Overview
- Features: Rich wildlife and unique topography in a protected sanctuary
- Opening Times: 7am to 6pm, daily
- Best Time to Visit: March to May
- Duration: Half a day
- Travelled By: Bus
- Cost: Indian/foreigner Rs 10/100, 3-hr trek Rs 150
- Address: Munnar-Udumalpet Road, Amaravathi, Kerala, India
- Type: National Park, Activity
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Summary
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is a popular tourist destination in the Western Ghats because it is unique with its floral, ecological, geomorphologic and cultural significance. Rich in wildlife, the mixed deciduous forests here are ideal for trekking. Here you can spot herds of elephants, gaur, wild bison, sambar, macaques and the occasional leopard and tiger.
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
About 60 km northeast of Munnar and 10 km past Marayoor, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is a popular tourist destination in the Western Ghats because it is unique with its floral, ecological, geomorphologic and cultural significance. This 90 sq km sanctuary is located on the eastern parts of the High Ranges of the southern Western Ghats.
Among the 12 protected areas of Kerala, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is a unique thorny scrub forest with xerophyte species. Located in the rain shadow area of the Western Ghats, unlike other sanctuaries in Kerala, Chinnar gets less than two months of rain every year. Due to this extensive variation of rainfall, Chinnar is blessed with a wide array of habitat types like deciduous forests, dry thorn scrub, riparian forest, shoals and grasslands. The main source of water to the sanctuary is supplied by the Pambar and Chinnar rivers.
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Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary has about 1000 species of flowering plants and a wide variety of medicinal plants. There are 225 recorded species of birds as well as the endangered Giant Grizzled Squirrel of India whose total number here would be less than 200. Other important mammals that you can see here are the elephant, tiger, leopard, gaur, sambar, spotted deer, macaques and Nilgiri Tahr among others. It is also home to the white bison.
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Rich in wildlife, the mixed deciduous forests here are ideal for trekking. This is also an ideal place to watch herds of gaur and elephants amble past. Dry deciduous forests, high sholas and some grasslands add to the diversity of the sanctuary.
A 3-hour trek with a forest guide will take you on a nature trail into the sanctuary. You can decide whether you want to walk along the river or trek deep inside the sanctuary. Whatever your preference, let the guide know what you want to see and do in the sanctuary and he will lead the way.
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Apart from trekking, Chinnar wildlife sanctuary is famous for its eco-tourism activities, jointly organized by Forest Department and the Ecodevelopment Committees of the local tribal communities. The eco-tourism facilities include river trekking, trekking to cultural sites, nature trail to the watch tower, a trek to the Thoovanam Falls, interpretation activities and medicinal garden, tree house accommodation at Chinnar, trekking and camping at Vasyappara.
Other attractive place to visit near the Chinnar is Thoovanam Waterfalls which lie close to Pambar River. You can also visit Marayoor, which is the land of natural sandalwood as well as dolmens (ancient burial chambers) and local sharkara (yellow sugar) making units.
Getting to & from Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
Buses from Munnar can drop you off at Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary; it takes about 1.5 to 2 hours by bus. Alternatively, you can hire an auto rickshaw, taxi or private car for the day and visit the nearby attractions as well.
