Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary

On the outskirts of the capital city, the Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is spread over 53 sq. km. on the Western Ghats. It was established in 1938. The place is fascinating for its damsite, thick forest areas, eucalyptus plantations, crystal clear streams and rocky terrain, ideal for adventure expeditions.

The forests of the Sanctuary constitute the catchment of Peppara dam constructed across Karamana river and commissioned during 1983 to augment drinking water supply to Thiruvananthapuram city and suburban areas. The sanctuary has a rich population of mammalian fauna and is emerging as a big attraction to wildlife enthusiasts and ornithologists. Elephants, tigers, sambar, leopard, lion-tailed macaque and cormorant are common.

The Following major forest types are recognised in the wildlife sanctuary.

1 .Southern hilltop tropical evergreen
This type of forest is of stunted evergreen, found above 1000m elevation on the top of hills. They are exposed to heavy wind and less favourable soil and climatic conditions.

2 .West coast semi- evergreen
A transitional zone between evergreen and moist deciduous, this type occurs mostly in hill slopes from 150 to 1050m. The riparian areas also contain them.

3. Southern moist mixed deciduous forests
This type of forest covers more than 60% of the tract along the lower slopes of hills.

Sanctuary consists of Part of Palode reserve (24sq.kms) and part of Kottoor reserve (29sq.kms). The total water spread of the reservoir is 5.82 sq.kms. It is between longitude 76°40' and 77°17' east and latitude 80°7'and 8°53' north. General topography of the area is hilly with elevation varying from 100 m to 1717m. There are 13 tribal settlements in the sanctuary. Eleven are in Athirumala section and two are in Thodayar section.Recently.