page_title: Periyar National Park
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Periyar National Park / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Periyar is notable as an elephant reserve and a tiger reserve. The sanctuary surrounds Periyar Lake, a reservoir measuring 26 sq.km. which was formed when the Mullaperiyar Dam was erected in 1895. The reservoir and the Periyar River meander around the contours of the wooded hills, providing a permanent source of water for the local wildlife.
context_page_description: Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area located in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta in Kerala, India. It is notable as an elephant reserve and a tiger reserve. The protected area encompasses 925 km² of which 305 km² of the core zone was declared as the Periyar National Park in 1982. The park is a repository of rare, endemic and endangered flora and fauna and forms the major watershed of two important rivers of Kerala, the Periyar and the Pamba.
  The park is located high in the Cardamom Hills and Pandalam Hills of the south Western Ghats along the border with Tamil Nadu. It is 4 km from Kumily, approximately 100 km east of Kottayam, 110 km west of Madurai and 120 km southeast of Kochi.
context_section_description: The first official action towards the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity in Kerala was taken in 1934 by the Maharaja of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, by declaring the forests around Periyar lake as a private game reserve to stop the encroachment of tea plantations. It was founded as Nellikkampatty Game Reserve.  It was consolidated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1950 after the political integration of India.
caption: Periyar Lake
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