Periyar: bamboo rafting and what you actually see

Periyar Tiger Reserve covers around 925 square kilometres of the Cardamom Hills around a reservoir created in 1895. The dead tree stumps standing in the water are the remains of the forest that was flooded then, and they are the reason the lake photographs the way it does.

Bamboo rafting

A full-day forest department programme and the best thing in Thekkady. You trek in with an armed forest guide, raft a section of the lake on lashed bamboo, and eat lunch in the forest. Groups are deliberately small and places are limited, so this needs arranging well before you arrive rather than on the morning.

The lake boat

The scheduled boat rides are much easier to get on. Take the earliest one. Wildlife comes down to the water at dawn, and the difference between the 7am boat and the 2pm boat is not small.

What you realistically see

• Elephants, often. Herds come down to drink.
• Gaur, sambar, wild boar, langur, and otters in the water.
• Birds throughout: darters, kingfishers, and hornbills in the canopy.
• Tigers are present. Sightings are rare. Anyone implying otherwise is setting you up for disappointment.

Spices at Kumily

Kumily, just outside the reserve, is a cardamom town. Plantation visits show you cardamom, pepper, clove, nutmeg and vanilla growing rather than in a jar, and the good ones take an hour and involve walking.

Bring long sleeves and closed shoes for the rafting. Leeches are a fact of the forest floor during and after the monsoon; the guides carry salt.