Parambikulam wildlife sanctuary is a 285 km² Protected area in Chittur taluk in Palakkad district of Kerala state, South India. Established in 1973, it is in the Sungam range of hills between the Anaimalai Hills and Nelliampathy Hills. The Western Ghats, Anamalai Sub-Cluster, including all of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site. The sanctuary is the home of 4 different tribes of indigenous peoples including the Kadar, Malasar, Muduvar and Maha Malasar settled in six colonies. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has agreed to the Kerala government’s proposal for declaring the Parambikkulam Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve.
The sanctuary is located between Longitude:76° 35’- 76° 50’ E, and Latitude:10° 20’ – 10° 26’ N. It is 135 km from Palakkad town and adjacent to the Annamalai Wildlife Sanctuary to the east in Tamil Nadu. It is bordered to the north by Nemmara Forest Division, to the south by Vazhachal Forest Division and the west by Chalakudy Forest Division. The sanctuary has a hornblende, biotite, gneiss and charnockite geology.
Altitude ranges between 300 m and 1438 m. There is a 600 m elevation opening through the Nelliampathy hills from Anamalai hills on the northern boundary of the sanctuary at Thoothampara. Major peaks in the sanctuary are Karimala (1438 m) in the southern boundary of the sanctuary, Pandaravarai (1290 m) in the north, Kuchimudi, Vengoli Malai (1120 m) in the eastern boundary and Puliyarapadam (1010 m) in the west. The sanctuary has three man-made reservoirs; Parambikulam, Thunacadavu and Peruvaripallam, with a combined area of 20.66 km². The Thuvaiar water falls empty into one of the reservoirs. There are 7 major valleys and 3 major rivers, the Parambikulam, the Sholayar and the Thekkedy. The Karappara river and Kuriarkutty river also drain the area. See 3-D topographic maps.
