Kaas Plateau, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is known as Maharashtra’s Valley of Flowers. Located in the Sahyadri range, the 1,000-hectare region turns into a riot of colourful wild flowers, post monsoon. It is home to around 850 known species of plants of which about 600 are of the flowering variety. These include orchids, shrubs such as the Karvy, and carnivorous plants like Drosera Indica. The unique ecosystem allows around 33 endangered species of plants to thrive here. The plateau changes colour every few weeks as the cycle of different flowering plants progresses.
Maruti Chikane, a member of Kaas Committee, said that the tourist response has been muted. “Before the pandemic, the weekend crowd here would be anything between 7,000 and 8,000. This weekend, we had about 1,500 online and about 500 spot registrations, which were allowed. I think due to the Covid situation, people are not travelling,” he said. Kaas Plateau, a reserved forest, is home to more than 850 flowering species, some of them rare and endangered, and many which are new to botanical science, making it a crucial site for research.
Chikane said that while towards the beginning of the season, the blooms were low, they were flowering now. “Usually, the bloom stays for a 45-day period but botanical experts have told us that this year it may be up to two months. We are hoping that the tourist turnout will improve in the coming days,” he said.
Picture Credit : Google
