I had traveled to Chikmagalur two weeks ago. I was there, among other things, to have a look at the rare Neelakurinji flowers which are known to flower only once in 12 years. This was the year of flowering and they were in full bloom. In Chikmagalur, they bloom around the hills of Bababudangiri, also called Chandradrona Parvata.
While Kurinjis were the flowers I was looking forward to, I saw plenty of flowers different varieties all around. My first sight of flowers in abundance were much before I was at the hills. It was fun to see some jolly folks plucking lotus from a pond.
I also saw many touch-me-nots spread out in large numbers. Though they are pretty common, I think it has been a while since I had seen them before. So much for living in a city!
As I approached the town of Chikmagalur, I saw this hoarding inviting people to visit the hills to see the Kurinjis.
According to this, the flowering season is from September to November. So if you haven’t been there yet, hurry before they are gone!
As I climbed up the hill, it did not take me long to see the Kurinjis. They were in plenty, and they were everywhere. Some hills were entirely covered with just the Kurinji plants.
They looked beautiful and covered vast vistas of the hill range.
But they were not alone. There were so many flowers, many of them tiny, I could not not even count how many types were there.
And they had generously spread out all over the slopes and made the hills look prettier than ever.
And they came in many colors and sizes.
Some of them were so small, I would never have sighted them without looking hard for them!
But the most beautiful of the lot that I saw was also the biggest among them.
There were plenty of visitors to the hills, but to my surprise, almost everyone seemed to be oblivious to the flowers. But I was having a great time among the flowers and had no time to bother about that.
Purple flowers, I guess were the most dominant of all the lot, with Kurinjis having taken up most of the space. Small white flowers came next, followed by yellow ones.
Flowers of many colors spread together on the slopes was a treat for the eyes.
This pink flower below was one of uncommon ones on the slope. I would not have found it, had I not walked around so much around the hills.
But alas, it looks like we just can’t enjoy the beauty of these hills without doing our bit to spoil them. There were some disturbing sights too. Like some garbage, etc..
It was very pleasant day among the flowers, and watching the sunset among the Kurinjis before I headed back was a blissful moment.
Let us hope to preserve this pristine place and keep it clean and beautiful!
I had been to same place 1 month back. have a look at my post http://naanushande.blogspot.com/2006/10/mullayangiri.html
your pics are awesome. i want to become photographer like u. can u suggest me some reference …
Rgds,
Sandeep.
Thanks Shande. No references I can think of, but a lot of practice really pays off..
Came here from Mridula’s blog. Nice blog and wonderful pictures. Loved them very much. Also,I was looking for a 3 col. template, & you have it!! Is it available with blogger beta?
Anyways, you’ll find me a regular here.
Hi Cuckoo, thanks and welcome aboard
This is a template I have customized from Blogger(not beta). I can send it to you if you need. Let me know, but will need a few days to give it to you though, since I wont be online for a while from today.
Your pics of plants and flowers are beautiful. BTW, if you are interested, the world’s largest single flower, Rafflesia arnoldii, can be found in the Malaysian state of Sabah. Sabah also has one of the world’s largest composite flowers, the giant Voodoo Lily, i.e. Amorphophallus hewittii. Cheers.
Your photos are really good !!!
Thank you travel. Thats an interesting info.
Thanks Frenchbluefish
wonderful photos!
Arun I love flowers and after that I love looking at the pictures of the flowers. Lovely pictures.
Very good photos Arun ..
Lekshmi
Since I read your post on Karnataka yesterday, I’ve been going through some of your previous posts.
I love this post and I love these pictures. You come out with such fascinating stuff. Thanks for sharing.
[...] must have been more than two years ago that I made my last photography trip. It was a solo drive to Chikmaglur to shoot kurinji flowers and landscapes. In the two or three days I spent in the hills around the [...]
I am also from chikkamagalur and I went 3 times in the season to see those flowerings. Once in october wen i went it was like a heaven,full mountain range full of Kuranji. It is an heaven.I think i had seen kuranji flowers in a better condition than u!!!!!!Great post……But please dont leave dose wine bottles at any hill station as it looks odd. U bring it from ur town drink and take it back and thrown near d town.Thank u
Thank you Sachin. Yes, the flowers were almost gone when I was there. I was not the one to leave the beer bottles there. I was trying highlight how some tourists tend to be irresponsible.