About the Periyar
The Periyar is Kerala's longest and most ecologically important river — and one of India's most iconic, because the entire national park and tiger reserve on its banks bears the river's name. The Periyar National Park and its famous lake (created by the 1895 British-era Mullaperiyar Dam) are Kerala's most visited wildlife destination, where Asian elephants wade across the reservoir and tigers move through the surrounding shola-grassland ecosystem at night. The river originates in the Sivagiri Hills of Tamil Nadu and flows west through some of the finest rainforest in the southern Western Ghats.
The Periyar's catchment encompasses the Cardamom Hills — one of the world's most biodiverse areas for plants, with over 300 species of orchids and 150 species of ferns in the upper valley alone. The river also powers the Idukki and Idamalayar dams — Kerala's two largest hydroelectric projects — and the Mullaperiyar Dam has been a persistent source of conflict between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over water rights and dam safety. The Chalakudy River — a Periyar tributary — is the site of Athirappilly Falls, India's most famous waterfall in South India.
Mullayar · Cheruthoni · Idamalayar · Perinjankutti