Keibul Lamjao - National Park, Manipur

It's been a long time no post in Indiantorist-spot blog because our team was in search of best the destination for your holidays. We got a place that is not much known to the world, but it could be the amazing trip to this place on these vacations. Our destination for today is Keibul Lamjao, which is a city of floating land with stunning lake views. Keibul Lamjao is a national park located at Manipur state, India (the impressive part of North East India).

With 40 km2 area you are getting a jungle with countless natural scenery. However, you have to reach Bishnupur District to enter the safari area. Yes, I agree that there are many national parks with similar features, but Keibul national park is the only floating park of the world. You will also love to watch plants such as Phumdis, etc. Eld or antlered deer are other attraction of the park.

Due to beautiful scenery the park was declared as sanctuary in 1966 and established as national park in 1977 because of its gazette notification. Some part of park is still managed by the tribal groups. In some parts these groups don't allow people to enter that means you might face bit difficulties enter specific areas. Maximum area of park is managed by state administration so there are certain locations where you can visit and enjoy the real nature.

The living tribal groups of Keibul are Brel, Thang and Maril. A good rainfall and pollution free environment is the key factor of this place. July to August is the duration for heavy rainfall, though February to March is the driest seasons in the town.

Town is not much popular so you will not get many facilities in the area. However, guest house is available for accommodation and boating is accessible to enjoy the floating lake. While boating you need to be very careful because the small boats are only available in the town. You might face the snakes, crocodiles and some more wild animals while boating in the jungle. One thing I forgot to mention and that is Sangai the beautiful dear that is rare available now. Killing Sangai dear is common in the area and because of such the strength of this dear is reducing every year. The other name of this dear is Brow Antlered (also known as eldi).

Keibul is covered with rock solid mountains. However, you will find some areas with pine trees that are enhancing the Keibul town. Overall it could be the adventure place for you. So plan the trip to Keibul Lamjao National Park on these vacations. Don't forget to carry the binoculars and rain jacket as north east India is always known for unknown weather conditions.

Lodging: You can book the room at Forest Rest House (located at Keibul Lamjao), Sendra Tourist Centre (located at Sendra) and Moirang Tourist Centre for lodging.

Best season to visit: between October to April

Best moment:before sunrise or late afternoon, but prior sunset as the place becomes bit dangerous in the night.

Pass to enter the park: Foreigner or outer residence people have to get the Inner Line Permit from the DSC (Department of Soil&Conservation) and WLP (Wild Life Protection) to enter the park. 

How to reach Keibul Lamjao?

Buses are available from capital city Imphal to Keibul. You can get the buses for Keibul from Ima Women Market, Imphal city and Nipakheithel. Private cabs and taxis are available as well for Keibul, though road conditions are not perfect so you might face dizzy roads with a lot of hicks. Reach Guwahati or any big North East station to get the direct bus for Imphal. Train for Guwahati is available throughout the nation. You can also get the flight for Guwahati or Imphal as some limited airlines are having flights for such stations.

Note: Wake up in the morning to enjoy the pleasure of natural fresh air and the sweet smell of jungle plants. You will also hear different types of sounds in the morning that is enough to make you active throughout the day. The most important part, few militant groups are active in this region so be careful while you are in the town. Get the pass and follow the instructions provided by the forest department for your safety.

Aryankavu - Hill Station of Kerala

Journey in train towards best hill station is always a dream for me because that way I can view the natural beauty closer compared going through flight or other sources. Today I found a place that is a small but cute hill station of Kerala known as Aryankavu. It is the village comes under Kollam region of backwater state Kerala. This Indian tourist place is yet unpopular and that’s the reason less people reach this town on vacations. However, my choice is such kind of places where I find fewer crowds no matter if the spot is having limited attractions.

After long research I decided to visit this green town through train and believe me my journey to Aryankavu was best then most of the places of India. However, it is the hill station so you will not get the direct or broad gauge line for this station. You have to reach Shenkottai through road and from there you can get the train for Aryankavu. Frankly telling there was less places to visit in the town but still I enjoyed a lot. I and my team mate spend 4 days in the town and that we can say were the memorable moments of our life.

There is another way to attain the town and that is NH 744 closer to Thenmala (our next targeted Indian tourist place). This mountain pass of Western Ghats is easily reachable through Punalur to Shenkottai route and you will get the train for these stations as well. Aryankavu town is just 78 kms far from Kollam town, though Paravur is 81 km distant from the destination. A climate condition is tropical here and languages used are English and Malayalam. Important spots where you can visit are Palaruvei waterfalls, Kadamanpara forest, Junction, Rose Mala, big temples and few more spots.

Attraction in Aryankavu:

Maximum places of South India are famous for holy values. Aryankavu is also having some historical temples, houses and locations to visit.

Sastha Temple: Initial tourism spot of town is Ayyappan temple that is listed in big temples of Lord Ayyappa. People believe Lord Ayyappa came to this place as a teenager with a different identity known as Tiru Aryan. That’s the reason this temple is also recognized as Aryankavu Sastha Temple. This shrine is between the forests though you have to take the route of Trivandrum - Tenkasi NH. If we talk about the values this temple is again similar to Sabarimala. Females from 10 years to 50 are not allowed to enter the temple. Rituals and traditional pujas are done in Tamil style so the male devotees have to remove their shirt before entering the temple. Females can take pleasure of this natural beauty instead of entering the temple. Whosoever is planning to reach here, the person should careful all time as the maximum part of Aryankavu is the jungle and full of wild animals. Some risk part is there in the town so be careful and take pleasure of this natural beauty spot.

Catholic Churches: Two wonderful structured churches known as St. George Malankara and St. Mary's Archdiocese founded by Mr. K. Abraham Vaidyer. Abraham was the popular Ayurveda physician and was the member of Grama (Village) Panchayat (Administration).

Palaruvi falls: Next place to visit in Aryankavu is Palaruvi falls. Palaruvi is basically made of two different words of Malayalam language. Pal is milk and aruvi means watercourse. The height of water is 300 feet and that’s the reason the water looks like milk. Water is crystal clear and the small pond allows you to take bath in nature. This could be different experience of your life because you are at real jungle and the original high waterfall area. Don’t miss this spot if you are real nature lover. Once you reach the falls you will find some of the mandapams or impressive cottages of ancient period. That states that kings of bygone empire came to this place and spend their valuable time. The important part of this fall location is the route is quite difficult and the forest pathways are full of mud. Trekkers will not face any problem here, anyway the place is good to visit and impressive in looks.

Rose Mala: Next tourism spot of this Indian tourist place located at 12 Km distance from the railway station of Aryankavu. Rose Mala is the enchanting ecotourism destination of Aryankavu. It is basically a dense forest scarcely populated especially for farmers and tribal. Rose Mala is closer to Thenmala dam so you can enjoy two different spots at one location.

Thenmala Dam: Greenery, forest and a big dam is quite impressive place to visit. Some tree houses are available in this area so enjoy the jungle life. Don’t forget to take permission from the forest department if you are entering the jungle.

Few other attractions of Aryankavu are Kadamanpara sandal forest (2^nd largest sandal forest) and Bourdillion plot that is first bemused planted garden of the world.

How to reach Aryankavu?

By Rail: Aryankavu is the hill station and meter gauge line is available in the town. However, the closest big station is Kollam that is few km distant from Aryankavu.

By Air: Closest airport is Thiruvananthapuram located at 95 Km distance. Flights for Thiruvananthapuram are available from Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and many other cities so people looking to reach Aryankavu.

By road: Aryankavu is connected to both Kollam (77 Km) and Thiruvanantha Puram (85Km).