Eravikulam National Park, Kerala's first national park, shelters the largest wild population of the Nilgiri Tahr

Background

Eravikulam National Park, located in Devikulam Taluk of Idukki district near Munnar, was established in 1978 as the first national park in Kerala. It lies in the Kannan Devan Hills of the Western Ghats and features high-altitude grasslands and shola forests at elevations around 2,000 metres. The park contains Anamudi, the highest peak in South India at 2,695 metres. Eravikulam shelters the largest wild population of the endangered Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) and is managed by the Kerala Department of Forests and Wildlife. The park is also known as the 'Land of Neelakurinji', for the mass flowering of Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana), which occurs once every 12 years.