Mukurthi National Park

Mukurthi National Park is a protected area in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu, located about 40 km west of Udhagamandalam (Ooty) in the Western Ghats. Established in 1990 and covering 78.46 sq km, it forms part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The park protects the shola-grassland ecosystem and is a key habitat for the endangered Nilgiri Tahr, featuring rolling grasslands, shola forests, and Mukurthi Peak at 2,554 metres.

Visitors can expect a remote, high-altitude protected landscape of rolling montane grasslands interspersed with shola forests in the Western Ghats. Access is strictly regulated and requires prior permission from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. With a guide, visitors can trek on designated routes to viewpoints such as Mukurthi Peak, observe endemic flora and fauna including Nilgiri Tahr, and experience undisturbed wilderness with no commercial development inside the park.

Established as a National Park in 1990 with an area of 78.46 sq km to protect the Nilgiri Tahr and the shola-grassland ecosystem. It was previously a wildlife sanctuary and forms a core area of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve established in 1986, which is part of the Western Ghats.

The landscape is traditionally associated with the Toda tribal community of the Nilgiris, known for pastoral traditions in the grasslands. The shola-grassland mosaic is culturally significant as a distinctive natural heritage of the Nilgiri Hills.