Kodaikanal – Fact file

Kodaikanal is one of the most popular hill stations in India.  Situated at an altitude of about 2,133 m and covering a total area of about 21.45 sq.km this is place that is known for its sylvan beauty.

History

Kodaikanal was known to be a home for various prehistoric tribes. Locals suggested that villagers who used to stay at the base of the Palani hills, moved over to Kodai to avoid confrontation with Tippu Sultan’s forces. It is believed that under the British Raj, foreigners found it hard to survive the oppressive Tamil Nadu heat and used to die as a result of suffering from epidemic diseases.  Kodai was a perfect environment for the Britishers and it was not very far from Madurai, the famous temple city of Tamil Nadu. It did not take long for the Britishers and the other foreigners to adopt Kodai as their new home. The influence of foreigners is pretty evident. As I was traveling from Madurai towards the top of the hill, I found a forest full of pine trees. Pine trees are not usually found in these parts. The only real pine variant that is found in India is the Chir Pine, mainly restricted to Kashmir and parts of Northern Pakistan.

Major attractions

1. Silver Cascade : a small waterfall that you will see as you climb the hills on the way to the top. Ideal time to catch this would be just after the sun rise.
2. Coaker’s walk : This is narrow path that has been cut along the ridge of the south eastern side named after Lt Coaker who built in 1872.  The view of the underlying plains and the city of Madurai that this place has to offer is simply magnificent. IMO, one the most beautiful tourist attractions that Kodaikanal has to offer.
3. Boat Ride at Kodai Lake: Kodai Lake is a man-made lake that is present right at the heart of the Kodai hills.  The boat ride along this lake is a nice experience.
4. Pillar Rock View:  This place offers a nice view point of cloud-covered misty mountain tops on the front side and a few rocks on the other side that have assumed the shape of a pillar. This place is also known as Monkey Point for the huge number of monkeys that you find at this place. I would suggest to keep a close eye on these notorious chaps as to never know what they are upto.
5. Green Valley View: This place is also known as Suicide Point. Not sure if this place has recorded that many suicide attempts but it is an ideal place to commit suicide if anyone is really interested. There is no point of return whatsoever. There is a market place leading up to the Green Valley View which is usually buzzing with a lot of activity.
6. Bryant Park and Chettiar Park :  IMO, Bryant Park  is nothing special and can be skipped.  Ideal time to visit Chettiar Park would be sometime during the morning or evening.
7. Horse riding: for some reason is very popular amongst tourists here.

Shopping

Kodaikanal is famous for its home-made chocolates and also its eucalyptus oil. There are plenty of places where you can get both. My suggestion is to shop for these at the market present near the Green Valley View. Apart from this, you may also want to target Anna Salai , cottage crafts shop, which is run by Corsock (Coordinating Council for Social Concerns in Kodai). They sell crafts made by the developmental groups and the commission charged is used to help the needy.

Final Touches

Kodaikanal is without doubt one of the most beautiful places that I have had the privilege of visiting in my 8 year long stay in India. The place is blessed with abundance of natural beauty and also a lovely bunch of people who are always kind and generous to the tourists. What is significant is the fact that the locals understand the importance of maintaining the natural beauty of this place and take great pride in cleaning up the gardens and planting new trees. Unfortunately, the tourists who visit these places do not share the same sentiment and have not shown the slightest hesitation in littering the parks, gardens and forests with plastic bottles and other garbage.

How to get there

The ideal way to reach Kodaikanal is via Madurai. There are regular buses that are available from Madurai towards Kodaikanal. There are also buses from Coimbatore, Thiruchirrapalli, Dindigul and Bangalore. The closest airport is in Madurai which is about 135 kms away. Kodairoad Station is the closest railway station to Kodaikanal.

Few snaps

Back home ! :)

Yup. I am back in Kundapur. And I really deserve this mini vacation of sorts to escape the madness that so many of you call ‘Bangalore’ or ‘Bengaluru’ or whatever.

This place is heaven! And not just because it is my home and I get to meet my parents and eat some of nice food for a change, but more importantly I get the opportunity to stay disconnected from the rest of the world here.

Unfortunately, that is not going to be case for too long now. I can see how the look of this place is changing. It is still no where close to a full-fledged city, but at this point it bears the look of a small urban town gradually losing its charm with every day that passes by. Sad but true!

Got to go now. Will touch on this subject sometime soon when I am back in Bangalore. Ciao!