Bloom seasons and flower fields · in season now
Kaas plateau in flower
A rocky plateau in the Western Ghats that is carpeted with tiny wildflowers after the monsoon.
Presented by ClearTrust Free for gardeners, florists, travellers and the curious.
What it is
Kaas is a flat plateau of dark laterite rock above the town of Satara in Maharashtra. For most of the year it looks bare. Towards the end of the monsoon, thin soil in the rock comes alive with small flowers that open in waves: pink balsams, yellow smithias, purple bladderworts that trap insects, and white pipeworts like scattered pinheads. The colours change week by week as one species takes over from another. The plateau belongs to the Western Ghats World Heritage Site, and many of its plants grow nowhere else. Visitor numbers are limited each day to protect it.
Before you go
- Book the entry slot online before you go. Daily numbers are capped.
- Early to mid September is usually the peak, but it depends on the rains.
- Stay on the marked paths and do not sit or lie in the flowers for photographs.
- Weekdays are far calmer than weekends.
The flowers you will see
ImpatiensA large genus of flowering herbs known for their explosive seed pods and colorful blooms
BladderwortA carnivorous plant with snapdragon-like flowers and underwater suction trapsSmithiaA genus of legume herbs with pink or purple pea-like flowers
PipewortSmall wetland flowers found across tropical and temperate regionsMore in India
🇮🇳 Mumbai · All yearDadar flower market at dawnMumbai's wholesale flower market beside Dadar station, at its busiest before the city has had breakfast.
🇮🇳 Kolkata · All yearMullick Ghat flower market under Howrah BridgeA crowded riverside flower market on the Hooghly, in the shadow of Howrah Bridge.
🇮🇳 Bengaluru · All yearKR Market flower hallBengaluru's old city market, where the flower floor is best seen from the stairs above.
🇮🇳 Chennai · All yearKoyambedu wholesale flower marketThe flower block of Chennai's vast Koyambedu wholesale complex, busiest before sunrise.
🇮🇳 Madurai · All yearMadurai malli at the Mattuthavani flower marketThe wholesale market that sets the daily price of Madurai malli, the jasmine the city is famous for.
🇮🇳 Delhi · All yearGhazipur phool mandiDelhi's wholesale flower market in the east of the city, where the capital's bouquets and garlands begin.Original text by the Phool desk, written with AI assistance. Background: "Kas Plateau Reserved Forest" on Wikipedia. Bloom dates move with the weather, and markets and gardens change their hours: check locally before you travel. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Pipewort: Alpsdake, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Impatiens: Cj.samson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bladderwort: Show_ryu, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kr Market Bengaluru: Pp391, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dadar Flower Market Mumbai: Swaminathan, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mullick Ghat Flower Market Kolkata: Pradip paswan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Koyambedu Flower Market Chennai: Sudhamshu Hebbar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Madurai Jasmine Market: எஸ்ஸார், CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kaas Plateau Satara: Nilrocks, CC BY-SA 3.0, source