Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, which also includes the erstwhile Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

lying in Palakkad district and

Thrissur district Thrissur (), anglicised as Trichur, is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is situated in the central region of the state. Spanning an area of about , th ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

state,

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. The

Wildlife Sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

, which had an area of was established in part in 1973 and 1984. It is in the Sungam range of hills between the

Anaimalai Hills The Anamala or Anaimalai, also known as the Elephant Mountains, are a range of mountains in the southern Western Ghats of central Kerala ( Idukki district, Ernakulam district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district) and span the border of wester ...

and Nelliampathy Hills. Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary was declared as part of the Parambikulam

Tiger Reserve Project Tiger is a wildlife conservation movement initiated in India to protect the endangered tiger. The project was initiated in 1973 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India. As of March 2025, there ...

on 19 February 2010. Including the buffer zone, the tiger reserve has a span of 643.66 km². The Western Ghats, Anamalai Sub-Cluster, including all of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, has been declared by the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Committee as a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. The Tiger Reserve is the home of four different tribes of

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

including the Kadar, Malasar tribe, Muduvar and Mala Malasar settled in six colonies. Parambikulam Tiger Reserve implements the

Project Tiger Project Tiger is a wildlife conservation movement initiated in India to protect the endangered tiger. The project was initiated in 1973 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India. As of March 2025, there ...

scheme along with various other programs of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

and the

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

. The operational aspects of administering a tiger reserve is as per the scheme laid down by the

National Tiger Conservation Authority The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a wildlife conservation agency formed to protect the endangered Bengal tiger in India. It was established by the Government of India under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in ...

. People from tribal colonies inside the reserve are engaged as guides for treks and safaris, and are provided employment through various eco-tourism initiatives. Parambikulam Tiger Reserve is among the top-ten best managed Tiger Reserve in India. The tiger reserve hosts many capacity building training programmes conducted by Parambikulam Tiger Conservation Foundation in association with various organisations.

Geography

The sanctuary is located between Longitude:76° 35’- 76° 50’ E, and Latitude:10° 20’ – 10° 26’ N. It is from

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

town and adjacent to the Annamalai Wildlife Sanctuary to the east in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. It is bordered to the north by Nemmara Forest Division, to the south by Vazhachal Forest Division and the west by Chalakudy Forest Division. The sanctuary has a

hornblende Hornblende is a complex silicate minerals#Inosilicates, inosilicate series of minerals. It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole. Hornblende minerals are common ...

biotite Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron- endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more al ...

gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

and

charnockite Charnockite () is any orthopyroxene-bearing quartz-feldspar rock formed at high temperature and pressure, commonly found in granulite facies’ metamorphic regions, ''sensu stricto'' as an endmember of the charnockite series. Charnockite seri ...

geology. Altitude ranges between 300 m and 1438 m. There is a 600 m elevation opening through the Nelliampathy hills from Anamalai hills on the northern boundary of the sanctuary at Thoothampara. Major peaks in the sanctuary are Karimala Gopuram (1438 m) in the southern boundary of the sanctuary, Pandaravarai (1290 m) in the north, Kuchimudi, Vengoli Malai (1120 m) in the eastern boundary and Puliyarapadam (1010 m) in the west. The sanctuary has three man-made reservoirs; Parambikulam, Thunacadavu (Thunakkadavu) and Peruvaripallam, with a combined area of 20.66 km². The Thuvaiar water falls empty into one of the reservoirs. There are 7 major valleys and 3 major rivers, the Parambikulam, the Sholayar and the Thekkedy. The Karappara river and Kuriarkutty river also drain the area.

History

The tiger reserve has remnants of the Cochin State Forest Tramway, which was used to ship wood from the Parambikulam forests to the nearby harbor at

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

, and from there to different locations of the world.

Fauna

The sanctuary has a rich

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

of animal life including mammals (39 species), amphibians (16 sp.), birds (268 sp.), reptiles (61 sp.), fishes (47 sp.) and invertebrates (over 1,200 species). Parambikulam is referred to as the "state capital for the massive

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ) is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 ...

" by wildlife experts. *Mammals of note include:

lion-tailed macaque The lion-tailed macaque (''Macaca silenus''), also known as the wanderoo, is an Old World monkey endemic to the Western Ghats of South India. Characteristics Lion-tailed macaques are covered in black fur, and have a striking gray or silver ...

