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Indigenous people
Five ethnically different tribal communities once lived within
and outside the park. Mannan, Paliya, Urali, Mala-araya and
Malampandaram are the predominant tribal groups and almost
all of them are settled on the outskirts of the reserve, engaged
in agriculture. Malampandaram, is a small nomadic community
living off nature, collecting berries and tubers and occasionally
fishing deep inside the forests of the tiger reserve.
 SabarimalaTemple
The famous forest shrine is situated within the limits of
Periyar Tiger Reserve. About 4 million pilgrims throng to
the shrine, which is kept open for 61 days from mid-November
to mid-January and on every first day of Malayalam month for
5 days.
The Temple is administered by Travancore Devaswam Board and
over the years large constructions have come up making the
area look like a mini township. The environmental fallout
of this on the sensitive low altitude evergreen forests around
is voluminous. The park management addresses this issue of
pilgrimage through eco development committees after taking
adequate safeguards coupled with awareness programmes.
 Magaladevi
Temple
The remains of a temple, believed to be more than 2000 years
old exist near the northern boundary ridge of the park in
typical wet montane habitat. A small patch of southern montane
wet temperate forests surrounded by southern wet montane grasslands
exist in the area, that supports the endemic orchid species
Habenaria periyarensis and a small population of the highly
endangered Nilgiri tahr – Hemitragus hylocrius. Once
every year, on Chitra Paurnami day, a large number of pilgrims
visit the site to offer pooja to the deity Mangaladevi also
known as Kannaki. The pilgrimage route passes through dense
forests and the impact is minimised through strict vigil by
forest personnel.
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