Matheran - Wildflower Paradise near Mumbai

Blog thumbnail

About this blog

Monsoon and post monsoon visits in 2008 and 2009 to enjoy the wildflowers at their optimal best.

A series of post monsoon visits in 2008 rewarded us with the best of the mass blooming of purple Strobilanthes Callosa [Karvy - Carvia Callosa] and their attendant butterflies and insects. Karvy blooms once every 4-7 years and a mass blooming is spectacular to behold. Matheran is blessed with several large tracts of Karvy, so one can expect to see at least some in mass bloom every year. 2008 witnessed a spectacular large scale mass blooming especially around Panorama Point.

In addition to Karvy, Matheran boasts a wide variety of wildflowers, most notably of the Acanthaceae species. The best time to enjoy them is from August to December, when every week sees something new in bloom on Matheran's many hillsides and grasslands.

Matheran's wild orchids bloom during the rains. Eria, Malaxis, Peristylus and Habenaria are amongst the orchid species found here.

I have also posted a separate entry about the popular Matheran Railway or Toy Train as it is better known. The railway track makes an interesting trek path during the rains when the train does not ply.

My Flickr set of Matheran Wildflowers are at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/floraofmatheran/

An interesting old British map of Matheran from 1924: http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~poyntz/India/images/Matheran1924.jpg

  • View first entry
  • View latest entry
Trip Start Unknown
1
3
Trip End Ongoing


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow