The Forest department recently launched an ecotourism project in the Ayyappancovil forest range under the Kottayam Forest division to woo tourists.According to Forest officials, the Munambu tourism project, operated by the Anchuruli Vana Samrakshana Samithy (VSS), is located around 1.5 km from Kanchiyar on the Kuttikkanam-Kattappana State Highway in the district. Ayyappancovil forest range officer Ratheesh K.V. said that the scenic view of the Idukki reservoir and trekking through the forest area to the dam catchment area is the major attraction of the Munambu ecotourism project.“During sunny weather the tourists can watch the shutters of Cheruthoni dam from the ticket counter of the Munambu ecotourism project. Tourists need to trek nearly 1 km through deep and scenic forest to reach the catchment area. The view of water flow from the Anchuruli tunnel is another attraction,” said the official. “The catchment area of the dam has already emerged as a popular destination and photo shoot point. Also, remnants of menhirs and prehistoric stones are another attraction at the ecotourism site,” he said. Officials maintain the reserve forest area as a waste-free zone. Some people, while visiting the catchment area, tend to litter the place. “Earlier, the area used to be littered with plastic waste and plastic bottles. After starting the ecotourism project, the Forest department appointed guards and ensured the area is a litter-free zone,” said a senior forest department official.In 2020, a group of researchers discovered prehistoric stone monuments in Anchuruli in the catchment area of the Idukki dam reservoir. In January, the Kottayam Forest division started another ecotourism project in the nine hectares of Pine Valley at Thattathikkanam, a reserve forest area near Kuttikkanam, on the Kottarakara-Dindigul National Highway (NH) in Idukki.