Eravikulam National Park
#1of 10 places to visit in MunnarMunnar, Kerala
Also known as Rajamalai · Rajamala Wildlife Sanctuary
Quick answer
Opening hours: 08:00 – 14:00 daily. Entry: ₹200 Indian · ₹500 foreign. Allow 2.5 hrs. Best time: 08:00 – 10:00.
Updated · By Traveliac Editorial Team · 5 min read
- Opening hours
- 08:00 – 14:00 daily
- For fresh entry; visitors already inside are permitted to stay until the shuttle service stops running in the late afternoon
- Entry fee
- ₹200 Indian
- Ticket from
- Time needed
- 2.5 hrs
- Best time of day
- 08:00 – 10:00
- Best months
- Oct – Mar
- Address
- Anaimudi Forest Development Agency, Eravikulam National Park, Rajamala, Munnar, Idukki district, Kerala 685612
About Eravikulam National Park
Eravikulam National Park charges ₹200 for Indian visitors and ₹500 for foreign nationals as of 2026, and closes to the public entirely for 45 to 60 days every year, usually mid-February through March, so the resident Nilgiri tahr can calve undisturbed. The 97-square-kilometre park sits on a rolling plateau of grassland and shola forest above 2,000 metres, and it holds the largest surviving population of the Nilgiri tahr anywhere — an estimated 750 individuals grazing the open slopes around Rajamalai, the only sector open to tourists. Visitors do not drive in; private vehicles stop at a base-camp car park roughly 3 kilometres inside the gate, and a Kerala Forest Department shuttle bus, ticketed separately in the same queue, carries everyone the rest of the way up a switchback tarmac road. Anamudi, at 2,695 metres the highest peak south of the Himalayas, rises inside the park's southern boundary at the meeting point of the Cardamom, Anaimalai, and Palani hill ranges, visible as a grey rock dome from the Rajamalai viewing track on clear mornings. The walking trail itself is a paved 2-kilometre loop with handrails, built specifically so that tahr — famously unafraid of people here — can be photographed from a few metres away without anyone leaving the marked path.
Best time of day: 08:00 – 10:00. The first shuttle buses of the day carry the smallest crowds up to Rajamalai, and the tahr graze closest to the walking track before the sun climbs and they retreat into the shola forest shade.
Photography
₹50 camera fee
Eravikulam National Park timings
- Opening hours
- 08:00 – 14:00 daily
- For fresh entry; visitors already inside are permitted to stay until the shuttle service stops running in the late afternoon
- Closed on
- Open every day
Good to know: The park closes entirely for 45–60 days each year, typically from mid-February through March, to protect Nilgiri tahr calving season.
Eravikulam National Park ticket price
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Indian visitors | ₹200 |
| Foreign visitors | ₹500 |
| Children | ₹100 |
| Camera | ₹50 |
Ordinary still cameras cost ₹50, video cameras ₹350, and a separate ₹50 reservation fee applies at the Information Centre in Munnar. The child rate is not published on the official portal; ₹100 is the figure most tour operators quote, so as of 2026, verify at the counter. Book online at eravikulamnationalpark.in to skip the queue, which runs 2–3 hours during the November–January peak.
Prices last checked . Confirm on the official website before you go.
Best time to visit Eravikulam National Park
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
08:00 – 09:30
Gate OpeningBest time to go
Shuttle queue is shortest in the first hour after the 08:00 opening. Tahr graze closest to the walking track in the cool morning air.
Quiet09:30 – 12:00
Tour Group Peak
Coach parties from Munnar hotels and Kochi day-trip operators converge; the shuttle line can exceed a 60-minute wait and the Rajamalai loop trail gets congested at photo spots.
Very busy12:00 – 14:00
Last Entry Window
Fresh ticket sales stop at 14:00. Tahr retreat into shola forest shade as the sun climbs, reducing sighting quality even though visitor numbers stay high.
Busy14:00 onward
Wind-Down
No new entry tickets are sold, but visitors already inside continue moving through on the shuttle system until services stop for the day.
Moderate
History of Eravikulam National Park
Eravikulam earned Wildlife Sanctuary status in 1975 and was upgraded to a full National Park in 1978, closing off a stretch of high-altitude grassland that British planters had used as a private game reserve for the Nilgiri tahr since the early 20th century. The High Range Game Preservation Association, formed by tea planters in 1928, is the reason a huntable population survived at all — the association restricted shooting decades before Indian wildlife law caught up, and its records became the baseline data conservationists still cite for tahr numbers.
