Neelakurinji flowers blossom in Idukki's Shantanpara Shalom Hills after 12 years

Idukki's Shalomkunnu (Shalom Hills) under the Santhanpara Panchayat are blossoming with the blue Neelakurinji flowers, which blooms once every 12 years.Strobilanthes Kunthiana, known as Neelakurinji and Kurinji in Malayalam and Tamil, is a shrub that is found in the Shola forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Nilgiri Hills, which means "blue mountains", got its name from these Neelankurinji flowers.