Parambikulam National Park, Pollachi, Tamil Nadu India

The Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is a reservoir of tranquil greenery ensconced in a valley between the Anaimalai Hills range of Tamil Nadu and the Nelliampathi Hills range of Kerala. The areas hilly and rocky, drained by several rivers, including the Parambikulam, the Sholayar and the Thekkady.

Thickly forested with stands of bamboo, sandalwood, rosewood and teak, the sanctuary has some marshy land and scattered patches of grassland. Parambikulam was once home to some of south India's finest stands of teak. Little remains of the original teak forests, other than the famous Kannimari teak tree, the largest in Asia as most of these have now been replaced by teak plantations. The tree is about 5 km from Thunakadavu, and is one of Parambikulam's prime attractions. The one of the oldest and largest teak trees in the world, is another attraction in the sanctuary. It has a girth of 6.52 metres, height of 48.25 metres when the measurement was taken in 2003. (It's claimed that the biggest teak in the world is in Uttaradit province of Thailand, with a girth of 10 metres and height of 47 metres.)