Kolukkumalai, Munnar: The Year of Neelakurinji

How it started?

It all started on a Sunday weekend afternoon as far as I can remember when I was surfing through Instagram and saw some pretty photos of few places in South India which were covered with some kind of flowers that blooms rarely. So the Neophile inside me got more curious to know about it more.

I had never been to any place on my own before but I was constantly eager to wander off somewhere to feed my burning wanderlust. I still don't know how & why I pulled it off, because in 2018 Kerala got hit with one of the worst floods of the century. Still, somehow I gathered the courage to fly there solo. I had just read a few blogs, articles, packed my bags, and booked the tickets. This all happened within a week. Oh, and not to forget convincing my parents too. I still remember my legs shaking out of anxiety when I boarded that flight.

What is it about?

South India and mainly Kerala: God's own country may have many places to woo various kinds of travelers from lush forests to tropical beaches, from spice plantations to stunning hill stations, from lakes & rivers to ancient temples & wildlife sanctuaries. I know many of you all must have already been to Munnar, also called Kashmir of South India.

But what If I tell you a secret that if you visit Munnar at a particular time, you can witness something very surreal and magical, what if I tell you a secret that once in every 12 years, you can witness something very spectacular that you would only wish that you had eyes on your back too because a pair of eyes won't be enough to see the magic that it beholds. What if I tell you that the lush green hills of Nilgiris will turn into a bright purple blueish blanket, what if I tell you that this flower can be rarely seen in few parts of the world only, what if I tell you that you will have to wait till 2030 to see this happen again.

Well, let me not keep this suspense anymore; the flower is called "Neelakurinji" or Strobilanthes Kunthiana in its scientific name. It's a beautiful flower with purple, blue, maroon shades and blooms after every 12 years. Last it bloomed in 2006 then 2018 and now will have to wait till 2030 to see it happen again. During its season it can be seen in many places in South India around Nilgiri mountains like Kolukkumalai, Eravikulam, Rajmala hills, Anamalai hills, Kodaikanal, etc. But the best place to see this is at Munnar, where these flowers sort of spread like a magic carpet covering the hills and valleys.

How to reach:

Munnar is accessible by road mostly as it is a hill station, a popular one indeed. However, there is no airport or railway station there. The closest railway station and airport can be found in Kochi, which is 130 kms approx. You can get private and state buses to Munnar from almost every major city or town in Kerala.

However, Munnar is pretty deep and widespread. Most of its tourist attractions may seem close but are indeed far from each other as it is a hill station. So I would recommend planning accordingly and choosing out the desired places to visit and a stay at someplace in the center to avoid unnecessary traveling between places.

Where to go?

Neelakurinji can be seen in many parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and even in Karnataka however, the best places to see it are Eravikulam National Park and Kolukkumalai.

I would recommend going to Kolukkumalai which is near Suryanelli. Both places require prior permits and booking as there will be a lot of tourist influx during the season. The add-on for choosing Kolukkumalai is that it is a mountain peak and the road to the top is extremely adventure, bumpy, and surrounded by tea plantations. The ride has to be necessarily done in a 4X4 Jeep, the road is not for faint-hearted people as it is very rough and full of mud & stones and it will take almost more than a hour to reach the top. If you are lucky you can even see cloud bed floating below from its peak.

Where to stay?

If you are specifically visiting Kolukkumalai, I would suggest staying at Suryanelli as it is very close to it. There are several good hotels and resorts to accommodate tourists of each preference. Plus the hotels would have good info about the tours to Kolukkumalai and many also conduct specialized tours and arrange transport and all. If you stay in Munnar, then your transit time will be more making you more tired and inconvenient. Hence, I would prefer to stay someplace near to Suryanelli, and don't worry as there are plenty of good options to choose from.

The Journey:

Before doing it I thought that the real fun will start once we reach the top but it turned out that reaching there was also an adventure in itself. The Journey as I mentioned earlier will not be user-friendly, the roads are full of big rocks, mud, and hairpin turns. In fact, I found it very hard to grab or hold on to something inside the Jeep while going up, it won't be a surprise that people who are prone to travel uncomfortably are bound to puke before reaching the peak.