KODAIKANAL, THE BEAUTIFUL HILL STATION OF INDIA.

Kodaikanal is one of the most beautiful hill stations of India. It is also proudly called as princess of hills with it's steepy mountains, rocks, dense forests and lovely lakes. This place is noted for kurinji flower which blooms once in 12 years. Kodaikanal is visited by people from almost all parts of world as it attracts by bracing wind, enjoyable chill weather and many scenic beauties. The best time to visit here is April to May, however it is being visited through out the year except September to December when it is raining heavily. It is situated on folded Western ghats of Palani hills in Tamil nadu, India at an altitude ofabout 2,133 metre from mean sea level. Area is about 25 sq. km.

An interesting thing behind the history of Kodaikanal is that it was first visited by B.S.Ward, surveyor in 1821 and later recommended to American missions in Tamil nadu. The foriegners in the missions could not bear the hot climate of Tamil nadu and suffered from epidemic diseases and consequential deaths. They wanted a neat and healthy place to stay and improve their health. They were happy to see the report of B.S.Ward about this wonderful hill station and later moved in and built a lot of dewellings which is still there called as ' sunny side ' and shelton.

There are more than 15 attractive scenic spots in kodaikanal. Let us see some of them.

'1. Kodaikanal lake, 2. Upperlake view, 3. Coakers walk, 4. Bryant park, 5. Chettiar park, 6. Kurinji Andavar temple, 7. Dolphin nose, 8. Berijam lake, 9. Green valley view, 10. Pillar rocks, 11. Silver cascade, 12. Shenbaganur museum, 13. Solar physical observatory, 14. Perumal peak.

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1. Kodaikanal lake

It is one of the main attractions of the town and lies just 1 km away from the bus stand. It is an unique lake with star shape and covers about 60 acres in area and has average depth of 4 m. It is surrounded by 5 km length tar road and dense woods with different speices like Eucalyptus and pine. It was created by Sir Vere Henry Levinge, in 1862, who was the collector of Madurai retired and settled in Kodaikanal. By his own effort and money he converted the marshy land to beautiful lake. People visiting here can enjoy horse riding, cycle riding, walking and watching the beauty of the lake which will be often embraced by clouds. One can peacefully enjoy the beauty of this lake by just taking the seat on the chairs available around the lake. Kodaikanal Boat club and Tamil nadu Tourism Development Corporation hire boats to the people. They are charging Rs. 20/- to 40/- for ordinary boats for every 30 miutes. The luxury boats are also available for Rs. 125/- for the same time period.

2. Upperlake view

It is located at a walkable distance from the bus stand or central point of the town (1km ). You can enjoy a spectacular lake view as itself in a star shape. Glittering water and thick greenish surrounded woods add special attraction to this point. The boating house, beautiful trees, star like appearance of the lake and optimum elevation of the point from the lake are giving the spirit to this wonderful scenic spot.

3. Coakers walk

It is also very near to centre point of the town with amazing scenaries. It is a narrow padestrian path constructed by Lt. Coaker, in 1872, which runs along the edge of steep slopes. If you are lucky to view partial clouds or cloudless scenaries you can get an extraordinary pleasure with the scenic beauty of hills and deep valleys. The chill wind adds the enjoyment. There is a telescope house at the end of the path from where you can enjoy a close watch of each and every point of the town lying below this place.

4. Bryant park

This beaurtiful park is situated on the eatern side of the lake which is noted for colourful variety of roses and other plants. Cut plants are exported from here. There is a glass house which shelters rare plants and flowers. The entry fee of Rs. 5/- is charged per head. Flowers shows annually conducted in the park on every summer festival.

5. Chettiar park

It is located on the way to Shri Kurinji Andavar Temple and 3.5 km from the centre point of the hill station. It is very quite and with very beautiful plant speices which are carefully maintained. Architecture by the plants are some thing interested here. One can really enjoy both quite and beauty of the park. There is no charge for entering this park.

6. Shri Kurinji Andavar Temple

Taking the name of unique flower Kurinji the God here called as Shri Kurinji Andavar. Infact He is Lord Murugan, son of Lord Shiva. The temple was built by an European lady who on coming to India got faith in Hindu religion. It is under the management of Arulmighu Shri Dhandayuthapani Temple in Palani. The temple is being surrounded by deep valleys and natural scenaries. The speciality of this temple is peaceful atmosphere. The one who likes peaceful atmosphere can come here to enjoy the real nature of beauty. The temple is very near to Chettiar Park.

