Kaas Plateau (UNESCO site) - a Travel Guide to the Valley of Flowers in Maharashtra

Located in the Satara district of Maharastra, Kaas Plateau (or Kaas Patthar, as it's locally known) is a hotspot for biodiversity in India's Western Ghats. Also known as at the Valley of Flowers of Maharashtra, the small plateau is so rich and unique in it's flora that almost 70% of the flowers of Maharastra are found only here. Not just this, Kaas has one of the largest concentration of endemic flowering plants and that has also given it the status of UNSECO Natural World Heritage Site. As much as it is famed, the biodiversity of the region is also extremely fragile and conversation is often a race against time.

Latest update: please note that online registration for visiting Kaas has already started and you can do so at the official website, www.kaas.ind.in. There is a cap of maximum 3000 visitors everyday so it would certainly help to plan in advance.

Kaas Plateau - Maharashtra's Valley of Flowers (pic credit: Mr Ganesh H Shankar)

Walking through Kaas Plateau

Nisurdi - Paracaryopsis coelestina with the Green Bottle Fly

Western Ghats

To understand why Kaas is so special, it's also important to understand the uniqueness of Western Ghats. Now, the western ghats are not true mountains but are the faulted edge of the Deccan Plateau and is believed to have been formed during the breakup of the super continent of Gondwana some 150 million years ago (1). A huge volcanic eruption a few million years later lai down the Deccan Traps and these also led to the formation of the northern third ope the Western Ghats, which is where Kaas Plateau is located.



Due to it's unique location the Western Ghats receive excellent rainfall during monsoons, often as high as 150 in (2500 mm). Unique geography and good rainfalls ensured that the ghats were always heavily forested, till the British decided to cut them down and use the land for agriculture, including tea plantations. Though the tea plantations, like the ones in Nilgiris (http://www.sid-thewanderer.com/2016/04/a-first-timers-travel-guide-to-kerala.html), look stunningly beautiful, nature paid a heavy price for their creation and many endemic and rare varieties of plants were forever lost in the process.

Abhali - Cyanotis tuberosa

Suichi Bhaji - Dipcadi montanum

Halunda - Vigna vexillata

Undri - Linum mysurense

Gulabi Terada - Impatiens oppositifolia

Now within Western ghats, Kaas Plateau is even more unique due to factors like rainfall, temperature, humidity, type of soil topography and it's micro-climate during monsoon.

Kaas plateau got it's name from Kaas tree, a local tree which is a genus of tropical and subtropical evergreen trees and shrubs.

My visit to Kaas Plateau

I visited Kaas in early October with my mother, but as part of a large group of people organised by a bunch of passionate local guys. The fee was Rs 1400 per head, but the visit was truly memorable. I traveled with a local Pune based group called ProEdge Adventures and you can also check out their Facebook page to check out their trips to Kaas Plateau. For more information you can reach out to  Pranav at +91 9881831122.

We started early in the morning from Puneand the picked us at the gate of Ferguson College, though the departure was delayed as some of the travellers came late (this is so routine when traveling in groups that I take it for granted). After a journey of about 5 hours, with a pit-stop for tea and breakfast, we were at the entrance of Kaas. However that's when I realised how terribly the place was maintained. The narrow mountain road leading up to the parking lot, and then to small hike to the plateau, was completely clogged with vehicles and we were stuck for about an hour just trying to navigate our way to the parking spot.

Eventually we decided to simply get down from the bus and walk an extra kilometre to the plateau. From then on, the trip was fantabulous! We were not just a bunch of wide-eyed city travellers, we also had a naturalist who had extensive knowledge about the plateau, the flowers, the ecology, and the history of the place. Fortunately for me, not many were interested in what he had to say and they ran off to take selfies with flowers, so I had all the time to ask him all sorts of questions and learn more about the place. Seeing my enthusiasm, he got even more excited and made efforts to show some of the most unique and rare plants at the plateau, including the carnivorous plants like Drosera Indica, which was really tiny and I would have certainly missed it!

