About

• Neelakurinji are flowers that are believed to bloom every 12 years.
• They grow at an altitude of 1300 to 2400 metres.
• Neelakurinji or 'Strobilantheskunthiana' blooms in 40 or so varieties, a majority of them being blue in colour.
• 'Neela' literally translates to 'blue' and kurinji is the name given to it by the tribals of the area.
• Last seen in 2018, the time for viewing them begins in August and lasts up to October.
• In Munnar District, these flowers bloom across the region of Kovilur, Kadavari, Rajamala and Eravikulam National Park.
• Alongside Strobilantheskunthiana, the types of neelakurinji flowers that have been identified from the hill ranges includes;
  • Strobilanthesanamallaica,
  • Strobilanthesheyneanus,
  • Strobilanthespulnyensis, and 
  • Strobilanthesneoasper. 
    
    

• All these neelakurinji species are endemic to the Western Ghats and spread over nearly 200 acres of the Kallippara hills.
• In fact, the neelakurinji population here can be considered one of the biggest of the species after the protected areas of Munnar.