Eravikulam National Park

Eravikulam National Park, perched above 2,000 meters in the Western Ghats near Munnar, is best known as the prime habitat of the endangered Nilgiri tahr — a mountain ungulate found nowhere else in the world. The park protects rolling shola-grassland ecosystems where patches of stunted evergreen forest (shola) alternate with montane grasslands. The Nilgiri tahr here are habituated to human presence, allowing unusually close encounters — visitors can often observe them grazing just meters away. The park is also famous for the Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthianus), a blue flower that carpets the hillsides once every 12 years (next bloom: 2030). A shuttle bus service takes visitors to the main viewing areas, from where short walking trails offer panoramic views. The park's high-altitude setting makes it pleasantly cool year-round.