Situated in India's majestic Western Ghats, one of the world's 34 biodiversity hot spots, Parimbikulam Wildlife Sanctuary occupies 285 square kilometres of lush tropical valleys in eastern Kerala. More than 20 square kilometres is covered by water; the rest is a blanket of greenery.
The area boasts a huge variety of animal life -- elephants (both wild and domesticated), sloth bears, tigers, leopards, snakes, Nilgiri Tahrs, deer, Gaur, panthers and monkeys -- as well as birds and plant life. It is a paradise for nature lovers or anyone in need of some peace and quiet -- precious commodities in India.
It hasn't always been so, however. During the 19th century, the area was part of the Sungam and Parimbikulam forest reserves. It saw heavy exploitation by the British of timber, primarily teak. In 1905, a tramway was constructed to facilitate the export of timber to the rest of the world as Cochin teak. With natural reserves depleted, plantation began in the 1920s and almost all of the teak still there today was planted in the 1970s and 1980s.
Parimbikulam was declared a wildlife reserve in 1973. Until 2004, its management was informal and dirt cheap. Since then, under new warden Sanjay Kumar, armed with an office full of textbooks, eco-tourism is a priority.

Guests can choose from eco-tourism packages with snazzy names such as "eco-meditation" and "tribal symphony". Accommodation ranges from tented niches for the family and romantic island nests for couples to dormitories for larger groups.
They're serious about nature here. The area has been declared a "plastic-free zone", with local stores forbidden to sell bottled water. Instead, one can only buy drinking water from the park store -- water purified in the park and packaged in reusable bottles. The number of guests and vehicles is restricted to limit any disturbance to animals.
People are part of the eco-system here. Parimbikulam is home to four different Adivasi communities, the name given to the tribal people of India, each with its own language, religion and culture. The Kadar, Malasar, Muduvar and Malamasar total more than 1 000 people.
The park pamphlet assures visitors that "local people are harmless to the holy treasure of nature. Hence this sanctuary is a model for the peaceful co-existence of tribal people and wildlife." Therefore "eco-development programmes" have been set up "to improve their living conditions".
However, to limit local dependency on natural resources, park managers have begun enforcing limits on their extraction. What these programmes entail, broadly, is that tribal people are encouraged to sell their cattle, so that less land is used for grazing and they earn some money.
By way of alternative employment, tribal people can work as guides, cooks or cleaning staff, or help to manufacture crafts for the park store, which sells everything from branded T-shirts to honey. In every way, though, they're somehow serving the needs of the park manager rather than their own.

Initially, the Adivasi were hunter-gatherers. As outside forces showed more interest in the area, they became dependent on forestry. Now they are once more being forced to change their way of life.

Cultivation practices have spiritual relevance for the Adivasi. Seeds are not only important for food and money, but they are also literally worshipped.

In Parimbikulam, the only remaining natural teak is the mighty Kannimara, believed to be more than 450 years old. Legend has it that blood oozed from where an axe once struck. Since that day, the tree has been worshipped by the locals. Standing almost 50m tall with a girth of more than 6,5m, it is believed to be the largest living teak in the world, and it's a tourism drawcard. A valiant attempt at holistic park management? Or self-serving exploitation in the guise of eco-tourism?