During a visit to Kerala, one of the most fascinating places to visit is Munnar. Munnar, the beautiful hill station is also famous for a number of other things, like the Anamudi peak, Mattupetti dam, Rajamalai National Park etc and Munnar resorts offer a lot of exciting things for every tourist.

One of the other fascinating places is the Salim Ali Bird National park or Thattekkad sanctuary. It is located at a distance of 20 kms from Kothamangalam on the Kochi - Munnar route situated in Idukki district. The sanctuary was discovered by the famous ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali in the year 1983. The sanctuary has been named after this great man. It houses over 250 species of birds and the other migratory birds that visit the place during the migratory seasons. The sanctuary covers an area of 25 sq kms. It is known to be the richest bird habitat in peninsular India comparable with the eastern Himalayas.

The Thattekkad sanctuary is very well complimented by Munnar due to its altitude. Munnar has a typical shoal grassland eco-system and hence it is home to a large number of birds, many of them being endemic like the Nilgiri wood pigeon, Nilgiri Pipit, Greyheaded bulbul, Black and Orange Flycatcher, Broad tailed grass bird, Crimson backed sunbird, Greybreasted Laughing Thrush, Nilgiri Flycatcher, Indian Rufous Babbler, Whitebellied Blue Flycatcher, Whitebellied Shortwing, Whitebellied Treepie and the Wayanad Laughing Thrust which can be the major attractions during the visit. Apart from the birdlife there are many mammals such as leopard, porcupine, bear, deer and majestic elephants. Among the reptiles Cobra and pythons are common.