Kerala Opens Regulated Trekking as Neelakurinji Flowers on Meeshapulimala Slopes

Key facts

• The Kerala Forest Development Corporation has opened regulated trekking access at Meeshapulimala in the Munnar landscape following the rare Neelakurinji flowering on its high-altitude slopes, capping daily footfall at 750 visitors with travel slots coordinated through an application developed with the Wildlife Trust of India.
• Neelakurinji typically does not flower above 2,500 metres; while Anamudi lacks blooms, slopes around Meeshapulimala at about 2,470 metres near the Rhodo Mansion have witnessed active flowering.
• Botanists noted that climatic disruptions linked to El Nino and monsoon variability initially raised apprehensions of delayed or aborted flowering before the current blooms emerged.
• The flowering terrain also provides crucial habitat for the endangered Nilgiri tahr, underscoring the ecological sensitivity of opening such zones to ecotourism.
• The bloom usually progresses along an altitudinal gradient, beginning at lower points such as Chokramudy and culminating at upper elevations between October and December.
• The event relates to Western Ghats montane ecosystems, high-altitude biodiversity, and plant phenology under climatic variations like El Nino, with the next major blooming cycle in the Munnar region projected at Eravikulam National Park in 2030.