Kallippara Hills Becomes the Spotlight for the Tourists as Neelakurinji Flower Blooms

 Kallippara Hills in Idukki district has recently become a center of attraction of the tourists amid the blossoming of Neelakurinji flowers. Neelakurinji is a flower that blooms once in every 12 years and this time, it has blossomed in Kallippara hills in Santhanpara. As per the Santhanpara Panchayath officials around 5,000 to 10,000 peoples are arriving at Kallippara Hills daily to catch a glimpse of the Neelakurinji flowers.

Along with the tourists, a lot of photographers and videographers are also rushing towards the destination to capture the amazing view of Neelakurinji flowers. It is an unexpected blooming of the Neelakurinji flowers that has given a great mileage to the tourism sector in Idukki. As of now, there is no entry fee to visit the hills and people from different parts of Kerala are visiting Kallippara hills daily.

The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has also announced a new sightseeing service from several depots to Kallippara Hills. The Neelakurinji sightseeing trip by KSRTV starts at 8 AM at Munnar Deport and travels through the Gap Road, Anayirankal dam, Kallippara hills and Chathurangappara before returning to the Munnar Depot in the evening. The charge for the trip is INR 300 per head and KSRTC is planning to add more services to Kallippara hills during the Deepavali holidays.

A Clean and Small Water Stream on the way to Munnar Hill Stations

 Just saw a clean and small water stream while travelling to the hill stations of Munnar in Kerala. The water stream was not shallow and was suitable for having a bath. There was a slight flow, but that was not too dangerous. We decided to stop by the water stream and as we moved towards, we came to know that it was crystal clear and pure in all sense. We had a small batch and enjoyment in this water stream, before we started our journey towards Munnar. Just sharing a small video of the stream near Munnar where we had some good time.

Eravikulam National Park in Munnar Shut for Tahr calving

The Eravikulam national park in Munnar has been  closed for visitors from 29th of January to the 1st of April as it is the calving season of the Nilgiri tahrs. The calving season of the Nilgiri tahrs usually lasts from January-end to the middle of June.  The Nilgiri tahrs is endemic to the south-western ghats and were enlisted as  endangered species by the International Union of Conser-vation of Nature and Natural Resources.

According to a  survey that was conducted in 2017,  there are  around 850 Nilgiri tahrs and 87 offspring  at the Eravikulam  park in Munnar. The largest population of Nilgiri tahrs is present mostly in the high-altitude grasslands. The Nilgiri tahrs in Eravikulam National park are a one of the most major attraction  of Munnar tourism and travellers are seen visiting this national park to get a glimpse of the Nilgiri Tahrs..

A total of 54,759  tourists visited the Eravikulam National park in January 2016 and around   64,396 tourists visited the park  in  December that same year.   52, 393 tourists visited the park in September 2017,  and 77,508 visite in December 2017. The tourist inflow to the National park might increase as Neelakurinji  is all set to bloom after a period of 12 years.
The Nilgiri Tahrs are one of the prime attractions of the tourism industry in Munnar and most of the travellers don't hesitate to visit the Eravikulam national park while they are on their trip to Munnar. The current restriction will really dissapoint the serious traveller who have planned to visit Munnar during the time when the park is shut down.

Pampadum Shola - The Home of the Evasive Nilgiri Marten

Pampadum Shola National Park in Munnar is located on the southern portion of Western Ghats and is a safe haven for the rare and most elusive Nilgiri Marten. Due to the presense of the Nilgiri Marten, the eco-tourism activities at Pampadum Shola National Park  require careful planning and regular review. The Nilgiri Marten almost looks like a civet or a mongoose and it most prefers areas with higher altitudes.

The earlier information about the Nilgiri Marten was that it was a solitary animal. But recente experiences have shown that that they can be spotted as pairs and triplets as well. The authorities have been able to gather information on the dietary habits of the carnivorous animal. There were almost 42 independent sightings in Pampadum Shola, and the researchers feel the area and its extended forest area stretches in Kerala and Tamil Nadu constitute the largest haven of the elusive mustelids. The number is very crucial as the global population of the Nilgiri Marten is estimated only below 1000.

Pampadum Shola comes under Munnar Wildlife Division, and enjoys proximity of Kurunjimala Wildlife Sanctuary and Palani hills of Tamil Nadu. The shola grass lands in this region have significant presence of Nilgiri Marten.

