Munnar to see record tourist turnout on ’kurinji’ bloom

MUNNAR: Munnar, which is jostling with Kumarakom for the premier sub-brand position within the Kerala tourism brand, is expecting its highest-ever visitor turnout this year, thanks to the blooming of the neela kurinji (Phelobophyllum Kunthianum), a flower that blooms only once every 12 years.

The hill destination, which attracts on an average 3.6 lakh visitors each year primarily for the mountainscapes, tea gardens and the Nilgiri tahrs, is getting another boost this year, with the fourth World Congress on Mountain Ungulates (ethnic mountain goats) also being held here from Wednesday.

“We are expecting the visitor numbers to cross 7 lakh this year,” Munnar wildlife warden Roy P Thomas told ET. The number of visitors is expected to be highest during October-November when the kurinji flower is in full bloom, which will also coincide with the festival season in the northern states.

This is the first time that the World Congress on Mountain Ungulates is being held outside of Europe, with all the previous meets having been held in the continent.

Officials of the High Range Wildlife and Environment Preservation Association, which is hosting the congress, said the meet was expected to take stock of progress made in recent years in the conservation of ungulates, and the fact that it was being held in Munnar would help conservation efforts being made for the Nilgiri tahrs. The Nilgiri tahr is the only mountain ungulate south of the Himalayas.