Meghamalai in March is the soft-landing month with the bonus of cardamom flowering visible at established estates. Daytime 22-26C, nights 12-15C, humidity climbing toward 65 percent in the last fortnight, rainfall under 25mm. The cardamom flowering window — Periyar river catchment estates have cardamom plots at the lower-elevation pepper and coffee matrix; the small white-with-purple flowers appear at ground level, March-April is peak. Lion-tailed Macaque (LTM, IUCN endangered) sightings at year-best concentration — water sources shrinking forces troops to predictable patterns near the estate streams. Nilgiri Tahr at higher grasslands, Sloth Bear at lower forests, Sambar at the cardamom-shola interface. The Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary (2018-notified, 269 sq km) is at year-best for sightings though formal jeep safaris don't exist — estate-walks at ₹500-1,000 with naturalist remain the access mode. Birdlife 230+ species including Black-and-orange Flycatcher, Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Malabar Trogon, White-bellied Treepie at full concentration. Highwavys Estate (BBTC, ₹6,000-12,000 with meals) and Manalar Estate (₹4,000-8,000) stays still book 3-4 weeks ahead.

Why March scores 8.0/10