'Neelakurinji' attracts hordes of visitors at Rajamala

Munnar, Kerala, Sep 20 (UNI) Tourists are flocking at Rajamala, the natural habitat of Niligiri Tahr, a rare mountain goat, with the mass flowering of Neelakurinji, a unique species of flowers that blooms once in 12 years.

As per records 44,037 tourists, including foreigners, have already visited Rajmala, which is a part of the 97-sq-km Eravikulam National Park, from September one to 18, Wildlife Department sources told UNI.

As many as 22,222 tourists visited the famous hill destination on Kerala-Tamil Nadu border last September, he said adding the unprecedented rush of visitors braving the inclement weather caused by incessant rains was mainly to have a glimpse of this blue-spangled phenomenon.

If the trend continued, the authorities expected at least five lakh visitors in the next two months at the hilly region, habitated by 120 endangered and endemic species, he said.

The Muduvar tribe, which inhabit the mountain ranges around Valparai (Tamil Nadu) and Munnar (Kerala) in the Western Ghats, calculates its age with the blossoming of Kurinji which grows in abundance in the Palani ranges, in Mattupatti and Gundumalai around Munnar.

Eravikulam National Park, established to protect the Nilgiri Tahr, also known as the Nilgiri Ibex, is situated in the Devikulam Taluk of Idukki District in the state.

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