The grassland-shola mosaic that defines the park is itself the product of altitude rather than management: above 2,000 metres, the cold and wind stunt tree growth into pockets confined to sheltered folds (sholas), while the exposed ridges stay under grass permanently. This is the same ecological zone, incidentally, where Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) carpets the hillsides in violet-blue once every twelve years, an event last recorded in 2018 and due again around 2030.
Rules & etiquette at Eravikulam National Park
Ticketing at Eravikulam happens in two separate queues that catch first-time visitors out: one counter sells the park entry ticket, a second sells the compulsory shuttle bus ticket, and both must be bought before joining the vehicle line at the base camp. Buying online at eravikulamnationalpark.in in advance removes the entry-ticket queue but not the shuttle line, which still forms physically at the park gate.
Feeding, touching, or cornering the tahr for a selfie is prohibited and forest guards posted along the Rajamalai loop will intervene — the animals are habituated to human proximity but are still wild, and rangers have recorded goring injuries from visitors who crowded a resting animal. Plastic water bottles and packaged snacks are checked at the gate; carry-out is enforced and littering fines are issued on the spot. Drones are banned throughout the park without prior written Forest Department clearance, which is rarely granted to tourists.
Tips for visiting Eravikulam National Park
- 1
Arriving before the 08:00 opening buys a shorter shuttle queue and better tahr sightings, since the animals graze in the open only in the cooler early hours before retreating to shola shade by mid-morning. The shuttle ride up takes about 15 minutes each way and drops visitors at the start of the paved loop trail; the full round trip, including the walk, comfortably fits into 90 minutes to two hours, though the park permits a longer stay if the shuttle schedule allows.
- 2
Carry a windproof layer regardless of the season — Rajamalai sits above 2,000 metres and a stiff, cold wind blows across the open grassland even on sunny days. The calving-season closure dates shift slightly year to year based on Forest Department field assessments, so travellers planning a February or March trip should confirm the exact closure window on the official site before booking transport, since no refund mechanism exists for a trip timed into a closed period.
How to reach Eravikulam National Park
The red star is Eravikulam National Park; the numbered pins are the 5 nearest places in our guides, each showing its rank in its city. Tap a pin for details.
Anaimudi Forest Development Agency, Eravikulam National Park, Rajamala, Munnar, Idukki district, Kerala 685612Directions in Google Maps
From Munnar town (bus stand)
₹350–₹50015 km · 30–40 min
Round-trip taxi, waiting included). Shared jeeps from Munnar bus stand run at approximately ₹100 per seat on tour days.
From Cochin International Airport (COK)
₹2,800–₹3,800115 km · 3.5–4 hours
Prepaid taxi to the park gate).
From Aluva Railway Station (AWY)
₹2,600–₹3,500110 km · 3–3.5 hours
Taxi). KSRTC buses to Munnar run hourly and connect onward by local jeep.
Nearest airport
From Cochin International Airport (COK)
approximately 115 km, 3.5–4 hours by road via NH85 and the Neriamangalam ghat.
Nearest railway station
From Aluva Railway Station (AWY)
approximately 110 km, 3–3.5 hours by road.
Eravikulam National Park FAQs
Is Eravikulam National Park closed every year, and when?
Yes. The park closes for 45 to 60 days annually, typically from mid-February through March, to protect the Nilgiri tahr calving season. Exact dates shift year to year based on Forest Department assessment, so travellers planning a visit in that window should check eravikulamnationalpark.in before booking transport.
Can visitors drive their own car up to the tahr viewing area?
No. Private vehicles stop at a base-camp car park roughly 3 kilometres inside the gate. A Kerala Forest Department shuttle bus, ticketed at a separate counter from the entry fee, carries all visitors the remaining distance up to Rajamalai.
Is Anamudi peak visible from inside Eravikulam National Park?
Yes. Anamudi, at 2,695 metres the highest peak in South India, sits inside the park's southern boundary and is visible as a grey rock dome from the Rajamalai viewing track on clear mornings. Direct trekking to its summit is restricted to research permits issued separately by the Forest Department.
How many Nilgiri tahr live in the park, and will visitors definitely see them?
An estimated 750 Nilgiri tahr live in Eravikulam, the largest surviving population of the species anywhere. Sightings along the paved Rajamalai loop trail are close to guaranteed in the cooler morning hours, since the animals are habituated to human presence and graze within a few metres of the marked path.
Written by Traveliac Editorial Team (Kerala Field & Heritage Desk); reviewed by Traveliac Standards Desk. Facts last checked . How we rank and check places
Places to visit near Eravikulam National Park
Straight-line distances from our map; times are estimates.
