KAAS
–THE PLATEAU OF FLOWERS, SATARA, MAHARASHTRA31st
Aug to 2nd Sept 2012
Kaas plateau is situated on the Sahyadri range at about
275 kms South East of Mumbai, on the Mumbai-Kolhapur Road. From Satara it is 24
Kms. It takes about 7 hours by chartered bus from Mumbai.While many would have heard of the Valley of Flowers in Himalayas, not
many would have heard about this place till about five years back.
Thanks to some local activists Kaas Plateau has now been
declared as a World Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Kaas Plateau is a Lateritic formation. During the months
of August to October this becomes a carpet of millions of tiny colourful
flowers. The colours change practically every week from yellow to pink to blue
to white and red depending on the dominant flowers during a particular period. Just imagine yourself at a place where
there are rows and rows of blooming flowers on a flat land, as far as your eyes
can see - different colours, different varieties- that is Kaas. There are
nearly 400 species of plants/plants and a hundred types of birds.
The place is well known at
least in Maharashtra and thousands of people started visiting. Due to
uncontrolled tourism there was lot of damage to the plants and flowers. The
government has in the recent past tried to regulate the flow of traffic. On
line booking for passes is necessary. The number of passes has been restricted.
Vehicles are stopped about two kms. from the spot. Patrolling by forest guards
has also started. This has really improved the situation.
Nature India organised a
trip from 31st Aug to 2nd Sept to Kass in which I
participated.It was slightly drizzling
throughout the three days.. We were given a list of the plants/flowers with their
common name and botanical names. Two organisers took us around and indicated
the plants/ flowers I was more interested in looking at them than knowing their
names, which any way were so complicated that it was impossible even to
pronounce. I was surprised to see enthusiasts from Chennai and Delhi joining us
on the trip. Kass seems to be getting famous.
Some photos taken by me during the trip and some others taken by a friend during his earlier trip are given here.
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