ECOTORISM 

Trekking & Camping

Nature Experience - Tribal Experience-Waterfall Experience, Birds wartch

A well-preserved tropical rainforest is in itself an uncommon sight; spotting the exotic animals and birds that make the forest their home is rarer still. You can see all that and the added beauty of a thundering waterfall at Athirapally. in the Sholayar range of virgin rainforest.

Man has yet to set foot in much of this protected forest; so what you experience here is nature at her purest. On a guided jungle trek (subject to approval of the Forest Department), you come face to face with some exquisite and endangered plants and trees. The experienced native guides share their knowledge of the rainforest with you, helping you understand the world around you better. You may even spot some rare animals and birds too, like the hornbill, the monitor lizard and various types of monkeys. Herds of elephants and deer are also a common sight. There are over a thousand species of wildlife in this rainforest, including snakes, bears, leopards and wolves. The guides are experts at picking up the trails of these animals so that you get an up-and-close experience. Keep your cameras ready.

It is indeed a unique experience to step into such a pristine landscape; much of the forest has been untouched for centuries. Besides, the Parambikulam Forest Reserve is easily accessible from Athirapally, via adventure-filled routes. Incidentally, these are also the shortest ways to get to the reserve. The Rainforest resort arranges on-demand guided trips to get there.For more details about the nature and its conservation in this area

Adventure trekking and camping at Vachachal

Trekking of 3 hours, half day, 2 Days are available

Kerala is well known for its canals, lagoons, lakes and rivers. These backwaters with their peculiar landscape have had a distinct impact on the lifestyle of the people who live along its banks. Kerala's uniqueness lies in these backwaters found nowhere else in the world. They form a beautiful and economically viable feature of Kerala. The 41 west - flowing rivers of Kerala form the backbone to this magnificent gift of nature

The programme is unique in being conducted by Kerala forest Dept together with Vazhachal Vana Samrakkhana Samathi VSS ( Forest protection Society)

The team consists of visitors ,tour guide & VSS members, Normally 20 to 35 kms. of trekking distance will be covered, depending on the route chosen.

Here, one may chance to encounter much indigenous wildlife like giant squirrel, elephant and who knows, even the tiger! The trek route passes through hills and valleys with a variety of tropical plants and wide-open spaces. Enroute vegetarian meals will be prepared and served and country tents will be pitched for holing up in the night. Trekking groups are accompanied by armed forest guards with good communication equipments, and geared to face any emergency situation. Remember to listen to unusual and strange adventure stories of the former poachers, now your guides and protectors of the forests.

The Vazhachal VSS dominated by tribals,( Kadars and Malayas ) earn their livelihood by excellently managing Athirapilly, Charpa waterfalls and Vazhachal picnic spot. They also created basic infrastructure facilities for tourists including drinking water, garbage disposal and also arrange adventure trekking with the help of trained tribals