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Wildlife Sanctuaries near Madurai

Madurai, one of the busiest cities in South India has various tourist attractions. People from far and near visit Madurai city for its rich heritage, culture, religious places and also for adventurous excursion trips. Are you planning to spend your vacation at Madurai? Madurai has a couple of wildlife sanctuaries in Madurai

Madurai city has lot of interesting places and tourist attractions to offer. Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is one such example. Just pack your stuffs and get ready to explore the entire Madurai city with your friends and family. You will definitely experience a whole lot of fun and excitement throughout your trip.

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Madurai

Situated at the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in India, Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is horde to many birds and animals. This park is just 155 kilometers from Madurai district and is one of the best tourist spot in the city. If you are a nature lover, then this Periyar Park in Madurai would be the right place to explore. Maharaja of Travancore established this park to foster his extreme love towards nature. The Tiger Reserve at Periyar Park houses a lot of rare animals like sambars, white tigers, lion tailed macaques, gaurs, Nilgiri langaurs, etc. Periyar Park was stated as a Tiger Reserve in the year 1978. The sanctuary is amidst the high ranges of Savannah grasslands and Western Ghats, located on the reservoir of Lake Periyar is surely a nature’s delight.

Wildlife Sanctuaries in Madurai The Periyar Park, Madurai is renowned for its white elephants that come as herd to Lake Periyar for water. Lake Periyar was built during the British rule in 1895 and now offers great significance for both the visitors as well as for wildlife of the park. As the climate is pleasant throughout the year, tourists can enroll themselves in various activities like elephant riding and trekking inside the park. One can also take boat rides through the Periyar Lake and explore rare species of animals and birds.  Furthermore, you can enjoy watching large number of Black Turtle and Travancore Tortoise in this park. There are loads of adventure, beautiful nature scenes and fun guaranteed that you see to that to load your camera full to click each and every part.

Apart from this, Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is a bliss for wildlife photographers and bird watchers. The park remains as a resident and attracts large number of birds and few birds’ remains as migratory.  It is due to the pleasant climate and natural surroundings present in Periyar Park. There are more than 260 varieties of birds, which some of major species includes laughing thrushes, black-winged kite, green Indian hombill, darters, Nilgiri wood pigeons, fly catchers, white-bellied tree pies, plovers, cormorants and barbets.

The two exclusive species seen at Periyar National Park is flying lizard and flying snake.

How to reach: The approximate distance of Madurai to Periyar National Park is 174 kilometers and it takes about 3 hours and 40 minutes by road. If you are hiring a taxi at Madurai, they may charge around Rs. 3250 from Madurai to Periyar Park. You can contact the local travel agencies for better prices.  

Timings: Periyar National Park is open on all days from 10.00 A.M to 6.00 P.M.
You can plan your trip between to October to June, which would be a best time to visit this park.

Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary

Another wildlife sanctuary from Madurai is Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary (GSWS). It is located mostly in Virudhunagar and partly in Madurai districts. Established in the year 1988, GSWS holds a wide range of rare species. It includes grizzled giant squirrels, flying squirrels, mouse deer, sambar, sloth bear, wild cats, elephants, Indian giant squirrel and much more. This park is also popularly termed as Sriviliputhur Wildlife Sanctuary.  Exactly surrounded on the south west by the Madurai Periyar Tiger reserve, Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary is said to be one of the preserved forests of the Palghat Gap in south region. You can definitely enjoy sightseeing, trekking as well as bird watching in this park. If you are on a family trip, then it is cent percent guaranteed that your kids would love, enjoy and have loads of fun every moment they spend at this famous Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary. The area of this sanctuary is 480 square kilometers. 

Moreover, GSWS is said to be called as an important bird watching spot in and around Madurai. There are about 200 species of birds and few migratory species is seen in the park. The rare migratory birds include bluecapped rockthrust sparrowhawk, and steppe eagle.

Best time to visit Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary is during October to April.

How to reach: You can take up a local taxi from Madurai that would take around 1 hour 24 minutes of road travel.

Address: Rajaji Road, Mariamman Kovil Street, Sriviliputhur, Tamil Nadu 626 125.

Step in to Madurai with your friends and family and experience a whole lot of fun and adventure. You can also get assistance from local tourist agencies on planning your trip as per your convenience.


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