Eravikulam National Park

Overview

This beautiful national park, one the private hunting preserve of the British is home to the endangered Niligiri tahr a kind of wild goat.The incredible agility of the goat on these mountainous vistas have earned it the status of being Munnar’s mascot. Situated in the Kannan Devan Hills of the southern Western Ghats Eravikulam National Park, a protected area and is divided into three regions - the core area, the buffer area and the tourism area. Visitors are allowed only to travel around the tourism area that is in Rajamalai, the region lying beyond the road entry into Eravikulam. Every twelve years, the area looks like a blue carpet because of the mass flowering of Neelakurinji flowers, a very unique occurrence in these hills. It is also home to the Atlas moth (largest in the world), lion-tailed macaque, small-clawed otter and occasionally the tiger or leopard. Like the Nilgiris, Munnar too is part of the shola range, with similar features of its biodiversity. Ralamala is also the preferred habitat of the endangered mountain goat, the Nilgiri Tahr, so one should look out for these agile wild goats. It is endemic to the Nilgiri hills and the southern portion of the Western Ghats.

Why you will love it

What you will experience

Eravikulam National Park mainly consists of grasslands, patches of montane wet temperate forests and rock cliffs; a mosaic habitat that is unique to the South Western Ghats. The National Park was declared in 1976 to protect the endemic and endangered Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) and also has flowering populations of the Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana), that bloom once every 12 years. You will cycle from Munnar to the National Park located 10km away, hop onto a safari bus to a short 4km ride to the top of Rajamala. Once the safari is completed, you will cycle back to Munnar.