located in the middle of the lake ;we recommend you stay there to get the complete vibe of Periyar National park.
Jeep safari:
Thekkady mainly offers three types of jeep safaris-Tamilnadu border safari ,Periyar jungle safari and vegetable plantation safari.
We opted for vegetable plantation safari.In the vegetable farm safari they show you the various cultivated farms like grapes,banana,mango,lady finger,green chili to name a few from the Tamil Nadu side.
You can’t enter into the farms, however after request we got a chance to take photos in banana farms.
Along with these large farms they show you other viewpoints like penstock view point,Mahilekhya waterfalls,ottakathalamedu viewpoint,watch tower etc.
We found the vegetable plantation safari to be not worth taking.
Special Kerala Ayurvedic full body Massage:
We did Kerala special full body massage in thekkady.In front of our homestay there were a number of massage centers.We did it in a place called Arya’s ayurveda center. It was an incredible experience.Sometimes you feel they are pressing too hard but overall the experience was satisfying. We recommend you doing this special Kerala Ayurvedic full body massage.
Overall Thekkady experience was nice but we felt that we should have stayed for one more day to explore the food and offbeat locations.
