Thekkady

Getting to Thekkady

Thekkady is enchanting as the road winds through tranquil countryside, rich plantations and thick jungles. The sanctuary, 60 km from Idukki, 190 km from Cochin and 114 km away from Kottayam is open throughout the year, but the best season for a visit is from September to March. The sanctuary is centred around the large (24 km2) artificial lake formed by a dam across the Periyar river.

Worth seeing

Thekkady, better known as Tiger Reserve has a rich diversity of vertebrates. The diverse forest types, vayals, marshes, and a large aquatic habitat together support 62 species of mammals, 320 species of birds, 45 species of reptiles, 27 species of amphibians, and 38 species of fish.

Things to do

Bamboo Rafting. This is a dawn to dusk range hiking and rafting programme through some of the richest forest tracts of Periyar Tiger Reserve. Starting at 8AM from the boat landing, a mosaic of habitats will be traversed before the party gets into rafts made of bamboos. The forests are rich in bird life and arboreal animals like giant squirrel and Nilgiri langur.

Where to eat

Kappa Biriyani. Tapioca biriyani with salad, pickles and pappada, available in local restaurants Kalam biriyani. Biriyani made in earthen vessels increasing the taste manyfold.

Getting around Thekkady the local way

Everything runs out of Kumily, 4 km uphill from the Thekkady park gate and right on the Tamil Nadu state line: KSRTC buses west into Kerala, TNSTC buses east to Cumbum and Madurai, autos and jeeps for anything local, and a forest department shuttle that is the only way to reach the Periyar boat landing.

1. 01
   TNSTC buses across the state border to Cumbumbus

   Kumily to Gudalur to Cumbum, dropping off the Western Ghats into the Tamil Nadu plains; onward to Theni, Chinnamanur and Madurai

   Where

   Kumily bus stand sits metres from the Kerala–Tamil Nadu border. TNSTC buses use the same stand as KSRTC; the destination boards are in Tamil, so ask for Cumbum. TNSTC enquiry 8300545501, KSRTC Kumily 04869 224242

   When

   About 21 listed TNSTC departures a day in the Cumbum direction, spread from 06:20 to 23:00, so roughly one an hour rather than one every few minutes. The morning run is 06:20, 06:30, 09:30, 10:50 and 11:30

   Fare

   Not published on any source found. This is an ordinary state bus over 20 km, so expect a low double-digit rupee fare and pay the conductor

   Takes

   About 40 minutes for the 20 km on the timetable's own reckoning; about 3.5 hours Kumily to Madurai via Cumbum and Theni

   Season

   Year-round

   Booking

   None on the ordinary buses, pay on board. Long distance TNSTC services to Madurai and Chennai can be booked online

   Sources: tickettogetlost.com (2023-09) · tickettogetlost.com (2018-08) · confidence medium

2. 02
   Forest department shuttle to the Periyar boat landingminibus

   Anavachal parking area at the Thekkady gate to the boat landing on Periyar lake, 4 km inside the reserve

   Where

   Leave your vehicle at Anavachal parking. The Periyar Tiger Reserve bus loads there; no private vehicle is allowed down to the jetty, so this or walking are the only options

   When

   Roughly every half hour while the park is open

   Fare

   Charged separately from the park entry fee and the boat ticket; the boat operator's own page says so without naming the amount, and no source found publishes it

   Takes

   About 15 minutes each way

   Season

   Year-round, daylight hours

   Booking

   Buy at the counter with your boat ticket. Report 1 hour before your cruise at Anavachal parking and 30 minutes before at the boat landing

   Sources: thekkady.org (2026-09) · thekkady.org (2026-09) · confidence medium

3. 03
   Autorickshaws between Kumily and the Thekkady gatetuk tuk

   Kumily bus stand and market to the Periyar Tiger Reserve entrance and Anavachal parking, 4 km downhill

   Where

   Autos line up outside Kumily bus stand and along the main road through the market; they also wait at the park gate for the returning boat crowd. Any homestay will whistle one up