Abolima - Murdannia lanuginosa

Flower of Kaas

Berki - Smithia bigemina

Kandilpushpa - Ceropegia vincaefolia

Motha Sonki - Adenoon indicum

Flower of Kaas - name not known

A wild orchid

Our visit was a little after the blooming of the Impatiens Lawii, which is also seen in the first image. Needless to mentions it's a wonderful time to be there as it gives an iconic pink hue to the place, which we sadly missed. What we didn't miss was the blooming of the Topli Karvi which is actually quite rare, as it blooms only once in 7 years!

At about 3pm we decided to go for lunch as it was raining heavily and looking at the flowers wasn't at all possible. So we drove back a bit and ate at a fairly decent place and quickly ate lunch and waited for the faint o stop.

Nisurdi - Paracaryopsis coelestina

Drosera burmannii - a carnivorous plant from Kaas

Indigofera dalzellii

A flower with a caterpillar 

Foggy Kaas when we left for lunch

Visit to Kaas Lake

It was already getting a little late when we decided to head back to the plateau, but go visit the lake close-by, quite predictably named Kaas lake. Many more rare plants were waiting to be discovered as we walked from the bus parking to the lake and I was simply mesmerised by it all! I have never been as interested in plants before and I can give all the credits to our fantastic naturalist. He was good with knowledge as as well as with sharing as well, a gift indeed.

We were hoping to find more rare plants at the lake, but unfortunately the water level was a bit high and the plant had submerged. Each plant had such unique story, that I just wanted to see them all and hear all of their stories. In fact I was even willing to swim a bit to reach our hidden plant, but our naturalist wasn't sure if I would be able to see it even then.

Kaas Lake with our naturalist

Anyway it was a bit dark when we walked back to the bus parking and had a cup of hot chai and pakodas, the perfect combination on a rainy day. The return journey was nice as well, as we broke down into groups and played ankakshari through the entire distance. Amma joined in with the girls and sang some old songs, while I passively sang with the boys and tried to hide my terrible singing skills.

How to reach Kaas Plateau?

If you are coming from Pune or Mumbai. the best way to reach is to drive down, either in your car or with a group in a bus. Local transportation is available but not recommended as the frequency is low and it could take a lot of time to reach.

If you coming from Satara, you can even hire an auto-rickshaw to come to Kaas.

There is a map for reference.

Best time to visit

Starting on the 27th of August 2016, Kaas Plateau, will officially open to the public to come and witness nature's beauty in all it's glory. But there is a caveat - to protect the natural surroundings and keep the plants and flowers safe, starting this year only 3000 visitors will be allowed to visit Kaas Plateau.

Now Kaas is also unique as the different flowers here flower at different times, so if you go in the beginning, middle or the end of the season, the place looks completely different. Some flowers, like the Topli Karvi blossom only once in seven years, so sighting them can be tough. But of the rest, you will have to plan your day of visit based on what you want to witness. However, my recommendation is to simply just go and enjoy whatever nature has planned for you, you won't come back disappointed :)

However, if you are looking for fields full of purple flowers, like in the first image, mid monsoon is the best time to go i.e. in the months of August and September.

By the way do you know that there is another Valley of Flowers in India in my home state of Uttarakhand? Do read this article to know more: Valley Of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib: DIY Budget Travel Guide

Tips for Kaas Plateau

Do online booking: This year onwards it's essential to do online booking and then go. The fee is Rs 100 for Saturday, Sunday and all government holidays and Rs 50 for other days. Kaas is opening from 10th August, and online bookings will start a day in advance, 26th August. Bookmark this link for updates and reservations - Kaas Plateau.
Reach early in the morning as there is so much to see and there is also quite a bit of walking. Plus reaching early will also ensure that you will get a good parking spot. I believe it opens at 9am for visitors.
Carry lots of water as you will get tired, and there are no shops within the viewing areas.
Go with a naturalist who knows the place well, if possible. Else, at least buy a book at the ticket counter to know more about the place. Else the visit could be a bit disappointing.
Good walking shoes are essential as there is quite a lot of walking to be done. Make sure these are not your favourite shoes as they are likely to get quite dirty there :)
Carry a rain jacket or an umbrella: Since the plateau is open only during the monsoon, rains are very common. Also carry a good rain cover for your camera and your mobile phone.

References

1. Flowers of Kaas Plateau by Prof Shekhar Mohite