Tree walk facility proposed at Kodaikanal wildlife sanctuary

Chennai: In a bid to provide scintillating effect and engage tourists visiting the Kodaikanal wildlife sanctuary, foresters have proposed to create a tree walk facility, where the public can walk over the canopy for about 800 metres through a hanging suspension bridge, informed wildlife sources said. The facility has been incorporated as part of the eco-tourism initiative and will be like the ones established in Singapore and New Zealand rainforests.

Canopy walkways provide pedestrian access to the forest canopy and a few areas have been selected for the project. The draft has been sent to the forest department headquarters seeking its permission and once when the permission is issued, works will be completed within a few months, a senior forest department official said.

According to Kodaikanal foresters, the walkway will consist of a bridge designed with a rope and will pass through the canopy of the pristine forest.

Currently, areas near Pine Forest is studied and there are also other areas that have to be explored to set up the canopy walk, sources said. The height and the design are still under evaluation and there are other natural aspects that have to be studied and the project will be cost-effective to the department. Further, the rope bridge will be designed to ensure that they do not disturb the movement of langurs and nesting birds, sources said.

“The biologists originally started the concept to ensure access to the upper regions of forests for scientific evaluations and identification of trees. Such bridges also help in reducing the biotic pressure as they do not disturb the ecology and at the same time provide a pathway connecting forest areas”, explained wildlife biologist Dr A. Kumaraguru of Biodiversity Conservation Foundation. Welcoming the eco-friendly project, the biologist also said that the tree walks all over the world particularly the ones in African forests.