Aravali Hill range is ubiquitous in and around Jaipur. This hill range stretches from Gujarat to Haryana & NCR. It is oldest hills in India; even older than Himalayas. The climatic conditions where these hills exist in Rajasthan is tough in the most parts. The tempratures soars above 44-45 C with a long spell of summers. In winters, the temprature drops to 3-4 C. But it is the monsoon where the dramatic sh

Aravali Hills and Monsoon Season

This is how the forest in Aravali hills look like during the dry months, especially from February to June before the arrival of Monsoon. For the uninitiated Monsoon is a rainy season which stretches across South East Asia. Monsoon is one of the key sources of water in India, especially for agriculture.

With the onset of the first shower of Monsoon, it all begins to change. This is one of key features of Monsoon forest. The trees in monsoon forest shed leaves before the onset of summer. This is done to preserve the moisture during the long spell of dry and hots summer days. There is a drastic change in the look of monsoon forests. Even though the rains are not plentiful in most of Aravali hill range, monsoon sets in a change. Hardy trees like Anogeissus Pendula found in plentiful in Aravalis can thrive & grow from humidity in the air. Here is a close-up & detailed picture of this change.

In a few days, the entire topography of the forest changes.

Does it even look like a forest of Rajasthan? A state associated with sand dunes or dry, semi-arid landscape?

Here is a picture of a seasonal Monsoon flower called Sickle Bush Tree. One can find this plenty in the Aravali hills during the monsoon season.

Finally, one more shot that details the Monsoon season. The surface of the forest gets carpeted by the seasonal grass. It’ll turn dry by the end of November.

The resident tree of Aravalis is Dhok tree. This is one of the rare trees which can survive in these harsh conditions. Here is a picture of Aravalis covered with these treesbefore the onset of monsoon season.

After monsoon, this is how the forest in Aravali looks like.

Another flora that thrives in Aravali hill range in Rajasthan is Thor Danda. Here is a picture of the same.

A few days ago, I wrote skywatch-Elusive/Monsoon mentioning that rains are still missing but now the entire topography has changed with just a few showers.

This post is part of the Weekly Photo Challenge – Details. Check out previous posts on Weekly Photo Challenge–Click here

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