Kaas Plateau of Flowers near Satara

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.