September 18, 2013

Quote of the post: "A photographer's heaven and a botanical garden with a colourful carpet of millions of tiny wild flowers spread across." - Quote about Kaas Plateau near Satara by Sachin Kumar Gupta
  
We were planning to visit Kaas Plateau since long. We visited this place after Thoseghar waterfalls in Satara. The place is also known as 'Kaas Pathar' which is situated in western ghats. Kaas plateau of flowers, a few kilometers ahead of Satara in Maharashtra, is a magical piece of land and is one of the global biodiversity hotspots. 

The place displays one of the most spectacular natural events of wild Maharashtra during the latter half of the year. Depending on the monsoon and other weather factors, these flowers bloom on their own and stay for about 3–4 weeks. So the best time to visit the place is in Aug - Sep - Oct when rain is at its end leaps. It is not only a botanical garden, but also a photographer's heaven. Recently it has been declared as Biodiversity World heritage site by UNESCO.


Kaas Plateau Fees: There is INR 10 entry fee per person for visiting the place. There is also an online site 'kas.ind.in' where you can book in advance alongwith your vehicle details. We took the entry tickets online in advance, and showed mobile confirmation while visiting. You can reach this place from Satara. Below is the route map to Kaas Valley (D) from Pune (B), Mumbai (A), Mahabaleshwar (F), Panchgani (G), Tapola (E) or Satara (C).


Kaas Plateau of Flowers (D) Maharashtra Map
It was mesmerizing to view different colors and shades of millions of tiny wild flowers spread across Kaas Plateau at the dusk. Sun was bidding adieu and trickled it's rays creating a magical effect across. As per the info available there, valley has more than 850 different species of flowers and other plants including Orchids, Karvy and carnivorous plants such as Drosera Indica. 


Now Satara forest division and its organizers have placed fencing across both sides to preserve it. However, they do allow people to enter the fence on foot; no vehicles allowed inside. The walking pathway is clearly marked so that people don't walk over the flowers and there are a few caretakers to prevent it. We took many photographs from inside and outside the fencing. It was sunset time when yellow and red sun-rays make the valley more beautiful. The earthen smell of the soil along with the dramatic play of clouds and lights amidst the blue vast sky make the place a truly breathtaking spectacular, for human eye.


There are a few instructions which visitors are expected to follow - 'to do' , and 'not to do' (by Satara Forest Division):

Dont's:
*Pets are not allowed.
*Smoking is strictly prohibited.
*Don't litter or throw garbage.
*Don't pluck the flowers, fruits, seeds, leaves etc, for any purpose.
*Don't use this place for eating.
*Don't damage the flowers, plants, wild life etc, while taking photographs.
*Don't try to cross the barricade/fence. 
*Don't park your vehicles on road/plateau.

Do's:
*Please keep Kaas Plateau clean.
*Drop the litter in garbage box only.
*Park your vehicles only at the designated places only.
*Co-operate with the Kaas staff, volunteers, police working here.
*Please record your valuable suggestions in the register kept with forest staff.


Please note if you have expectation of watching large flowers, you are at the wrong place. Now a days this and its nearby places are one of the most famous picnic spot for locals. The place is increasing its popularity by leaps and bounds with the support of Satata tourism and localities. It has an small lake named 'Kaas Talav'. We drove down the curves from Kaas Plateau and passed by Kaas Talav and headed towards 'Tapola - Mini Kashmir' for night stay. Trip with Meenal, Anmol, Priyanshu, Piyush and Monika made this even more special. More during my next visit to Kaas.

15 comments:

Pratheeksha said...

Hi We are planning to visit Kaas this weekend. I have been there before and this time don't want to miss the flowers. Was just wondering if its in full bloom due to the heavy rains everyday!
Could you suggest Please?

sachinkgupta said...

Hi Pratheeksha,

We just visited this place last week, where they were almost on bloom, Coming week (21-22) & a week after (28-29) should be the best time from my understandings. You should go and enjoy the most of it. let me know your latest reviews once you back.

-Sach

Arpit M said...

I m looking fwd to this place in coming weeks. thnx for the info and nice photographs.

Rupali D. Jadhav said...

Sunder mazhe gaon..vahite

Nikhil said...

Awesome place it seems...
Well put..
Planning on gng ASAP!
Thanks for sharing the pics Sachin. :)

sachinkgupta said...

Thanks Nikhil for liking it. Enjoy the place the fullest.

Anonymous said...

Planning to visit Kaas in the first week of sept 2014. Is the place in bloom ?
Any help please.

Vipul G said...

You mentioned lot many important information and photos about the place. any idea when it would be blooming this year in Kaas? what are the other place? I can cover in a day from Mahabaleshwar.

sachinkgupta said...

Hi Vipul,

weekend-wise, 19-20 Sep & 26-27 should be the best bloom time for flowers this year at Kaas. (15Sep-4Oct should be the right dates to explore this place.) Yes this can be covered in a day from Mahabaleshwar. Tapola is another beautiful place nearby, but for a boat trip, you may need one minimum day to enjoy.

Amitabh said...

Kaas is just amazing place lovely photographs plz let me know when flowers will be blooming this year

Anonymous said...

Tourists please Remember:

This is not a tourist site. This is a sensitive and fragile eco-system which must be treated with respect. Don't be a typical tourist and make a mess. Tread carefully. Do not pluck flowers. Do not picnic in areas that are ecologically sensitive. Control your children. Respect the rules. Just as you like to enjoy such places, your children and their children would like to as well. So, be respectful at least for their sake.

Aditya said...

Are pets like dogs allowed ?? Please Help!

sachinkgupta said...

Hi Aditya,
Pets are not allowed as far as I know, specially inside valley areas. You may talk to 'area administrator' there before coming over.

Janvi said...

You have amazing amazing photographs of Kaas Plateau of flowers. Thanks for sharing these. I love your post. This site is very famous in my office, many people follow your website for places to visit in maharashtra, specially near pune, mumbai and goa.

Ritu K said...

Thanks for putting all info. Your site is very informative and helpful. Can you please let us know, Is there any good place to stay nearby. When flowers are blooming this year at Kaas, Is there any other similar place you are aware of.

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