Sanjay Gandhi National Park
The "karvi" shrub, as it is locally called in the Marathi language, sometimes also spelled as "karvy" in English, only blooms once in eight years in a mass flowering covering the forest floor in a lavender blush. It grows in abundance in the Western Ghats hills near Mumbai including throughout the Sanjay Gandhi National Park as in other parts of its natural range. In Sanjay Gandhi National Park its latest blooming took place in 2008, and it is scheduled to bloom here again in 2016. Termed by nature enthusiasts as 'nature's miracle' its maximum bloom can be seen on some of the inner paths and trails that lie undisturbed in the park. It survives best on the vast sloping expanses of the hillsides, with the Kanheri caves area of the park being one of the best places to observe large areas of blooms.
Sanjay Gandhi National Park
The park occupies most of the northern suburbs of Mumbai. To the west lie the suburbs of Goregaon, Malad, Kandivali, Borivali and Dahisar. To the east lie the suburbs of Bhandup and Mulund. To the south lies the Aarey Milk Colony and the university campus of IIT Bombay. The northern reaches of this forest lie in Thane city. The park and these areas surrounding it, except Thane city are all part of Mumbai.