Recently the researchers have also recorded their sounds along with their hunting patterns. The Nilgiri Martens is often found to engage in allo-grooming and resting on fallen tree trunks. During the day time, the Nilgiri Martens remain restless and active. The Nilgiri Martens has become one of the prime attractions for those visiting Munnar and most of the travellers are seen busy trying to spot this rare species and take a snap or two.

Munnar Becomes Busy as Snow Falls on the Mountain Peaks

The flow of tourist towards Munnar to enjoy the chilled weather has increased in the last few days. The flow of tourists which started to increase since November is expected to reach its full potential by Christmas vacation. The hill stations of Kerala such as Munnar, Thekkady, Vagamon etc has witnessed the huge flow of travellers in the last few days especially the weekends. A long queue of tourist vehicles can be seen on the road from Adimali to Munnar. Around 2500 tourists reach the Rajamalai wildlife sanctuary on a daily basis.

As per the tourism department around 1500 travellers visit Mattupetty in Munnar on a daily basis and this number is expected to increase in the coming days. Tourist destinations in Munnar such as Kolukkumalai and Meesappulimala have already started witnessing the increased flow of tourists. In the last few days, the temperature dipped to almost 4 degree celsius in Munnar town and the nearby estates such as Lekshmi, Chenduvarai and Chittuvara experienced a temperature of 2 degree Celsius. The withdrawal of the rain and the clear sky in Munnar has contributed to the dip in the temperature.

As construction work is going on along the Kochi-Dhanushkodi highway, a 42 kilometer road distance from Munnar to Bodimettu has been blocked from morning 7 to evening 7. As  a result, the tourists are reaching Munnar by deviating from Pooppara and taking the Rajakumari-Kunchithanni-Pallivasal route.

Neelakurinji Blooms Again in Munnar

Neelakurinji  has yet again started blooming in areas of Munnar like Rajamala in Eravikulam National Park, Korandakadu mountain ranges, and Kottakamboor in Vattavada. The blooming of Neelakurinji in Munnar will attract an increased number of tourists in the coming months.

Kerala Forest Department forecast another blooming season to start only in August 2018 in Idukki, where neelakurinji last blossomed in the year 2006. Tourists can purchase tickets to Rajamala from Eravikulam National Park and the forest department will take visitors in special buses to the protected area to see Neelakurinjis.


You can view the Neelakurinji at the Korandakadu mountain ranges  that falls on the Munnar–Mattupetty route. The pretty blue Neelakurinji flowers can already be seen at Kottakamboor in Vattavada, including the places where the tribal community swells. You will be pretty lucky to view the Neelakurinji flows in full bloom if the climatic conditions at Munnar are favorable.


Neelakurinji can be seen at the Eravikulam national park and it is a protected area. In places such as Chokramudi, Lakshmi mountain ranges, Vattavada, and Kottakamboor areas, the land grabbing trend has completely destroyed kurinji's habitats. Adversities like forest fires, unscientific constructions of resorts by land mafia have endangered the blooming of Neelakurinji.


Most of the hotels will be full in the coming days as travellers from different parts will travel to Munnar so as to view the amazing beauty of Neelakurinji flowers.

My Top 10 Favorite Places in Munnar

Travelling to Munnar is one of the most amazing experience for a traveler and once you reach this hill stations in Kerala, you will be greeted with some of the most amazing views of the nature. I have visited Munnar a lot of times and have visited different travel location. I really love visiting this place again and again without getting bored. Such is the amazing travel experience Munnar has to offer. Every time we visit Munnar, we will get something new to view and experience.

The climate in Munnar is always chilly and the only season that you should avoid visiting this place is during the Monsoon season. During the monsoon period, it will be raining heavily and you will not be able to wander out and enjoy the panoramic beauty of the hills in Munnar. The beauty of the enchanting tea plantations will be missed by you during the monsoon and hence it is better to avoid visiting Munnar during that time.

There are a lot of attractions and places to visit in Munnar which include adventure travel destinations, scenic locations, trekking trails, markets, gardens, waterfalls, old buildings etc. All these will attract the attention of the travellers without any doubt.

I also have passion for some of the important travel attractions in Munnar and here I am listing out my top 10 favorite travel attractions in Munnar and am not really going to elaborate about all these attractions. I will just point it out and you can go and Google it out to find more details.

So here goes the list.

1. Pothamedu ViewPoint

2. Attukal Waterfalls

3. Top Station

4.Kundala Lake

5. Mattupetty Dam

6.Eravikulam National Park

7. Anamudi

8. Indo Swiss Diary Farm

9. Lock hart Gap

10. Meesapulimala