Advice On Touring Kodaikanal

by skorg

posted on 07/28/2009

Kodaikanal is the often forgotten hill station in south India compared to the famous Ooty that most people flock to during the peak summer. It is in a way good for Kodaikanal as it sees less of the crowd and is therefore a prime target for the well informed.

Route from Bangalore
It is approximately 450 kms from Bangalore and that makes it a little longer drive in car but still enjoyable. The route to be taken from Bangalore is Bangalore->Hosur->Dharmapuri->Karur->Namakkal->Dindigul->Vathalagundu->Kodaikanal. The entire stretch boast of well managed roads. If you start early on the day, you can have a good breakfast at hosur or at Dharmapuri too. Just near kodaikanal there is a place called Oothu. You can get fresh fruits here that are not available anywhere else, even in Kodaikanal. There are many varieties of fruits that people might not have even heard of anywhere else.

Stay
Kodaikanal boast of some high end hotels and some good value for money offerings as well. Kodai International is the high end hotel that can be yours at a premium. There are similar offerings from Club Mahindra as well. There are some very good value hotels like 'Villa Retreat' which boast of a colonial British house setting with an awesome view of the valley right beside a tourist attraction called Coaker's walk, all for 20$ per night in off season and double that during season time. The place is very quiet and serene as well. There are budget hotels like Shiva Priya which cost around 10$ per night stay.

Food
It is advisable to take breakfast and dinner at the hotel you are booked in. Lunch can be had outside as you go for sight seeing and might not wish to return to the hotel for lunch. There are no superlative hotels and almost every big hotel is good enough.

Places to Visit
Kodaikanal boasts of a big lake right at the center of the town. The lake is spread across like a star fish and has many activities centered around it. There are a couple of boat houses that will lend you boats with double pedals, rowing boats with a person for rowing and bigger ones too for an entire group. The lake has horse riding by the periphery for a very nominal rate. There are cycles available which you can lend for as little as 1$ per hour and it does take almost an hour to go around the lake. You can also find some good home made chocolate shops on the bank of the lake.

The coaker's walk is a nice pathway around a mile long along the border of a valley. The view is sensational and so is the fresh air that fills you up. The villa retreat hotel is right up here.

The pillar rocks are quite well known tourist stop too. Three rocks form a pillar like formation right from below all the way up. You get a feeling that is might topple and fall.

The suicide point or green valley view is another of those must see things in the list of most tourists.

But for more interested types, there is a Perijam lake for which one has to get a special permission from the forest officer. It takes about half an hour to get there but the place really beautiful and worth the effort.

And if you are planning a trip you can have it on 2018, because kodaikanal has a special flower that blooms once in 12 years only called 'Kurinji'. It is next set to bloom in 2018. Happy touring guys and let me know if you need any more information on this great hill station.

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