7. Dolphin Nose

Dolphin Nose is located at a dist-ance of 8 km from Berijam lake. A flat projecting rock from one can have a thrilling experience by viewing widening gorge below.

8. Berijam lake

Berijam lake is located at a distance of 21 km from Kodaikanal. It covers about 60 acres in area and quite natural atmosphere enriched with green woods. Water in this lake is noted for cleanliness. Some times you can enjoy the safe watching of wild animals like sambar deers , elephants and bisons.

9.Green valley view

It is located at about 7 km from the lake and near Golf club. It is one of the most beautiful and thrilling points of the station. From here we can see an immediate slope which is about 700 metre deep. We should be very careful when watching this point to avoid misevents. We can enjoy the mesmerising view of many towns, villages and plantations in plains.

10. Pillar rocks

It is about 9 km away from the centre point of Kodaikanal. Three granite formations measuring over 120 m high stand shoulder to shoulder providing beautiful view. It has a mini garden at the view point with lovely flowers. The pillar rock is full of caves and chasms, a delight for adventure seekers.

11. Silver cascade

This is the very first thing which welcomes you on your way to Kodaikanal. This is the most beautiful, unique water falls in Kodaikanal and 60 m in height. Glittering appearance of water amidst dense green woods makes it to celeberate as Silver cascade. The source of the falls is Kodaikanal lake. Before entering Kodaikanal we can spend sometime to enjoy this wonderful picnic spot. The more water comes only in rainy months of October and November. In summer days we can see only the little fall of water. Any way we can enjoy the unique beauty of this cascade admist thick green woods.

12. Shenbaganur museum

It is located on your way to Kodaikanal. As a part of the Sacred Heart College of Kodaikanal, the museum reflects the rich traditional heritage and cultural ancestry of the region. A unique characteristic of Shenbaganur museum is wide collection of rare and endangered speices of birds and beautiful flowers. It is an ideal place for those who interested in knowing about the rich traditional culture of South India.

13. Solar physical observatory

It is situated at an altitude of 2,343 m from mean sea level. It is the highest point of the hill station. The observatory was built in 1898. It is 6 km away from bus stand. It has a well equiped productive laboratary doing quality research work. Its' director Evershed discovered the phenomenon of radial motion in sun spots which is known as Evershed effect.

14. Perumal peak

It is located at about 11 km from the bus stand of Kodaikanal at an altitude of 2,450 metre from msl. People who are interested in trekking can try to reach this point.

About the climate of Kodaikanal

On summer days of India, Kodaikanal is crowded with people from all parts of the country as well as other parts of world as all of them wish to enjoy the charming climate of the hill station. In summer maximum temperature will be at 21 degree centigrade and minimum temperature will be at 10 degree centigrade. On winter days temperature ranges between 17 degree centigrade and 5 degree centigrade. Kodaikanal is fed by both south-west and north-east monsoon rains, however the most of the rains come from nort-east mosoon. It's average annual rainfall is 160 cm. People are not preferring the days to visit Kodaikanal when it rains heavily. South indians avoid to visit here on peak winter days. But people from other cold countries are coming here to enjoy icy winds on peak winter days.

Some other attractions of Kodaikanal

Seetha, Sappotta, Plums, Orange, Red banana, Jack are some important fruits being cultivated here. Other than fruits Carrot, Cauli flower, Kodai beans Cabbage, Potato and Beetroot are also cultivated. Eucalyptus oil is also produced here by the steam distillation and the same is available in the shops of the town in various packings. Home made chocolate is also very popular in this town which is available in the all shops around the Kodai lake.

Getting there

Three important nearby air ports are Madurai 135 km, Coimbatore 170 km, and Trichy 195 km. Nearby railway stations are Kodai road 80 km and Madurai 135 km. Kodaikanal is cnnected by all important towns and cities of Tamil nadu such as Palani, Madurai, Kumuli, Theni, Cumbum and Chennai.

Accommodations.

There are hundreds of lodges and hotels available in Kodaikanal. Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation run Hotel Tamil Nadu on Fenn hill road and Carlton Hotel near by lake are two important hotels for both lodging and dining. To get more informations about kodaikanal you can click the following link.