Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary.
Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary was officially notified only in 2018 — 269 sq km of shola-grassland-evergreen forest on the Western Ghats Theni-Madurai escarpment. Because the notification is recent and the sanctuary has no entrance gate, no ticket counter, no safari operations, almost no tourists visit. The fauna list reads like a Western Ghats checklist — lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri tahr, Nilgiri langur, gaur, sambar deer, Indian giant squirrel, great hornbill — but without organised access, sightings are luck-based.WHY NOBODY KNOWS
A 269 sq km Western Ghats sanctuary on the Theni-Madurai escarpment, notified 2018. No formal safari operations — exploration is via the existing estate roads with permission from the Theni Forest Range Office. Best done with NCF/ATREE researchers (occasional). The estate-walk approach: stay at Highwavys or Manalar Estate (BBTCL) and walk the cardamom-pepper plantation trails 5-7am for shy fauna. Permits free; advance arrangement with Theni Forest Range Officer essential. Closed during wildlife census (typically December).
