Periyar National Park in Thekaddy : )

Thekkady is a town in the Western Ghats of Kerala that is known for its scenic plant life, spice gardens, and the Periyar National Park, which is one of the most important wildlife sanctuaries in India.

Since I was short on time to explore Thekkady, I decided to first inspect the native coconut harvest, which, spoiler alert, turned out super delicious, and we also had the coconut pulp to munch on afterwards. This kickstarted my appetite, so I raided the first general store I could spot and grabbed a bag of bright red beetroot tapioca chips and homemade murukku, both equally crunchy and salty snacks which, in their own way, mark a memory on my tongue—and I was thanking God. Fortunately, we were right next to a giant statue of Ganesh ji, so you could say he preemptively granted my prayers. With a bright halo and glittering aura cast by tiny water droplets, my eyes went right to the person cleaning the statue—it's always those little things in a trip which remain with you in the end.

At the Periyar National Park itself, I'm not gonna lie, the line and process to buy the tickets for the multiple nature walks or jungle walks was a challenge in and of itself, but it's best to ask all your questions at the counter. Eventually, we had a bus drive us all the way into the heart of the park, and along the way we spotted sambar deer who are likely used to these noisy tourist buses rattling by, and hordes of monkeys eyeing anything edible on your person—you've got to be super careful. But it is easy not to be, as you get so immersed in the warmth and beauty of the Periyar Lake. It is surrounded by an evergreen forest and allows boat safaris. I, of course, stood by and only took videos of them, but there's always a next time, so hopefully I see you again, Thekkady!

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