Kodaikanal - The Princess of Hill-stations

Recently I wrote about Ooty, the “Queen of Hill-stations.”

A year before I paid a visit to the “Queen”, I went on a similar batch trip to Kodaikanal, considered the “Princess of Hill-stations”. It was March, 2008. We reached Kodaikanal on my 20th birthday.

Kodaikanal is in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu, in South India. The etymology of the word, “Kodaikanal”, suggests that the name came from the Tamil words which stand for “gift”, “summer”, and “forest”.

Kodaikanal lies in the Western Ghats, a series of highlands in Southwestern India, giving it a subtropical highland climate. Temperatures are cool throughout the year because of the altitude (around 2100 metres).

The Silver Cascade is a majestic waterfall which lies on the winding Laws Ghat Road, on the way as one drives up from the plains of Dindigul to Kodaikanal. The waterfall originates from the Kodaikanal Lake. Many souvenir shops and tea stalls line the wide bend of road near the waterfall, and is frequented by a large number of monkeys.

The Kodaikanal Lake is the centrepiece of the Kodaikanal Town. The star-shaped water body was converted into a lake from a marshy land by the early British settlers. The lake is sustained by the retreating Northeast Monsoons which bring rainfall from October to December. 

The lake is spread over 60 acres and surrounded by a 5 kilometre road that runs its course around the perimeter of the lake. One can hire pedalos and row boats from the Kodaikanal Boat Club and do boating on the lake, or hire bicycles for a trip around it.

Kodaikanal Boat Club

Dolphin’s Nose is a flat rock jutting out into a deep valley below. The breathtaking chasm is 6600 metres deep. The eco-trail that leads up to this point is lined with many tea stalls.

(A better picture of Dolphin's Nose can be found here.)

The valley below...

Pambar Falls lie within walking distance from the Dolphin’s Nose. The locals also call it the “Liril Falls”, after an advertisement for the Liril soap was shot here in the 1980s.

Pillar Rocks is a set of three gigantic rocks standing 122 metres high. It can be seen, on a clear day, from a viewpoint inside a local garden.

Guna Caves, also known as “The Devil’s Kitchen”, are a series of caves that lie in between the three giant pillar rocks. A popular Tamil movie “Guna” was shot here thus leading to the name. The narrow ravines are now closed to the public due to the death of a number of tourists.

Other popular locations to visit are – Bryant Park, a botanical garden home to nearly 325 species of trees and 740 species of roses, among other plants; Coaker’s Walk, a paved walkway with an observatory which offers a panoramic view of the plains; Green Valley View, also known as “Suicide Point”, which offers a view of the surrounding planes.