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47-km from Tirunelveli, the
Kalakadu wildlife
sanctuary is very popular with botanists and ornithologists as it
has a great variety of fauna and bird life. It is a Lion tailed Macaque's
preserve. Tiger, Sloth Bear, Sambar, Flying Squirrel, Pangolin are some of
the major inhabitants of this sanctuary. The best season to visit this
sanctuary is between September and March.
Mundanthurai
Wildlife Sanctuary
Situated 42-kms from Tirunelveli, the
Mundanthurai wildlife sanctuary boasts of dry deciduous to tropical wet
evergreen forest patches of pure reeds. The sanctuary covers an area of
567-sq-kms. Though this sanctuary is a Project Tiger reserve, one can
likely to sight other animals like Leopard, Sambar, Sloth Bear and Chital
apart from a wide variety of Indian Primates including Bonnet Macaque,
Common Langur, Nilgiri Langur and Lion-tailed Macaque. The best time to
visit Mundanthurai is between October and January.
Trekking can be done in both these sanctuaries, but with prior permission
from the Forest (Wildlife) Department; trekking trails can also be
undertaken.
Air: The nearest airports to these sanctuaries are
Madurai (200-km) and
Trivandrum
(140-km).
Rail: The nearest railway station to reach
Kalakadu sanctuary
is Cheranmadevi (20-km) and to reach
Mundanthurai
sanctuary is Ambasamudram (6-km).
Road: There are regular buses from Tirunelveli
and the neighbouring towns to reach these sanctuaries.
The Forest Rest House at Sengaltheri is the nearest accommodation for tourists visiting Kalakadu Sanctuary. For tourists visiting Mundanthurai Sanctuary accommodation is available at the Forest Rest House at Mundanthurai, PWD Rest House at Ambasamudram and the EB Rest House at Papanasam Camp.