As the south west monsoon eases off the Western Ghats, the Nilgiris go through a short, spectacular window. The shola forests hold water in every fold, the grasslands turn a green you will not see again until next year, and the Nilgiri tahr move across the high slopes in the open.
September is also when the hills are quiet. The big holiday crowds have not arrived, the roads are clear, and the forest departments are easier to work with on permits for smaller groups.
What we look for on these days: tahr on the Mukurthi ridges, Nilgiri langur in the shola edges, hornbills lower down towards Mudumalai, and if the light holds, a leopard on a tea estate track at dusk.
We also spend a morning with the estate and forest teams who keep the corridors between these fragments open. It is the least photogenic part of the trip and usually the part people remember longest.