Known as the nature’s spot in Kerala, the Chinar wildlife sanctuary is a great place for wildlife tourism. The great variety of flora and fauna along with the best gifts of nature makes this place a really wonderful place to visit. Surely, it is one of the most prolific places in Kerala. The Chinnar wildlife sanctuary is a well known repository of medicinal plants.
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary – Introduction
The famous Western Ghats of Kerala empower the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary is home to a large variety of plants and animals. The uniqueness lies in the thorny vegetation. This arises due to the rain shadow region of Kerala. The major attraction here is the collection of reptiles. It is the richest hub of reptiles in Kerala when it comes to the number of species.
Wildlife in Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
The Chinnar wildlife sanctuary is blessed with a variety of trees. The most remarkable of all is the unique thorny scrub forest with Xerophytic species. The major flora of the chinnar wildlife sanctuary includes dry deciduous forest, thorny scrub forests, high sholas and wet grasslands. It is really a reservoir of tranquil greenery entrenched at the verdant valley. Other valuable species of flora include Acacia arabica (Karivelam), Acacia leucofolia (Velvelam), Santalum album (Chandanam), Anogeissuslatifolia (Mazhukanjiram), Elaeocarpus recurvatus (Bhadraksham) and Strobilanthus kunthianus (Neelakurinji). The famous ‘white bison of Manjampatti’ has been recently reported from Chinnar. Chinnar is rich in avian diversity with above 250 species of birds. In association with the neighboring PAs, Chinnar forms part of a viable conservation unit.
The fauna of Chinnar wildlife sanctuary is also very impressive. The sanctuary is the home to the rare and endangered species giant grizzled squirrel. Moreover, the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is the habitat to a lot of varieties of animals like the little cormorants, sambar, gaur, bonnet macaques, elephant, spotted deer, tigers, spectacled cobras, Kraits, turtles, vipers, darters and black eagles. Apart from being a wildlife sanctuary, this place is heaven for boating and trekking purpose.
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary - Tourist Information
Climate : The climate in Chinnar Wildlife sanctuary is mostly dry. It gets rainfall only in the months of October and November.
Best time to visit : The best time to visit the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary is round the year except for the months of October and November.
Getting there
By Air : The nearest airport to Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is the Cochin International airport at a distance of 150 kilometers.
By Rail : The nearest railway station to Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is Ernakulam.
By Road : The sanctuary can be reached from all major cities of Kerala.
Places to Stay
