Thekkady (Periyar) travel guide

Periyar Tiger Reserve, lake cruises and spice plantations. Most people stay 2–3 nights. Best months: Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr.

Highlights

Periyar Lake boat cruise · 1.5 h · about ₹400 per person. Forest department boats leave from Thekkady boat landing several times a day; the first sailing has the best chance of elephants and bison. Book online, as tickets sell out.
Guided nature walk in Periyar Tiger Reserve · 3 h · about ₹500 per person. Small groups with tribal guides from the forest eco-development committees; wear leech socks in wet months. Tigers are rarely seen, birds and langurs often.
Bamboo rafting and border hiking · 8 h · about ₹2,500 per person. A day-long guided programme mixing forest walking and rafting on the lake; limited places, book ahead through the eco-tourism office.
Spice plantation tour · 1.5 h · about ₹300 per person. Cardamom, pepper, clove and coffee on a guided walk around Kumily; buy spices direct at fixed prices.
Kalaripayattu show at Kumily · 1 h · about ₹300 per person
Kathakali show in Kumily · 1.5 h · about ₹300 per person
Gavi or Chellarkovil jeep excursion · 6 h · about ₹2,000 per person. Gavi is a forest-department eco-tourism area with limited daily vehicles, best booked in advance; Chellarkovil is a shorter trip to a viewpoint over Tamil Nadu.

Kumily town guesthouses (budget, ₹1,200–₹3,000 a night): Walk to the spice shops and the Periyar entry gate.
Plantation homestays and resorts around Kumily (mid, ₹4,000–₹9,000 a night): Rooms among cardamom and pepper, 5–15 min from the reserve.
Forest-edge resorts on the Periyar road and the KTDC lake palace (premium, ₹12,000–₹30,000 a night): Jungle-edge villas, or the lake palace inside the reserve, reached only by boat.

Spice-laden vegetarian thali: Kumily restaurants
Cardamom and pepper to take home: Spice shops and plantations on the Kumily road

Mid-November to mid-January the Sabarimala pilgrimage season fills the Kumily roads.
Jun–Aug rain and leeches on forest walks; boat trips can be suspended in storms.

Hills and wildlife: Munnar and Periyar · 7 days, Kochi (Fort Kochi) → Munnar → Thekkady (Periyar) · from ₹32,350 per person, base estimate before flights. A cool, green trip into the Western Ghats: tea-estate treks and Kolukkumalai in Munnar, then forest walks, bamboo rafting and lake cruises in Periyar Tiger Reserve.
Kerala honeymoon: tea hills, spice forest and Vembanad · 7 days, Munnar → Thekkady (Periyar) → Alleppey (Alappuzha) → Kumarakom · from ₹37,375 per person, base estimate before flights. Misty estate resorts in Munnar, a jungle-edge night in Thekkady, a private houseboat and two slow days at a lakefront resort in Kumarakom.
Classic Kerala: Kochi, Munnar, Thekkady and a houseboat · 8 days, Kochi (Fort Kochi) → Munnar → Thekkady (Periyar) → Alleppey (Alappuzha) · from ₹43,160 per person, base estimate before flights. The route most first-timers want: Fort Kochi's old town, Munnar's tea hills, a Periyar lake cruise in Thekkady and a night on an Alleppey houseboat.
Grand Kerala: Kochi to Kovalam in twelve nights · 13 days, Kochi (Fort Kochi) → Munnar → Thekkady (Periyar) → Alleppey (Alappuzha) → Varkala → Kovalam & Thiruvananthapuram · from ₹70,175 per person, base estimate before flights. Everything in one trip: Kochi and Athirappilly Falls, Munnar and Periyar in the hills, the Alleppey backwaters, Varkala's cliffs and the temples and beaches of Thiruvananthapuram.