   When

   All day, no waiting, heaviest around the 07:30 and 09:30 boat departures

   Fare

   Not confirmed against any page that could be opened. Meters are not used, so agree the price before you get in and expect the gate run to be quoted higher around boat times

   Takes

   About 10 minutes

   Season

   Year-round

   Booking

   None, flag one down

   Sources: outlookindia.com (2026-09) · confidence low

4. 04
   Periyar lake boat cruiseboat

   Round trip on the reservoir from the boat landing inside the reserve

   Where

   Tickets from the Periyar bus and boat ticket booking counter at the Thekkady gate, or online. The upper deck is the seat worth having and it sells out first

   When

   Five sailings a day: 07:30, 09:30, 11:15, 13:45 and 15:30

   Fare (2025)

   ₹225 per Indian adult and ₹85 per Indian child. The source giving these calls them the Periyar Lake entry fee and says foreign nationals pay more without giving the figure, so treat ₹225 as the Indian rate and budget for a higher one. Cameras are charged on top: still ₹45, video ₹335. The bus down to the landing is extra again

   Takes

   About 1.5 hours on the water, plus reporting an hour early at the parking area

   Season

   Year-round. September to March is the usual season; the lake is fullest after the monsoon and animals come to the water in the March to May dry months

   Booking

   Online at the Periyar Tiger Reserve booking site, or at the counter beside the gate. Report an hour before at Anavachal parking

   Sources: traveltriangle.com (2025) · thekkady.org (2026-09) · confidence medium

5. 05
   Bamboo rafting on Periyar lakecanoe

   A guided trek from the boat landing area onto bamboo rafts on the lake and back

   Where

   Sold by the forest department ecotourism counter at the Thekkady gate and online; groups are small and fixed, so book ahead rather than turning up

   When

   Daily, starting at dawn

   Fare

   Not confirmed. Kerala Tourism's own page for this programme carries no price, and no other page found publishes one. Tea, snacks and packed lunch are included. Book through the ecotourism counter and ask the rate when you book

   Takes

   Dawn to dusk: a few hours trekking, then the raft on the lake, lunch, and the same way back

   Season

   Year-round, but rafting is suspended in heavy monsoon rain

   Booking

   Through periyartigerreserve.org or the ecotourism counter, well in advance

   Sources: keralatourism.org (2026-09) · keralatourism.org (2026-09) · confidence medium

6. 06
   Jeep safaris out of Kumilyoffroad 4x4

   Short runs to Satram on the border, Ottakathala and Chellarkovil viewpoints, across into Cumbum in Tamil Nadu, and the long day out to Gavi

   Where

   Jeep operators keep offices on the Kumily main road and every homestay and hostel books them; drivers pick you up at your door. Contact numbers are posted on operator sites such as discoverthekkady.com

   When

   Daily on demand. The Satram border safari can start any time between 06:00 and 16:00; the long Gavi day starts at 06:00

   Fare (2026)

   ₹2,100 for up to eight people on the half day Satram border safari; ₹7,200 for two on the direct Gavi safari including breakfast and lunch, plus ₹2,400 for each extra person up to six; ₹9,000 for up to four on the long Angamoozhy and Gavi loop, plus ₹1,200 per extra person. The operator says these vary by season

   Takes

   3 to 4 hours for Satram, about 3.5 hours for Ottakathala and Chellarkovil, 4 hours for the Cumbum side, 7 to 11 hours for Gavi

   Season

   Year-round; forest routes can close in the June to August monsoon

   Booking

   A day ahead through the operator or your guesthouse; forest entry fees are extra

   Sources: discoverthekkady.com (2026-09) · palliyadiyiltourism.com (2026-09) · confidence medium

7. 07
   KSRTC and private buses west out of Kumilybus

   Kumily to Munnar, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Madurai

   Where

   All from Kumily KSRTC bus stand in the middle of town. Private buses to Munnar leave from the same area and run earlier in the morning than the KSRTC ones, which matters if you want the ghat road in daylight. Stand enquiry 04869 224242

