Year 3 -17 February 2026 – Periya National Park -Kumily -India

We had breakfast about 7.45am and it was a pleasant cool morning with lovely views over the surrounding hills. As the warmth increased as did the haze and we met our Jeep at 9.00am for what we thought was a Jeep Safari in the Periya National Park. The jeep was an Indian version of a Land Rover called a Mahinda and was apparently 25 years old. We got in and headed on our way.

We climbed down the main road for a while and I asked how far park was away and was told about 10knm. We eventually turned off the main road on to a small road which led through a tea planation area and alongside a large river which in parts was deep bit in other areas quite shallow and with rocks exposed. People were washing in the river or washing clothes etc.

The small road went on and eventually ran out and we were then on dirt tracks with very red dust roads with a lot of rocks in it so we had to go very slowly and dust was being kicked up. We saw some cows grazing with a farmer with them. We drove on slowly for some time not really seeing anything until we came to a flat area on a hill with some old buildings on it. You could see a fence going along and the driver explained that this was the border of the park. It gave us an interesting view over forest and the large rising hills in the distance. I was looking out for tigers but they would not come here. We heard a number of noises, mostly birds but also monkeys in the forest.

We drove on along another rutted dirt track and the driver and the jeep had to work quite hard. We then came to another lookout and with similar noises and look out and a fence. I asked when we were going to go into the park and the driver said we were not going in. This I was not impressed by and we drove on through a large plantation area and then came back to the road. We had seen little wildlife and the driver said you do not see much in the dry season. We did see lovely views of natural hills and you could imagine the tigers some way off in the remote park.   

We eventually came back to the hotel and explained to Agil that we were not happy as we assumed we were going into the park and not on tracks alongside it. There is apparently another entry into the park where jeeps go but we did not know about that. We made our feelings known to our driver. He had no real answer.

We asked about the afternoon and he suggested we went to a Spice Farm and a Honey Farm to which we said yes and agreed to meet at 2.30pm.

We all went for a swim and to relax although I had some admin to do as normal.

Once we had swam and relaxed Paul and I had a sandwich. Mark decided to stay behind so Paul and I joined our driver and he drove us to a Spice Garden at Kumily. We were given an English Guide and she walked us through the garden full of spices. It was in fact a Ayurvedic Garden and they grew many herbs and spices which they use for medicinal purposes. In fact what they were selling were medicinal products. It was quite interesting but we did not buy anything. In this area they grow Cardamon, Cinnamon, pepper, star anise and gloves and export it. It is so fertile here and everything just grows.

Once we left the Spice Garden we went to the Philips Honey Farm which was interesting. They have the smallest bee in the world (about the size of a small fly) which does not sting and lives here but which does not produce a lot of honey and they have larger bees. They have small box type hives with the smaller bees’ box on the top and the larger ones below. They then have a cover over both. We tasted both honeys which were nice but we did not think we should buy any as we would not be able to eat it really in time.

We then went off to the Aroma Coffee House/Factory for a coffee. It was interesting as they grow their own beans and also bring them in from nearby. They dry the beans and then put it into a machine which gets rid of the skins. They then roast the coffee and either retain and sell them as beans or grind the roasted beans into powder which is then dried before being put into packets. We then had a coffee made for us using the Arabica powder which was delicious. They make this and robusta coffee. We bought some coffee and they sold other things like nuts and peppercorns so we bought some. It was an interesting visit and they should do well.

We returned to our hotel and after sorting a few things we had another swim.

We had discussed what to do and we thought about extending our trip and going to Munnar would be a good idea and so we approached our agent and he arranged it all.

We had a Sundowner and then supper. We will head over to Munnar tomorrow.                

 The picture of the day is a view over the Periyar National Park -real tiger country.

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK. 

I am looking for crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town (mid June to end of July) and from Cape Town to the Azores and then to the UK (mid August onwards). If of any interest do email me.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com