With the opening of the Mankulam Nature Appreciation Centre at Anakkulam, where herds of wild elephants frequently arrive for drinking water, the eco-tourism projects launched by the Forest Department is set to get a boost.
Mankulam Divisional Forest Officer B.N. Nagaraj told The Hindu that the centre, with a mini theatre, gallery, cafeteria and an eco-shop, would be opened for public next month. The mini theatre would have short documentaries that showcase the rich flora fauna of Mankulam lying on the western side of the Western Ghats.
The new centre at Mankulam, a hotspot of plant and animal biodiversity, would also act as an information centre, the entrance to which had details of the flora and its specialities, he said. Local people would also be made part of the eco tourism projects, and in charge of the entire tourism packages would be the Anakkulam Vana Samrakshana Samithy, with a membership 120 tribespeople. About 15 young tribespeople were now working as tourism guides in addition to local staff in various tourism-related centres.
The open gallery on the top of the nature appreciation centre would allow the visitors to get a nice view of the elephant herds reaching the Anakkulam river, Mr. Nagaraj said. A watch tower, being constructed close to the elephant point, would also help watch the herds in action. Mr Nagaraj said binoculars would be made available at the gallery to have close view of the elephants and their calves. The Forest department was planning to allow select visitors for night stay at Anakkulam.
Recently, Mankulam opened in a big way for tourists with an an information centre opened at Kanigiri water fall area and a hanging bridge at Viripara. In addition to the trekking to Kannadipara, Kilikallu, Kozhiyilakuthu, the community-based ecotourism projects had exploration trips to Valiyaparakuthu and Nakshathrakuthu. The tourism itinerary also included bird watching and heritage dance.
A major feature of Mankulam is its large number of perennial water falls, some of which remain closed for visitors in view of the risk factors. But at Kainigiri, from where water is diverted to the Kallar project, iron handles and bathing facilities have been arranged for tourists to get a close view of the falls.
Mankulam is only 23 km away from Munnar. By opening the tourism potentials of Mankulam, the severe rush being experienced in Munnar could be relieved, Mr Nagaraj said.
