Located 45 Km north east of Kochi Kodanad Elephant Training Centre is one of the largest elephant training centers in South India. Set on the southern banks of the Periyar River, it is known for the Elephant Kraal; i.e. the place where the newly captured elephants are kept till they are properly trained and disciplined.
It specializes in training stranded baby elephants from the wild. A decent number of people turn up at the center simply to watch the baby elephants in their infancy. As many as four to six baby elephants are brought in and trained in Kodanad every year. The training ground, known as Kodanad Park, also offers elephant safari to its visitors. Even today, the old ‘Kraal’ style to house elephants is used here.
It consists of wood compartments, which can accommodate as many as four elephants. The ‘mini zoo’ shelters wild animals, which have become unfit for survival in the local forest, and some inmates of the zoo are of very rare species. In order to preserve the beauty of Kodanad in its natural state, the Government of India has included this place in the list of Ecotourism destinations. As a part of this project, the Kaprikkad village, which lies 3 km away from Kodanad, was built to entertain tourists in the most natural and environmentally friendly manner.
