Gavi Tourism, Place to vist in Gavi

Gavi is a village in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. It is located 28 km southwest of Vandiperiyar. Gavi is a paradise for nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts. Beside basking in the glow of this hill station, there are so many things that you can do in Gavi like trekking, wildlife watching, bird watching, staying in tree house, camping and safari in the forest and boating in Kochupampa and Gavi lakes. You can also hike to Sabrimala Temple View, stroll in the sprawling spice garden and visit the cardamom factory situated in Gavi. It is one of the best destinations for summer vacations in southern India, as it remains cold in the summers and offers a great deal of opportunities to engage visitors.

Spread across the beauty of Periyar Tiger Reserve, Gavi is a quiet, beautiful and pristine forest haven. These evergreen forests are abundant with magnificent Wildlife including the tiger, elephants, leopards, bears, Indian gaur, Mouse deers, lion tailed macaque, other varieties of monkeys, Nilgiri Marten and a lot more. For the nature explorers Gavi offers the complete acquaintance with the flora around including Nageia Wallichinia, a highly endemic species of the Gymnosperm family seen only around Gavi in the whole Western Ghats. The forests around Gavi are home to over 320 species of birds –the great Indian hornbills, sunbirds, woodpeckers, kingfishers and myriads of mynas, dongos, cuckoos and bulbuls-truly any birder’s dream. The sheer beauty of this place is indeed worth a closer look.

Gavi is considered as a heaven for birdwatchers in India. Active participation of of tribal in Gavi makes it a unique venture of its kind in the country.Over a short period of time visitors to Gavi gradually increased, especially after ‘Alistair International’ the world acclaimed tourism major listed it among the leading eco-tourism centres and one of the must-see places in India.The road leading to the picturesque Gavi is completly blanketed by tea plantations, which itself is a refreshing experience for any visitors to Gavi.One of unique feature of Gavi is camping in the forests any can pitch a tent in the camping site.

A highlight of the Gavi eco project is the involvement of the local populace in its activities as guides, gardeners and cooks. This will provide livelihood for the locals and also will help to create awareness on conservation of nature. Gavi offers its visitors activities like trekking, wildlife watching, outdoor camping in specially built tents, and night safaris.

Gavi is now in the limelight of tourist map of Kerala because of its recent fame as a great tourist destination which is not tampered much with the inflow of tourists. Many are in flowing to this place to enjoy its virgin beauty. Considering such flow, the forest department had decided to take some urgent steps to control the influx of tourist that is more than its capacity to this area. In order to protect the fragile nature of this region this is very important and keeping these views certain steps will be implemented in this area. Kerala Forest Department has decided to open a ticket counter at the village headquarters at Angamoozhy, near the Kochandy checkpost, from October 25 to control the entry of tourists to Gavi and other parts of the Periyar Tiger Reserve.

Such regulations are being imposed due to the strict instructions issued by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests as well as the Tiger Conservation Agency. According to the new terms, Forest Department would permit only 10 vehicles (heavy or medium) to Weekdays on Gavi and 30 vehicles on Holidays. Tourists visiting Gavi should buy tickets from the forest department counters at Angamoozhy and no private vehicle without entry ticket would be allowed to cross the Kochandy check post from October 25. But this is not applicable for the government vehicles; they could cross at any time.

The entry fee has been fixed at Rs.100 for heavy vehicles, Rs.80 for medium vehicles such as van, Rs.50 for car.

Forest department has taken the decision to purchase two specially designed 32-seaters to transport between the Kochandy check-post and Gavi. The buses would be designed in such a way as to get clear view of the verdant valleys and its inhabitants the wild animals in the southern part of the Periyar Tiger Reserve. On the arrival of the two buses and the commencement of the operation no other private vehicles would be allowed in these roads.

Tourists who love to visit luxuriant nature rich valleys can make advance booking over telephone at the special counters to be opened at the Kochandy check-post or at Angamoozhy for day-long trip at Gavi. The entry to the forest at Kochandy would be restricted from 7 a.m. to 12 noon.

The Forest Department as part of the second phase of the Gavi eco-tourism project is looking at the possibility of introducing a trekking package, cloud walking, jungle huts, tree-top walk, etc., They are exploring the feasibility of improving basic facilities so as to tap the eco tourism potential of the forest terrain.

Town:: 28 Kms from Vandiperiyar & 51 Kms from Thekkady
Airport:: Madurai Airport (Tamil Nadu), about 140 km away and Cochin International Airport, about 190 km
Railway Station:: Nearest railway station - Kottayam, about 114 km
District:: Pathanamthitta
Longitude:: 9.440679
Latitude:: 77.159300