Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary
| Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary | |
|---|---|
 Peppara
|
|
| Location | Thiruvananthapuram, India |
| Nearest city | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Area | 53 km2 |
| Established | 1983 |
The Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary constitutes the catchments of the Peppara Dam on the Karamana River near Thiruvananthapuram, India.
The Peppara Dam was commissioned in 1983 to augment the drinking water supply to Thiruvananthapuram city and suburban areas. Considering the ecological significance of the area, it was declared a sanctuary in 1983. The area was formerly a part of the Paruthippally range of the Thiruvananthapuram Territorial Division. Forests consist of part of the Palode reserve (24 square kilometres (9.3 sq mi)) and part of Kottoor reserve (29 square kilometres (11 sq mi)). The total water spread of the reservoir is 5.82 square kilometres (2.25 sq mi). Recently, a joint effort has been made by Kerala Tourism with the State Forest Department and the Kerala Water Authority to beautify the dam site and provide more entertainment and leisure facilities here.[citation needed]
Contents
Location
The Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is situated on Thiruvananthapuram-Ponmudi Road, about 50 km northeast of Thiruvananthapuram.
Topography
The area is hilly, with elevation varying from 100 metres (330 ft) to 1,717 metres (5,633 ft). The major peaks in the sanctuary are Chemmunjimottai (1717m), Athirumalai (1594m), Arumukhamkunnu (1457m), Koviltherimalai (1313m) and Nachiyadikunnu (957m). Annual average rainfall is 2,500 millimetres (98 in). The major rivers are Karamana River and its tributaries.
Biodiversity
Forest types include West coast tropical evergreen, Southern hilltop tropical evergreen, West coast semi-evergreen,Southern moist mixed deciduous forest, Myristica swamp forest, sub-montane hill valley swamp forest etc.
Trees
Common tree species are Terminalia paniculata, T. bellerica, Pterocarpus marsupium, Palaquium ellipticum, Mesua ferrea, Hopea parviflora, Bombax ceiba, Syzygium cummini, Lagerstroemia lanceolata, Albizia procera, Alstonia scholaris, etc.
Animals
The sanctuary has a rich population of mammalian fauna and is emerging as a big attraction to wildlife enthusiasts and ornithologists. 43 species of mammals, 233 species of birds, 46 species of reptiles, 13 species of amphibians and 27 species of fishes are reported from the sanctuary. The common mammals found are tiger, leopard, sloth bear, elephant, sambar (deer), bonnet macaque, Nilgiri langur, Nilgiri tahr.
Tourism details
The Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is 44 kilometres (27 mi) by car from the nearest railway station, at Thiruvananthapuram, and 49 kilometres (30 mi) from the Thiruvananthapuram airport.
- Accommodation: - No facilities by the department. IB of Kerala Water Authority is very near to the headquarters.
- Best season to visit: January to March but open year round
- Special attractions: Trekking to forest area – Bonafalls, Vazahuvanthole water falls, Kalarkad waterfalls, visit to settlement areas etc.
See also
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]]. |
- Articles with unsourced statements from March 2009
- Pages with broken file links
- Commons category link from Wikidata
- Visitor attractions in Thiruvananthapuram
- Wildlife sanctuaries in Kerala
- Visitor attractions in Thiruvananthapuram district
- South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests
- South Western Ghats montane rain forests
