Anamudi Shola National Park

The Anamudi Shola National Park is a 7.5-square-kilometre protected wildlife refuge in the Idukki district of Kerala. The park in the Nilgiri highlands includes Mannavan Shola, Indavara Shola, and Pullardi Shola, and is among the most beautiful areas in the district. The Anamudi or Anai Mudi mountain is the tallest in southern India. The Eravikulam National Park, the Pampadum Shola National Park, the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Mathikettan Shola Park form a ring around the mountain.

Rich in biodiversity and beauty

The best time to visit Anamudi Shola  is from October through March. You can have a grand view of the tea plantations in and around Munnar from the park. The Pambar River runs through it, creating beautiful waterfalls that flow in all their glory during the rainy season. The Karimutti forest station offers guided visits to the famed Thoovanam waterfalls.

The park is 45 kilometres from the picturesque Munnar and includes the Mannavan, Pullardi, and Indavara Shola reserves. It is attached to the Marayoor village and is open all year.

Zoologists have long considered the park’s woodlands essential for botanical and zoological research. Anamudi Shola’s biodiversity is rich and diverse due to its hospitable climate and permanent water sources. The area is a natural habitat for 174 species of plants and shrubs, 62 kinds of trees, and over 40 species of climbers. Parts of the park have been encroached upon by tea farm slopes which bring a coat of velvety green to the slopes.

The park’s total size is around 7.5 sq kilometres. It was designated as a national park in 2003. The park offers a secure and pleasant environment for natural flora and fauna. 

People come from all over the world to enjoy the park’s eco-tourism. All eco-tourism operations are organised by the forest department and the communities native to the area. The events are designed to provide tourists with a comprehensive list of alternatives for accommodation and travel while offering a way of income for residents.

Lush green trees rise from the plains and cover the steep slopes and small hills. Its unique climate and biodiversity make Anamudi Shola National Park one of the significant shola forest ecosystems in the country. The majority of primary vegetation in the forest area is west coast tropical evergreen. The variety in southern hilltop tropical flora increases as one climbs to higher altitudes. 

The park is home to leopards, civet cats, wolves, Indian bison, wild boars, elephants, tigers, Panther, sloth bears, spotted deer, flying squirrels, jungle cats, and wild dogs. Apart from these animals, visitors can also enjoy the company of 76 types of unusual birds, over 200 kinds of moths, 100 species of butterflies, and reptiles.

A flower that blooms every 12 years

The Anamudi Shola National Park is home to a rare natural phenomenon. The park is indigenous to a plant called Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana). This plant only blooms once every 12 years. People come from all over to watch Neelakurinji blossoms that cover whole slopes in a blanket of lavender-blue flowers. The mass flowering of the plant has an impact on the ecological processes. The plant also has a cultural significance. The Neelakurinji blooming is auspicious for a local tribal community called Muthuvans.

Challenges for the national park

Many tea estates of Devikulam and Munnar have encroached on large parts of the park. Apart from losing land, massive overuse of chemical fertilisers in these neighbouring tea plantations could harm a variety of species, including amphibians and fish, depending on the forest’s ecological balance.

Conclusion

Anamudi Shola National Park, in Kerala’s Nilgiri highlands, is a tiny wildlife preserve of 7.5 square kilometres. The Munnar Wildlife Department manages the park and other wildlife preserves such as the Pampadum Shola National Park and the Eravikulam National Park. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, similar to the Anamalai Subcluster, Western Ghats, and Eravikulam National Park. The park is modest in size and yet full of various animals and plants, sustained by an ecosystem supported by the Shola national parks and the bigger Eravikulam, Chinnar, and Kurinjimala wildlife reserves.