Chinnar Nature Trails - Itineraries

Tea/ coffee are served as per their demand / feasibility. Snacks like biscuits or cookies will also be served.

We serve only boiled water. Usage of packed water in the park is not encouraged. However, if the guest insists on bottled drinking water we provide it for them (Subject to feasibility).

Arrive Chinnar Forest station by 9.30 am and meet your naturalist and the team of eco-guides. After a short briefing, you will be guided for a trek through the dry deciduous thorny scrub forests of Chinnar. Trek starts from Champakkad tribal settlement. A two hour long trek will end at Vasyappara. Camp in a traditional thatched hut on a ledge at the top of this hill – an ideal place for wildlife viewing and star gazing. For lunch and dinner, simple vegetarian food is cooked and served by your hosts at camp. Stay overnight in the hut.

Walk around your camp early in the morning with your naturalist. After breakfast (cooked and served at camp), trek back to Champakkad. Take a dip in the river Pampar to cool your body & mind. Throughout the trip, an experienced naturalist and trained eco-guides from the local indigenous community will assist you. This program could give you a chance to watch Asiatic elephants and gaurs at a close distance.

Explore a Memorable Experience!!!

Tea/ coffee are served as per their demand / feasibility. Snacks like biscuits or cookies will also be served.

We serve only boiled water. Usage of packed water in the park is not encouraged. However, if the guest insists on bottled drinking water we provide it for them (Subject to feasibility).

Arrive Chinnar Forest station by 9.30 am and meet your naturalist and the team of eco-guides. After a short briefing, you will be guided for a trek through the dry deciduous thorny scrub forests of Chinnar. Trek starts from Champakkad tribal settlement. A two hour long trek will end at Vasyappara.  Camp in a traditional thatched hut on a ledge at the top of this hill – an ideal place for wildlife viewing and star gazing. For lunch and dinner, simple vegetarian food is cooked and served by your hosts at camp.  Stay overnight in the hut.

Walk around your camp early in the morning with your naturalist. After breakfast (cooked and served at camp), trek back to Champakkad. Take a dip in the river Pampar to cool your body & mind.

You will be transferred to the Forest station by road and after lunch go for a short trek through the riparian forests along the Chinnar River. These forests are home to one of the most endangered mammals of India, the Grizzled Giant Squirrel.  The dry deciduous forest of Chinnar gives you an excellent opportunity to watch wildlife at close quarters. Spend this night in a Machan (a small cabin built on top of a tree) or in a Log Hut. Packed dinner will be served here.

Throughout the trip, an experienced naturalist and trained eco-guides from the local indigenous community will assist you. This program could give you a chance to watch Asiatic elephants and gaurs at a close distance. You are part of a joint patrolling team (local indigenous community + Forest and Wildlife Department) that monitors poaching and illegal logging when you choose this program. Trained tribal guides and an armed park guard accompany you during the trek.

Wake up early in the morning and move around the camp with your naturalist. Look for the pug marks on the river bed nearby and watch birds and animals without disturbing them. Walk back to the Forest station with your guides and naturalist. After breakfast at the canteen run by the local community, bid adieu to Chinnar and move to your next destination.

End of Tour.

• Reporting place for both the tours given above are Chinnar Forest Check-post on the Munnar-Udummalpettai road.

• We do not guarantee wildlife sighting.

• In case of any last moment cancellations of camps / programs due to the restriction or advice from the Forest Department of Kerala, full amount collected for this program will be refunded. We will not be liable / responsible for any further penalties or charges.

• Your stay in the jungle will be either in tents or machans (treetop huts) or Thatched huts or forest guest-house.

• The treks may be physically challenging. If you can do three hours a day for three days then you will have no problem.

• Home cooked vegetarian food will be served by the community. They provide an assortment of traditional food. Vegetables are freshly picked. Fruits are local and maybe exotic to you.

• Water provided will be boiled and has no health hazards. We do not encourage bottled drinking water in plastic bottles.

• In the jungle, you can photograph, sketch or paint. Assistance will be provided if asked. Entrance fee for the camera is not included in the tariff.

• Toilet facilities are natural during your stay in the jungle. (Except in hut)

• Tropical mountain streams are the only bathing facilities. The temperature of water varies from 18 degree Celsius to 22 degree Celsius.

• The escorting team is equipped and trained in first aid.

• Collecting wild specimen from nature is strictly prohibited by law.

• Do not expect to see all the wildlife listed at one go. A longer stay will give you a fair chance. Sighting wildlife after all is pure serendipity.

• Most of our projects are located at quaint and off the beaten locations. Travel to these places may take more time than scheduled.

• We encourage use of public transport to our destinations. Detailed time schedule can be provided.

• We advice necessary vaccinations. Please bring mosquito repellents. There are natural substances that repel mosquitoes effectively. Pure lemon-grass oil extract is available in India. Simply mix a few drops with gentle oil like coconut or your body cream, and rub on your skin. There are now many products sold in India that are based on lemon grass or eucalyptus oil and they work very well.

• Please bring a copy of your Passport copy if you are foreign national. If an Indian National, please bring a copy of any valid personal photo identification certificate/ card issued by the Government of India.

• Please bring your hiking boots.

• Please bring your personal effects.

• We recommend dull colored cotton clothing.

• Bring only biodegradable toiletries. Soap from natural oils biodegrades naturally with no harmful affects, and is gentle on your skin.

• Travel lightly into the jungles. We can arrange to safe keep rest of your luggage.

• Sensible clothing recommended so as not offending your host community.

• Follow local customs – sit, eat and behave like your hosts. You will gain the respect of host community when you honour and practice local customs.

• Refrain from giving money or sweets/gifts to children, it encourages begging and dependency. A donation to the local Conservation and Community Development Fund is a more constructive way to help.

• Please refrain from smoking during hikes. If you cannot do without the weed, smoke only at campsites.

• Approaching wild animals can be dangerous. Follow the advice of your hosts.

• Leave campsites only with a local guide.

• Follow the regulations and laws of the PA being visited.

• Ask permission before you take pictures in the villages, especially when you take pictures of people.

• Buying products made from endangered plants and animals is a crime and encourages illegal trade.

• Taking away souvenirs from historical sites and natural areas is unethical.

Explore a Memorable Experience!!!