Travel · Trekking · 6 min read

Chokramudi: The Peak Above the Gap, Neelakurinji and the Battle for a Mountain

Rising above the Gap Road, Chokramudi's grassy summit looks over half of Idukki. In 2026 its slopes turned blue with Neelakurinji. A guide to the trek, its wildlife and legends, and the fight to protect it.

By GK Global, Adimali, Munnar · Trails & Tales by GK

From the Gap Road, Chokramudi looks like a wall: steep grass and rock rising sharply above the highway into the clouds. But follow the forest guides up its flanks, past rocky outcrops and patches of stunted forest, and the slope eases into a long, open ridge of wind-combed grass. At the top, at about 2,100 m (some 7,000 ft), the world falls away in every direction: the tea of Devikulam and Munnar to the west, the valleys of Chinnakanal and the Anayirangal lake to the east, Bison Valley to the south, and on a clear morning the faint blue line of the Tamil Nadu plains beyond the last hills.

The trek

Chokramudi was long closed to visitors. In 2019, the Kerala Forest Department opened it to trekkers through a project run with the tribal and local communities of its lower slopes, organised through the Chokramudi forest protection committee (Vana Samrakshana Samithi). Passes are issued by the forest department near the Gap Road and the Devikulam side, and guides lead trekkers up from the highway.

The path starts steeply, climbing through scrub and rock, then levels out onto rolling grassland. It is suitable for reasonably fit beginners, but the grass is slippery after rain, and the summit is exposed to strong winds and sudden mist. Trekking is suspended in heavy rain. Plastic, alcohol and intoxicants are banned on the hill.

A blue mountain: Neelakurinji in 2026

Chokramudi's slopes are home to colonies of Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana), the shrub that flowers in mass blooms roughly once every twelve years. In September 2026, the hillsides turned blue-violet, and the forest department and KSRTC organised special arrangements as visitors poured in. Plucking or damaging the plants is a criminal offence, with heavy fines and possible imprisonment. (Read Neelakurinji.)

Wildlife and legends

The grasslands and rocky cliffs are the haunt of the Nilgiri tahr, and gaur graze the lower slopes; elephants move through the forests around. Wild poovarasu trees grow in the sheltered folds. Near the hill, local people point out an old stone temple of the tribal community, whose building legend credits the same artisans who built the Meenakshi temple at Madurai, a story told about several old shrines in these hills. (Compare the Andavar Kovil of Vattavada.)

The battle for the mountain

In 2024, Chokramudi made headlines for a different reason. A special revenue team found that government land on its ecologically sensitive slopes, in Bison Valley village, had been transferred into private hands and opened for construction, with roads cut and land cleared. In October 2024, the Kerala government suspended three revenue officials for issuing permissions without proper inspection, and the State Biodiversity Board sought a report on the damage. The case was another chapter in Idukki's long struggle over land encroachment in fragile hills. (Read land encroachment in Munnar.)

Visitor's guide

• Permits and fees: required; in 2026 entry was allowed from about 7 am to 4 pm, with fees of about ₹200 for adults, ₹50 for children and ₹400 for foreign nationals. Fees and rules change; check with the Devikulam forest range before you go.
• Best time: September to March; mornings are clearest. In a Neelakurinji year, expect crowds.
• Carry: water, a light snack, sturdy shoes, a windproof layer and a cap. Take all rubbish back.
• Getting there: drive to the Gap Road from Munnar via Devikulam; check whether the road is open after heavy rain. (Read the Gap Road and trekking in Munnar and Idukki.)