Ecotourism in the Western Ghats

Ecotourism in the Western Ghats

While the hill stations in the Western Ghats from Saputara in Gujarat in the north to Ponmudi near Agasthyakoodam in the extreme south draw considerable tourist traffic in the Western Ghats, Eco-tourism has now taken roots and side by side with adventure sports like trekking, rock climbing, river rafting, hang-gliding, angling, etc. is becoming popular and spreading in the hills.

Ecotourism is defined as “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserve the environment and sustains the well-being of people”.

Anshi Nature Camp
Ecotourism creates low impact on the environment and local cultures while enabling to understand the importance of environment in true sense. The ecotourist is less demanding, more cooperative and willing to adapt and accommodate himself with minimum reasonable facilities in his search for virgin destinations.
He develops an emotional investment in the places and the species he had visited. He is always willing to contribute for their survival and lend moral support for all conservation action. Many government and private ecolodges have sprung up in the Western Ghats catering to this class of tourist.

The Kerala Forest and Tourism Department have begun the process of developing 12 wildlife sanctuaries under ecotourism and will offer ecolodges for the tourists. The State Tourist Development Corporations of all the concerned states offer comfortable accommodation at all the major tourist spots. The State Forest Departments also offer accommodation at their forest lodges and rest houses inside the sanctuaries like Bandipur and Madumalai.

A number of ecolodges and ecoresorts have come up on the outskirts of sanctuaries at Bandipur and Masinagudi near Madumalai. Karnataka Forest Department has also established Nature Camps in jungles at places like Nisargadhama in Kodagu, Anshi and Kulgi in Uttara Kannada which offer cottages and tent accommodation.

Quite a sizeable number of private ecoresorts have come up among the coffee estates of Kodagu and Munnar. Dandeli and Nersa near Karnataka - Goa border, Lakkidi and Nelliyampaythy in Kerala, Bellikal in the Nilgiris, Dajipur Bison Sanctuary in Maharashtra all have private ecoresorts.

Home Stays is another option now available to the ecotourist in some of the places in the Western Ghats. Kodagu in Karnataka leads in the Home Stay arrangement.