Once every 12 years

A large number of people visited Horton Plains during the long weekend to see the Nelu flowers, which bloom once every 12 years. Some varieties of the Nelu plant take between 7 and 12 years to grow and flower, and since the plant dies after blooming, environmentalists often describe it as a flower born from the death of its mother. Pix by Ranjith Rajapaksa