Kaas plateau

If Uttarakhand has a flower valley, Maharashtra has a flower plateau in Kash, Satara. The Kas Plateau, also known as "Kas Patar", is located in the Sahyadri mountain range in the Western Ghats, about twenty-six kilometers from the city of Satara. The name Kaas comes from the Kaas tree (Elaeocarpus glandulosus). The color of this tree's leaves changes from green to red as it matures, with white flowers only appearing for 15 days in March. The surface of the plateau is about one thousand hectares. It belongs to the Sahyadri subgroup of Western Ghats, which is currently a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In June 2012, UNESCO declared the World Heritage Site of Biodiversity. The Kaas Plateau is classified as a volcanic plateau formed by volcanic activity. These plateaus are mainly composed of two types of rock: basalt rocks and porous rocks, which are red-colored rocks rich in iron and aluminum that allow most of the water to seep or drain. There is only a thin layer of soil here that only supports vegetation during the rainy season, making Kaas a unique ecosystem. Kaas is one of the biodiversity hotspots.

At the end of the rainy season, from mid-August to October, for a short time, the Kas plateau blooms with many flowers in the form of beautiful multi-colored carpets. You will find flowers of different colors every morning and afternoon.

According to Dr. Sandeep Shrotri, there are more than 1,500 plant species in Kash: 156 plant families, 680 genera, 1,452 species, 400 medicinal plants, and about 33 endangered species in Kash and the neighboring Kona region.

After listening to the weekend carnival atmosphere, we visited Kaas e on Sunday

Monday. We were saddened to see crowds of tourists trampling flowers and spreading picnic mats on a beautiful carpet with nature in bloom. On weekends, the authorities do not allow parking on the plateau and the car must be parked 2 km from the place where there is a parking lot. From there, you have the option of taking the cheap Transportes del Estado bus to reach the plateau, or you can walk as it's not very long. It took us about an hour to drive about 5km and get to the parking lot. It was a hustle and bustle! Since we had planned to visit her again on Monday, we decided

Drive and visit Kas Lake on the other side. It is truly a beautiful and peaceful place. Among the locals, Kaas means lake and a beautiful calm lake descends from the plateau, and this may be another reason to call this place "Kaas". Lake Kash is a permanent source of water supply for the western part of the city of Satara. There is also a tapri (roadside stall) that sells dabeli, bhelpuri and tea. Fortunately, there is nothing on the plateau itself.

After a restful night at the hotel in Satara, we had Candy Bohi breakfast and went back on the road to enjoy the colors of the Kas plateau.

Along the way, my ornithologist friend Nandan, who writes on the Timnplace blog, showed me many birds along the way and on the plateau.

It was a beautiful sight when we got to the plateau and saw that there were only five or six people there.

We stopped and walked along the plateau trails, picking up beautiful colorful flowers and stunning scenery.

This plateau is a must for all nature lovers, birdwatchers and photography enthusiasts.

How to get there :

By car : 280 km from Mumbai and 107 km from Pune.

By Train : The nearest train station is Satara, easily accessible from the Indian railways. The Kaas plateau is about 30 km from the Satara train station.

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