Holidayers visiting Konni, an eco-tourism centre cum elephant camp in south Indian state Kerala, can also have a glimpse of rare butterflies in the place along with jumbos.
As part of plans to give a facelift to the centre, the state forest department has drawn up a project to set up a butterfly park at the elephant camp.
The park will be a hub of hundreds of rare, colourful species of butteflies. It will have a polycarbonate dome suitably designed for weather control.
A breeding house displaying metamorphoses of butterflies will be a major attraction of the proposed park, department sources said.
As many species of butterflies are on the verge of extinction due to the depleting green cover, the new park hasgreat significance, they said.
The nine-are elephant camp at Konni was developed as an eco-tourism centre four years ago in a joint initiative of forest and tourism departments.
The camp at present houses modern jumbo shelters, elephant kraal, photo gallery, biogas plant, retiring rooms for mahouts and shops selling farm produces.
As part of the second phase of the project, a conservatory, museum, an audio-visual room for creating awareness about biodiversity and a children's park are being planned along with the buttefly park.
The department has also plans to convert an ancient bungalow in the Naduvathumoozhy forest near here into a heritage interpretation centre as part of the eco-tourism project.
Construction of tree-top huts, open-air theatre and a pond for bathing the captive elephants in the camp are also under plans, forest officials said.