, Indian gaur,

Nilgiri tahr The Nilgiri tahr (''Nilgiritragus hylocrius'') is an ungulate that is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western and Eastern Ghats in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India. It is the only species in th ...

Indian elephant The Indian elephant (''Elephas maximus indicus'') is one of three extant recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, native to mainland Asia. The species is smaller than the African elephant species with a convex back and the highest body po ...

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies and the nominate tiger subspecies. It ranks among the largest wild cats alive today. It is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late ...

Indian leopard The Indian leopard (''Panthera pardus fusca'') is a subspecies of the leopard (''P. pardus''). It is widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. It is threatened by illegal trade of skins and body parts, and persecution due to human-leopard ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

dhole The dhole ( ; ''Cuon alpinus'') is a canid native to South, East and Southeast Asia. It is anatomically distinguished from members of the genus ''Canis'' in several aspects: its skull is convex rather than concave in profile, it lacks a third ...

, sambar,

bonnet macaque The bonnet macaque (''Macaca radiata''), also known as zati,Chambers English Dictionary is a species of macaque endemism, endemic to southern India. Its distribution is limited by the Indian Ocean on three sides and the Godavari River, Godavari a ...

Nilgiri langur The Nilgiri langur (''Semnopithecus johnii'') is an Asian langur of the Old World monkey. It has glossy, black fur and an orangey-golden brown, hair-like mane on its head. Females have a white patch of fur on the inner thigh. It typically lives ...

sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus''), also known as the Indian bear, is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of ...

Nilgiri marten The Nilgiri marten (''Martes gwatkinsii'') is the only marten species native to southern India. It lives in the hills of the Nilgiris and parts of the Western Ghats. With only around a thousand members left it is listed as Vulnerable on the ...

, small Travancore flying squirrel and. *Reptiles of high importance at Parambikulam include:

king cobra The king cobra (''Ophiophagus hannah'') is a species complex of snakes Endemism, endemic to Asia. With an average of and a record length of , it is the world's longest venomous snake and among the heaviest. Under the genus ''Ophiophagus'', i ...

, Kerala shieldtail, Travancore kukri snake, Travancore wolf snake, Cochin cane turtle,

Travancore tortoise The Travancore tortoise (''Indotestudo travancorica'') is a large forest tortoise growing up to in length. The species was Species description, first described by George Albert Boulenger in 1907. It primarily feeds on grasses and herbs. It als ...

, Indian day gecko and Western Ghats flying lizard. Other important reptiles are

Indian rock python The Indian python (''Python molurus'') is a large python species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is also known by the common names black-tailed python, Indian rock python, and Asian ...

Malabar pit viper ''Craspedocephalus'' ''malabaricus'', (formerly ''Trimeresurus malabaricus)'' commonly known as Malabar pit viper, Malabar rock pit viper,Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. ''Asian Pitvipers''. Geitje Books. Berlin. ...

, South Indian forest ground gecko, South Indian rock lizard, mountain skink,

mugger crocodile The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad-snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from south-eastern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marsh ...

, varanus, pond terrapin,

chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...

and the snakes

spectacled cobra The Indian cobra (''Naja naja /na''dʒa nadʒa/), also known commonly as the spectacled cobra, Asian cobra, or binocellate cobra, is a species of cobra, a venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to the Indian subcontinent, ...

krait ''Bungarus'' (commonly known as kraits ) is a genus of venomous snakes in the Family (biology), family Elapidae. The genus is native to Asia. Often found on the floor of tropical forests in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Southern China, they are ...

, green keelback, olivaceous keelback, western

rat snake Rat snakes are members – along with kingsnakes, milk snakes, Oxybelis, vine snakes and indigo snakes – of the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. They are medium to large Constriction, constrictors and are found throughout much o ...

and vine snake. *Fishes — 47 species of fish have been recorded at Parambikulam, of which seven species are listed as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

and 17 are endemic to the Western Ghats. *Birds — 268 avian species have been recorded in the sanctuary; 134 are listed as rare while 18 are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the Western Ghats. These include the lesser adjutant stork, grey-headed fish-eagle,

Sri Lanka bay owl The Sri Lanka bay owl (''Phodilus assimilis'') is a species of bay owl in the family Tytonidae. It is endemic to the island of Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats in Kerala, South Western India. It was considered a subspecies of the Oriental bay ow ...

broad-billed roller The broad-billed roller (''Eurystomus glaucurus'') is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across tropical Africa and Madagascar in all but the driest regions. It is a wet season breeder, which migrates from the northern and sout ...

and

great pied hornbill The great hornbill (''Buceros bicornis''), also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It ...

