Not far away from the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram is a small wildlife sanctuary that in spite of its relatively small size is quite captivating due to its appreciable wealth of flora and fauna. After reaching Thiruvananthapuram, one can reach the Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary by taking the road leading to the famed hill station of Ponmudi, which is about 65 km from the heart of the city. Peppara sanctuary is at about a distance of 50 km to the northeast of the city of Thiruvananthapuram and is located in Nedumangad taluk.

Spread over 53 sq km, this wildlife sanctuary in the Western Ghats is also the catchment area of the Peppara Dam constructed across River Karamana. The sanctuary is inhabited by tribal communities and their settlements can be found in the Athirumala and Thodayar sections of the sanctuary.

The sanctuary, comprising of hillocks and forests, has heights that range from 100 m to 1717 m above sea level. Frequented by nature enthusiasts, the vegetation here is of three main groups viz. southern hill tropical evergreen forests, west coast semi-evergreen forests and southern moist-deciduous mixed forests.

The wildlife found here include elephant, gaur, sambar, barking deer, wild boar, leopard, panther, wild dog, Malabar squirrel, lion-tailed macaque, mouse deer and Nilgiri langur. The region is also a favourite of birds, especially wetland birds like darter, little cormorant, pied kingfisher and egret. King cobra and python are the common and noted ones among the reptilian population at the Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary. Visitors would also find this wildlife sanctuary a haven for moths and butterflies.

During a year, weather conditions would be as follows: Summer months (March to May) would have temperatures hovering around 35 degree Celsius. The main rainy season (June to July) will have this sanctuary drenched in south-west monsoon with the north-east monsoon taking place in October-November. The coolest period to visit the sanctuary would be in December to February when the minimum temperatures would be around 18 degree Celsius.

For more information on this beautiful sanctuary, you can get in touch with the Assistant Wildlife Warden, Peppara Sanctuary over +91-472-2892344 or with the Wildlife Warden, Thiruvananthapuram Wildlife Division over +91-471-2360762.

Getting there:

Nearest airport: Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, about 55 km.
Nearest railway station: Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station, about 50 km.