   When

   Munnar: KSRTC at 12:45 and 16:00, private buses at 06:00, 07:30 and 09:45. Kottayam: through the day from 01:45 to 21:45. Ernakulam: from 04:00 to 21:00. Thiruvananthapuram: 03:00, 08:45, 15:40, 16:40, 19:00. Madurai on KSRTC: 01:00 and 23:40

   Fare

   Not published on the sources found; ordinary KSRTC fares on these routes run in the low hundreds of rupees

   Takes

   About 4 to 5 hours to Munnar, 4 hours to Kottayam, 6 hours to Ernakulam

   Season

   Year-round

   Booking

   None on ordinary services. Reserved services at onlineksrtcswift.com

   Sources: tickettogetlost.com (2025-05) · confidence medium

8. 08
   Taxi hire from Kumilyprivate hire

   Kumily to Munnar, Alleppey, Kottayam and Cochin airport, or by the day around Thekkady

   Where

   Taxi stand beside Kumily bus stand, and every hotel and homestay has a driver they use. Kerala tourist taxi operators quote fixed one way rates for the standard Munnar and Alleppey legs, and the quote depends on the vehicle class more than the distance

   When

   On demand, any hour

   Fare (2026)

   Thekkady to Munnar one way is quoted at ₹3,800 for a hatchback, ₹4,500 for a Dzire, ₹5,000 for an Ertiga, ₹5,500 for an Innova and ₹7,500 for an Innova Crysta. One Kerala operator lists a second, lower set for the same leg starting at ₹3,300, so ask more than one. Day hire in an Ertiga is ₹3,000 for 100 km

   Takes

   About 3 hours to Munnar on the operator's own reckoning, plus traffic; 4 to 5 hours to Alleppey; 4.5 hours to Cochin airport

   Season

   Year-round

   Booking

   A day ahead by phone or through your guesthouse; agree the rate and whether tolls and the driver's night allowance are included

   Sources: munnartaxiservice.com (2026-09) · munnartaxiservice.com (2026-09) · confidence medium

Not yet confirmed: No source found confirming share autos or share taxis operating on fixed Kumily routes, though autos are everywhere. Ask at the Kumily bus stand auto rank whether drivers will share the Thekkady gate run at boat times.; The forest department shuttle fare between Anavachal parking and the boat landing is not published anywhere found. The boat operator's page confirms only that it is charged separately from park entry and the boat ticket.; The autorickshaw fare from Kumily to the Thekkady gate could not be confirmed. Yatra's Thekkady transport page, which carried a ₹40 figure and a ₹5 forest bus figure, refused every request and both figures are therefore dropped rather than repeated.; Bamboo rafting prices are not on Kerala Tourism's own programme page and no other page found publishes them. Ask at the ecotourism counter at the Thekkady gate; the figures circulating on booking sites were not traceable to the forest department.; The foreign-national rate for Periyar Lake entry is not published on the page that gives the Indian rate, which says only that it is higher. Budget for more than ₹225.; No ordinary TNSTC or KSRTC fare for the Kumily routes is published on the timetable sources found; they list times only. The bus fare pages on those sites were not reachable.; periyartigerreserve.org, the official booking site, serves an empty JavaScript shell to a plain request, so nothing on it could be quoted. It is named here as the place to book, not cited as evidence.; Nothing found on hitching customs around Kumily or on the Cumbum ghat road. Lorries and jeeps do run the border road constantly, but no source describes travellers riding with them.; 12Go and Bookaway route pages for Kumily returned no usable content, so private minivan transfer prices to Alleppey, Fort Kochi and Munnar could not be confirmed.; One Kerala taxi operator publishes two different Thekkady–Munnar tariffs on the same page, starting at ₹3,300 and ₹3,800. Which applies was not clear from the page, so both are given here.; Whether TNSTC buses stop on the Kerala side of the border or only at Kumily stand itself is unclear from the timetable listings..

The field note on Thekkady reads this entry in full, one option at a time, with every source beside it.