. Other birds include:

darter The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, ''Anhinga''. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and c ...

little cormorant The little cormorant (''Microcarbo niger'') is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. Slightly smaller than the Indian cormorant it lacks a peaked head and has a shorter beak. It is widely distributed across the Indian Subcontinent and ext ...

black eagle The black eagle (''Ictinaetus malaiensis'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Ictinaetus''. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South a ...

black-capped kingfisher The black-capped kingfisher (''Halcyon pileata'') is a tree kingfisher which is widely distributed in tropical Asia from India east to China, Korea and Southeast Asia. This most northerly of the tree kingfishers is resident over much of its ra ...

, great Indian hornbill, and

white-bellied woodpecker The white-bellied woodpecker or great black woodpecker (''Dryocopus javensis'') is a woodpecker species inhabiting evergreen forests in tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is among the largest of the Asiatic woodpeckers and nests ...

. See complete checklist of birds of Parambikulam Wildlife sanctuary
PDF
*

Butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

— 221 species of

lepidopterans Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

have been recorded in the sanctuary, of which 11 are rare and endemic. *Amphibians — the 23 amphibian species documented within the sanctuary include: ridged toad (''

Bufo parietalis ''Duttaphrynus parietalis'', commonly known as the Indian toad or ridged toad, is a species of toad found in the Western Ghats of India. Description Head with very prominent ridges, namely a canthal, a slight preorbital, a supraorbital, a pos ...

''), common Asiatic toad ('' Bufo melanostictus''), large wrinkled frog (''

Nyctibatrachus major ''Nyctibatrachus major'', the Malabar night frog, large wrinkled frog, or Boulenger's narrow-eyed frog, is a species of frog in the Family (biology), family Nyctibatrachidae, commonly known as the robust frogs. It was Species description, desc ...

''), small wrinkled frog ('' Nyctibatrachus minor''), Indian bullfrog ('' Rana tigerina''), Verrucose frog (''

Minervarya keralensis ''Minervarya keralensis'' (common names: verrucose frog, Kerala wart(y) frog, or Dubois' hill frog) is a species of frog from India. Originally described by Albert C. L. G. Günther, Albert Günther in 1876, its present-day specific epithet (z ...

''), skipper frog (''

Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis ''Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis'' is a common Dicroglossidae, dicroglossid frog found in South Asia. It is known under numerous common names, including Indian skipper frog or skittering frog. They are often seen at the edge of bodies of water with th ...

''), Boulenger's Indian frog (''

Walkerana leptodactyla ''Walkerana leptodactyla'' is a species of frog endemic to the southern Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu states of southern India. Precise reports are from Anaimalai hills, Palni hills, Meghamalai, Travancore hills and Agasthyamalai. De ...

''), ''

Fejervarya limnocharis ''Fejervarya limnocharis'' is a species of frog found in South East Asia and parts of Indochina. It is known under many common names, including Boie's wart frog, rice field frog, and Asian grass frog. Molecular studies of the species complex (af ...

'', Beddome's leaping frog (''

Indirana beddomii ''Indirana beddomii'', Beddome's leaping frog, Beddome's Indian frog, or simply Beddome's frog, is a species of frog found in the Western Ghats. They are usually detected by their long leaps as they flush from the ground when disturbed. The sp ...

''), South Indian frog (''

Indirana semipalmata ''Indirana semipalmata'' is a species of frog endemic to the Western Ghats region of southern India. They are small frogs, reaching lengths of about from snout to vent. The species breeds during the monsoons, laying their eggs on moist rocks a ...

''), bicoloured frog ('' Rana curtipes''), bronzed frog (''

Indosylvirana temporalis ''Indosylvirana temporalis'', commonly known as the bronzed frog or Günther's golden-backed frog, is a species of true frog found in the riparian evergreen forests of the highlands of southwestern Sri Lanka. They are found abundantly on or clos ...

