Kodanad

Kodanad is a beautiful rural riverside village and a popular day picnic spot in the Ernakulam district of state of Kerala in southern India. Elephant rescue and care centre for central and southern forest region of Kerala is located in Kodanad. Kodanad is situated on the south bank of river Periyar, about 42 kilometers east of Kochi (Cochin) city.

Overview

Kodanad is known for its 'Elephant Kraal', elephant rescue centre, mini zoo and its access via river boats to the seasonal pilgrimage centre of Malayattoor. Malayatoor church and Kodanad are located on the opposite banks of the Periyar river with unspoilt and rustic views of surroundings. Kodanad's locality attracts visitors, film crews, foreign tourists all around the year. There are many walkways alongside the river and they offer a unique experience to the visitors.

Kodanad is the only elephant rescue and training centre in Kerala specialised for rescuing and training stranded baby elephants from the forest regions across Kerala. Kodanad also offers elephant safari to visitors. Elephants are made ready with a specially constructed wooden saddle on top, designed to make the riding comfortable and safe.At Kodanad, the old 'Kraal' is still maintained and is still used to house elephants. The Kraal is a tall structure made of wood compartments that can accommodate up to 4 elephants. The 'mini zoo' shelters wild animals which have become unfit for survival in the local forest and some inmates of the zoo are very rare species.

History

In 1950-60s, Kodanad used to be the largest of several elephant training centres for captured Elephants from the adjoining forest regions. They were trained using Mahouts, specially skilled people also known as Paappan in Malayalam language. In 1970s, there was a ban to elephant capture by Government of India and from then on, Kodanad is primarily used as a rescue training centre.

Baby elephants & Care centre

Watching baby elephants at their infancy and various stages of their growth has become a unique feature that attracts visitors to Kodanad. At least four to six baby elephants are brought in and trained every year. Tourists arrive at Kodanad fascinated by baby elephant's various stages of development at the Care centre. Training plays an important role for elephants while their brains develop and they learn vital survival and cultural knowledge. The baby elephants at Kodanad are owned and taken care by the [http://www.keralaforest.org Department of Forest.] Once they become adults, someone buy them out in auctions. In Kerala, elephants are used for a variety of traditional jobs such as timber loading & wood moving, or as temple elephants for religious Hindu festivals & events.

Ecotourism

Kodanad is in the list of Ecotourism destination projects supported by the Government of India. As a part of this project, Kaprikkad, a village lying 3km adjacent to Kodanad on the river bank has been set up in 2006 for entertaining visitors in the most natural and environmental friendly way.

Nearby tourist attractions

* Thattekkade bird sanctuary (25 km)
* Bhoothathan kettu dam (25 km)
* Munnar (100 km)

References