Gavi () is a village in

Pathanamthitta district Pathanamthitta District (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. The district headquarters is in the town of Pathanamthitta. There are four municipalitie ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

.The nearest railway station is Thiruvalla (120 km). It is located 28 km southwest of

Vandiperiyar Vandiperiyar, , is a spice village in Idukki district, in the Indian state of Kerala. It is known for tourism, tea and coffee plantations, black pepper and other spice products. It is also known as an educational city and a number of tea factori ...

, a town in

Idukki Idukki (ഇടുക്കി; ) is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala in the southwest of the country. It is the largest district in Kerala and lies amid the Cardamom Hills of Western Ghats in Kerala. Idukki district co ...

on N.H 220, the highway connecting

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

and

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

. Until 2012, Gavi was not known to many people and it became a major tourist destination after the release of

Malayalam movie Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

Ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (album) (2011), by Every Little Thing * "Ordinary" (Alex Warren song) (2025) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016 ...

, which was mainly shot at Gavi.

Getting there

The nearest railway station is

Chengannur Chengannur () is a municipalityhttps://lsgkerala.gov.in/system/files/2017-10/localbodies.pdf in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located south east of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about north of the state capita ...

(120 km).

The nearest railway station to gavi is

it is about (120 km) from gavi. Gavi is 14 km south west of Vandiperiyar, 28 km from Kumily, near

Thekkady Thekkady () in Idukki district is a town near Periyar National Park, an important tourist attraction in the Kerala States and territories of India, state of India. The name Thekkady is derived from the word "thekku" which means teak and "adi ...

. Gavi is inside the Ranni reserve forest. Gavi is a part of Seethathode Panchayath in Ranni

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

. Gavi is part of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, and the route can be covered by car from Vandiperiyar. Gavi is well known as an

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

destination.Gavi EcoTourism Guide
/ref> The entrance fee is 25 rupees per person and 50 rupees per vehicle. Cameras are 25 rupees and video cameras are charged 100 rupees. Both day and night stays are available. Forest tent camping is available from November through March. . It has been said that most enjoyable route to Gavi is the way from

Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality, city in southern Kerala, India, spread over an area of . It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 37,538 (as of 2011 census). The Hindu pilgrim centre Sab ...

. Botanists have said that "gopher trees" can be seen in Gavi, Kerala. Gavi's forest area, there are two gopher trees and they are believed to be the only two gopher trees in India. The tree, which is identified as gopher, is known as ''nirampalli''. Gopher wood or gopherwood is a term used once in the Bible. There is no consensus about what modern species is meant by "gopher wood". The tree standing at Gavi forest is of robust stem and lush foliage. According to state Forest Department officials, though the fully-grown gopher in Gavi is the only such tree sighted in the periphery of the jungle, possibly there could be more such trees still surviving in the inner forests of

Periyar Tiger Reserve Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (PNP) is a protected area located in the districts of Idukki district, Idukki and Pathanamthitta district, Pathanamthitta in Kerala, India. It is a renowned Project Elephant, elephant and Project Tige ...

(PTR) in Kerala. Gavi flower

Flora and fauna

Gavi's evergreen forests are abundant with wildlife including the

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

elephants Elephants are the Largest and heaviest animals, largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian ele ...

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

s, Indian

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ) is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 ...

, sambar,

barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking, 1965–1980 ** Municipal Borough of Barking, 1931–1965 ** Barking (UK Parliament constituency) ** Barking (electoral division), Greater ...

and mouse deers, lion tailed macaque,

Nilgiri langur The Nilgiri langur (''Semnopithecus johnii'') is an Asian langur of the Old World monkey. It has glossy, black fur and an orangey-golden brown, hair-like mane on its head. Females have a white patch of fur on the inner thigh. It typically lives ...

Nilgiri marten The Nilgiri marten (''Martes gwatkinsii'') is the only marten species native to southern India. It lives in the hills of the Nilgiris and parts of the Western Ghats. With only around a thousand members left it is listed as Vulnerable on the ...

Malabar giant squirrel The Indian giant squirrel or Malabar giant squirrel (''Ratufa indica'') is a large multi-coloured tree squirrel species endemic to forests and woodlands in India. It is a Diurnal animal, diurnal, arboreal, and mainly herbivorous squirrel. Distr ...

and more than 250 species of birds.

Climate

Summer: February–April, daytime temperatures up to 28 °C. but can drop to 20 °C at night. Monsoon: June–August, daytime temperatures up to 25 °C but can drop to 10 °C at night.

Gallery

File:Malabar giant squirrel gavi.jpg, Malabar giant squirrel found in Gavi,Kerala File:Nilgiri langur gavi.JPG, Nilgiri langur gavi File:Malabar Giant Squirrel.JPG,

Indian giant squirrel The Indian giant squirrel or Malabar giant squirrel (''Ratufa indica'') is a large multi-coloured tree squirrel species endemic to forests and woodlands in India. It is a diurnal, arboreal, and mainly herbivorous squirrel. Distribution and hab ...

File:Gavi elephants.jpg, Indian elephants near Gavi File:Gavi elephants 2.jpg, Indian elephants near Gavi File:Indian bison gavi.jpg,

Indian bison The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ) is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 mature individuals ...

(gaur) spotted in Gavi File:Lion Tailed Macaque in Periyar.jpg,

on the road from Vandiperiyar to Gavi File:Cleome (Spider Flower) in Gavi.jpg, ''

Cleome hassleriana ''Cleome houtteana'', commonly known as spider flower, spider plant, pink queen, or grandfather's whiskers, is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Cleome'' of the family Cleomaceae, native to southern South America in Argentina, Paragua ...

'' in Gavi

In visual media

The 1973 released Malayalam movie Ponnapuram Kotta was filmed at Echopara and Gavi. The 2012 Malayalam movie

was partially shot at Gavi. Gavi became a major tourist destination after the release of Ordinary.

References

External links

# {{Pathanamthitta district Villages in Pathanamthitta district