Welcome. Today, I am going to share my visit to a phenomenal place - Kaas. This place is unique. Every September, a countless wild flowers bloom here. Some abundant, some rare. At other times, this place would just look ordinary! It is a wonder of nature.
For the past couple of years, we had decided to go to this place and see 10-15 varieties of wold flowers ourselves. This chance came in 2011. Due to excessive rainfall, the flowers did not get time for blooming. We were getting anxious. At last, on 17-Sep, we set out to see the wonder. We had mixed feelings. Just in case, it turned out to be a disappointment, we ought to be prepared.
Location and getting there:
View Forts in a larger map
This place is very accessible. From Pune, reach Satara. From Satara, take Kaas or Baamanoli road. The plateau starts about 10 kilometers from Satara. The entire stretch is about 15 kilometers.
It is very crowded during the season. Hence it is advisable to have one's own transport. However patience is mandated through traffic jams.
Trip:
Once we leave Satara and come on Bamnoli Road, we see some yellow wild flowers. These are abundant. As the road climbs up and Satara is left behind, we come across plateau in the next 5-6 kilometers. If we get down (literally) to the ground, and look carefully, we can find 5-6 different flowers. We spent nearly an hour on one such spot.
However we were more eager to see the area much talked about. Soon we arrived there. Now the entire section looked yellow. This was due to the predominantly yellow flowers in this area. Here we saw at least 4 different species of Smithia, and some other yellow flowers. There were some red and violet flowers but they were lost in the crowd. We were feeling ecstatic! There were butterflies and birds. These were secondary for now.
After spending nearly an hour in the "yellow" section, we proceeded to Kaas lake. Soon after, we encountered a big traffic jam. The road is narrow and only one vehicle can pass easily. Today there were hundreds of vehicle. So we got down from the vehicle and started walking in the reverse direction, abandoning the plan to see the lake. It was raining all throughout. The entire walk was to be nearly 4-5 kilometers.
Soon we came across a section which had predominantly pink and violet flowers. Wherever one can see, it was just pink and violet! We were lost in identifying different species of flowers! It was raining all throughout.
We went little interior along the designated track. Now we could see several more flowers. Here we saw two different species of orchids. I was very dismayed to see them! Orchid should look like a beautiful attractive flower. However, this orchid had no flowers! Just the bud like green sections. Soon enough I reconciled my understanding of the orchids and started to wonder the nature. All orchids do not have very attractive flowers. But they are attractive!
Then there was a section with white flowers. This is another mesmerizing experience. The area looks as if filled with white stars on the ground. There must be countless flowers of each species. But one can distinguish them only when we bend. In the interior, we see white turmeric flowers. Probably, their bloom was over. The flowers did not appear very attractive. Pink turmeric flower is very beautiful to watch. Once I am able to recognize, I am able to locate it in the wild.
After seeing so many flowers, are we done yet? Now we were getting tired. The rain had give respite only in the late afternoon. Soon an insect eating plant Drosera was spotted. It is a small plant, akin to grass. It will not be recognized in the crowd of endless flowers. There are three species of Drosera found in Kaasa. 1) Drosera peltata - Shield Sundew 2) Drosera indica - Flycatcher 3) Drosera burmannii - Burmann's Sundew. The one which we saw was Drosera indica. It is a small plant with multiple stems. Some of them lying along the ground and some others upright. Each stem has very narrow leaves - akin to thorns. At the tip of these leaves, a sticky liquid secrets giving an appearance if sun dews. Insects are trapped by this sticky liquid. The flowers grow on the top of stems. They are generally pink, but can be white or orange in color. The seeds sprout at the onset of rainy season in India. This plant is medicinal and rare to find.
Here is the link to wiki page
Here is the link to flowersofindia page
Now was the time to return back. We were walking along the road where our bus was parked. It was difficult to walk due to hundreds of vehicles. The people were generally coming to see what it can be. They were getting dejected that there is nothing to see. One should go to Kaasa only if there is some interest in seeing different flowers! Otherwise it simply leads to frustration. On our return walk, we were pondering on the several new things we learned from nature. Once again humbled by how less I know! The key learnings were:
1) Orchids are not always beautiful flowers
2) There are several insect eating plants. Their method of trapping insects differ.