''), reddish burrowing frog ('' Minervarya rufescens''), Parambikulam wart frog (''

Minervarya parambikulamana ''Minervarya parambikulamana'' (common names: Parambikulam frog, Parambikulam wart frog) is a species of frog that is endemic to the Western Ghats, India. It is only known from its type locality, "Parambikulam forests", possibly within the Pa ...

''), white-nosed bush frog ('' Philautus leucorhinus''), white-spotted bush frog ('' Raorchestes chalazodes''), Kerala warty frog (''

''), cricket frog ('' Limnonectes limnocharis''), short-webbed leaping frog ('' Indirana brachytarsus'') and the common frog (''

Micrixalus fuscus ''Micrixalus fuscus'' (dusky torrent frog or brown tropical frog) is a species of small frog found in dense forested hill streams in the Western Ghats of India. '' M. herrei'' was formerly synonymized within this species. Description Males me ...

'').

Flora

The sanctuary has a variety of trees mainly

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

neem ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, margosa, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of the two species in the genus '' Azadirachta''. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and to parts of S ...

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...

and

rosewood Rosewood is any of a number of richly hued hardwoods, often brownish with darker veining, but found in other colours. It is hard, tough, strong, and dense. True rosewoods come from trees of the genus '' Dalbergia'', but other woods are often ca ...

. Even the oldest ever teak tree, Kannimara Teak exists here. It is about 450 years old and has a girth of and a height of . It won the Mahavriksha Puraskar given by the Indian Government. Haplothismia exannulata is a rare species of mycotrophic plant found in this area.

Threats

Do-Not-Feed-Animals Signage at Parambikulam Tiger Reserve

Information signage indicating the prohibition of liquor

Fires in the forest - In April 2007 a wild fire in parts of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary and the adjoining Nelliampathy forests destroyed hundreds of acres of forest tracts and plantations. One of the reasons for the fires was the lack of pre-monsoon rain in the area. The area used to get rain in during January, February, March and April. In 2007, there was only 4 mm rain in January and after that there was no rain. Nelliampathy was facing an unprecedented drought during that summer. The temperature reached 34 °C in April when the average high is usually 26 °C. Waste generation due to tourist visit - Some tourists throw away plastic material, aluminium cans, biscuit wrappers etc. inside the reserve, instead of putting them in waste bins. The staff of the tiger reserve engage in picking up these waste materials on a daily basis. Some of these

plastic waste Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are cate ...

are recycled to make keychains, which are sold at the ecoshops located inside the tiger reserve. These key-chains are referred to as "Pugmark keychains". Demand for expanding the tourism zone - There is pressure from multiple quarters to expand the tourism activities that is currently conducted in the buffer zone of the tiger reserve. This also results in demand for building new roads inside the tiger reserve, which is not an ecologically friendly option. Quarrying in nearby areas - Demand for construction material such as granite has resulted in the destruction of hills and hillocks in the peripheral regions such as Nelliyampathy. A ban on quarrying has been sought in regions such as Muthalamada, Chuliar and Seetharkund.

Sustainability Practices

As part of a study to ascertain the visitor management strategy at Parambikulam, a study report by KFRI in 2002 indicated limited tourism with community participation. While questions has been raised about the effectiveness of Eco-Development-Committees (EDCs) in promoting sustainable development at Parambikulam prior to its declaration as a Tiger Reserve after establishment of Parambikulam Tiger Reserve and the Parambikulam Tiger Conservation Foundation, there has also been significant indications that the local community has benefited ed The tiger reserve strives towards ecotourism initiatives that cause minimum harm to the environment. The tiger reserve also promotes the usage of solar energy.

Awards and Accolades

NatWest Group NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and ...

Earth Heroes Award Earth Heroes Awards are awards instituted by Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest ...

, Earth Guardian Award * CA, TS Accreditation, which is a global recognition for the management effectiveness. * Award for Community Participation in Ecotourism during the Third Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation

Notes

External links

* * {{Tourism in Kerala, state=collapsed Tiger reserves of India Wildlife sanctuaries in Kerala South Western Ghats montane rain forests Wildlife sanctuaries of the Western Ghats Protected areas of Kerala 1973 establishments in Kerala Protected areas established in 1973 Tourist attractions in Palakkad district Geography of Palakkad district