This district's name is suposed to have been derived from the malayalam word ' Idukku' meaning a narrow gorge. About 1500 sq ft of it's area is rserved forest, much of which is home to a variety of flora and fauna. For the people of Kerala, Idukki is always associated with power generation, since 60% of the state's power needs come from the hydroelectric power station at Moolamattom. The district area is about 5019 sqkm.
Idukki Arch Dam is world's second and Asia's first Arch Dam constructed across the Kuravan & Kurathi hills. It is 650 ft in breadth and 550 ft in height and this lies close to the much smaller Cheruthoni barrage. To the west is the Kulamavu Dam. The underground Power House at Moolamattam is another attraction.


"Thekkady" the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, lies 60 km away from Idukki, 190 km from Kochi. The sancuary is the natural habitat of elephants, deer, bison and wild boar. It is also a tiger reserve. It is India's largest Sanctuary covering over 750sq km of forests. There are oppoptunities for trekking, elephant rides and boating.It is expected to be declared as a bird Sanctuary in the near future with 246 types of native birds and 40 varieties of migratory flock. The Thekkady sanctuary is one of the best in the country for watching and photographing wild life. Thekkadi is almost on the border with state of Tamil Nadu State.
"Munnar" a beautiful, peaceful hill station covered with tea plantations, 133 km from Kochi. 17 km from Munnar lies the Eravikulam National Park. It can be reached only through trekking. In this area can be found the Nilgiris tahr, an endangered species.Over twelve varieties of spices including ginger, garlic, cardamom, vannilla, pepper, cinnamon, coffee, tea, clove and nutmeg is cultivated in Munnar and its neighbouring villages. "Peermade" 43 km before Thekkady, lies the former summer palace of the Travancore maharajas. This cool and tiny hill station is full of rubber, tea and spice plantations