3) Bend closer to the ground and we can see several different species of flowers not seen by standing up
For the past couple of years, we had decided to go to this place and see 10-15 varieties of wold flowers ourselves. This chance came in 2011. Due to excessive rainfall, the flowers did not get time for blooming. We were getting anxious. At last, on 17-Sep, we set out to see the wonder. We had mixed feelings. Just in case, it turned out to be a disappointment, we ought to be prepared.
Location and getting there:
This place is very accessible. From Pune, reach Satara. From Satara, take Kaas or Baamanoli road. The plateau starts about 10 kilometers from Satara. The entire stretch is about 15 kilometers.
It is very crowded during the season. Hence it is advisable to have one's own transport. However patience is mandated through traffic jams.
Trip:
Once we leave Satara and come on Bamnoli Road, we see some yellow wild flowers. These are abundant. As the road climbs up and Satara is left behind, we come across plateau in the next 5-6 kilometers. If we get down (literally) to the ground, and look carefully, we can find 5-6 different flowers. We spent nearly an hour on one such spot.
However we were more eager to see the area much talked about. Soon we arrived there. Now the entire section looked yellow. This was due to the predominantly yellow flowers in this area. Here we saw at least 4 different species of Smithia, and some other yellow flowers. There were some red and violet flowers but they were lost in the crowd. We were feeling ecstatic! There were butterflies and birds. These were secondary for now.
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After spending nearly an hour in the "yellow" section, we proceeded to Kaas lake. Soon after, we encountered a big traffic jam. The road is narrow and only one vehicle can pass easily. Today there were hundreds of vehicle. So we got down from the vehicle and started walking in the reverse direction, abandoning the plan to see the lake. It was raining all throughout. The entire walk was to be nearly 4-5 kilometers.
Soon we came across a section which had predominantly pink and violet flowers. Wherever one can see, it was just pink and violet! We were lost in identifying different species of flowers! It was raining all throughout.
Then there was a section with white flowers. This is another mesmerizing experience. The area looks as if filled with white stars on the ground. There must be countless flowers of each species. But one can distinguish them only when we bend. In the interior, we see white turmeric flowers. Probably, their bloom was over. The flowers did not appear very attractive. Pink turmeric flower is very beautiful to watch. Once I am able to recognize, I am able to locate it in the wild.
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After seeing so many flowers, are we done yet? Now we were getting tired. The rain had give respite only in the late afternoon. Soon an insect eating plant Drosera was spotted. It is a small plant, akin to grass. It will not be recognized in the crowd of endless flowers. There are three species of Drosera found in Kaasa. 1) Drosera peltata - Shield Sundew 2) Drosera indica - Flycatcher 3) Drosera burmannii - Burmann's Sundew. The one which we saw was Drosera indica. It is a small plant with multiple stems. Some of them lying along the ground and some others upright. Each stem has very narrow leaves - akin to thorns. At the tip of these leaves, a sticky liquid secrets giving an appearance if sun dews. Insects are trapped by this sticky liquid. The flowers grow on the top of stems. They are generally pink, but can be white or orange in color. The seeds sprout at the onset of rainy season in India. This plant is medicinal and rare to find.
Here is the link to wiki page
Here is the link to flowersofindia page
Now was the time to return back. We were walking along the road where our bus was parked. It was difficult to walk due to hundreds of vehicles. The people were generally coming to see what it can be. They were getting dejected that there is nothing to see. One should go to Kaasa only if there is some interest in seeing different flowers! Otherwise it simply leads to frustration. On our return walk, we were pondering on the several new things we learned from nature. Once again humbled by how less I know! The key learnings were:
1) Orchids are not always beautiful flowers
2) There are several insect eating plants. Their method of trapping insects differ.
3) Bend closer to the ground and we can see several different species of flowers not seen by standing up
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