Kodaikanal

Kodaikanal is one of the beautiful hill station in India , it is unique rows and rows of silky pine trees sloping down to clear, cold streams, spectacular views which suddenly disappear in foamy mist, people bundled up in sweaters and overcoats this is certainly not everyone’s mental image of India. To be sure there are other hill stations, but most of them have been smothered by urban development. We seek peace and quiet in a hill station, not the noise and fumes of factories. Hopefully the powers-that-be will not allow kodaikanal to become “spoilt”.

Kodaikanal climate

Never too hot or cold, though night temperatures drop to freezing in January, and thin ice is seen on the lake edges. In summer (March to May) the temperature range is 20°C to 11°C, and in winter (Dec-Feb) 17.3°C to 8.3°C. An average of 165 cms of rain falls every year, mostly during the north-east monsoon occurs from June to September

Entertainment in Kodaikanal

The Golf Club is located 5-km from the Kodaikanal Lake. Boating and Angling facilities are available at the Kodaikanal Lake. Picturesque trek routes are available in and around Kodaikanal. For details, contact: The Trek Director, Department of Tourism, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai.

Attraction in Kodaikanal

Berijam Lake
Berijam Lake is one of the beautiful picnic spots in Kodai, located 21-km away from the bus stand. This lake supplies drinking water to Periakalam town. The scenery around here is delightful.
Bryant Park
Bryant Park situated on the eastern side of the lake, is noted for flowers, hybrids and rafts. Varieties of flowers can be seen in a glasshouse. The annual horticultural show is held here in May.
Shenbaganur Museum
Shenbaganur Museum is located about 5-Km from the lake. The Sacred Heart College maintains this museum. One of the best orchidoriums in the country with more than 300 species of orchids and wide-ranging collection of birds are found here.
Boat Club
In 1910, a new boathouse was constructed, but only from May 1929, few tourists were permitted to avail boat ride as temporary members. Later on they were extended to the public and tourists in 1932. Boats like T.T.D.C, Kodai boats, Carlton boats are available for hire.
Kodaikanal Lake
Kodaikanal Lake Kodaikanal Lake is a magnificent man-made lake, which spreads out in a star shape over sixty acres is a main attraction as it is set among the greenery. The boat club here offers several pleasure and racing trips.
Pillar Rocks
Within the city limits one can see three boulders standing shoulder - to - shoulder vertically measuring to a height of about 122 metres providing a panoramic view.
Coaker's Walk
Coaker's Walk derives the name from Lt. Coaker, who prepared the map of Kodai and it is about a kilometre from the lake, which runs along a steep slope on the southern side of the Kodai. Some of the best views of the plains can be seen from here.
Telescope Houses
To enable the visitors to have a panoramic view of the valley and the nearby towns, two telescope houses have been put up at Kodai.
Kurinji Andavar Temple
The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Murugan and is about 3.2-km from the lake. In Tamil literature "Kurinji" means "Hilly Region" and "Andavar" means God. From this temple, one can get a view of the northern plains and Palani Hills.
Silver Cascade
Silver Cascade waterfall is located on the Ghat Road about 8-km from Kodaikanal. The overflow of Kodai Lake comes down here as 180 feet high falls.
Bear Shola Falls
An ideal picnic spot located 1.6-km from the lake, which can be by a picturesque, rugged hill path. Bears once used to drink water above the falls.

Things to do in Kodaikanal

Boating at the Kodai lake - paddle and row boats are available at the lake

Trekking - Kodai offers several scenic trekking spots, including one which is to walk along the stream which goes to dolphin nose

Infrastructure

The nearest airports are Madurai, Trichy and Coimbatore. The nearest Railway station is at Kodai Road, about 2 hours by bus via a Ghat road.

There are several temples, mosques and churches in the town. There are numerous hotels of all grades, various restaurants, six banks and three hospitals. The oldest restaurant in Kodaikanal is "The Silver Inn", whose speciality is the "Steak sizzler" - beef steaks and assorted vegetables on a hot plate made to sizzle by adding meat sauce on the hot plate.

Close to Kodai is the Physical Observatory. Its director John Evershed discovered the phenomenon of radial motion in sunspots, now known as the Evershed effect.

Kodaikanal is also renowned for the Kodaikanal International School. There are five further schools (two of them teaching in Tamil), two colleges and the Mother Theresa University.

There is an excellent bazaar where one can buy woollen material, flowers, vegetables, handmade articles, hot snacks, children toys, medicinal herbs and oils. The cosmopolitan nature of Kodai is evident at the market place where it is not uncommon to see Scandinavian backpackers, retired French tourists and people from other parts of India enjoying fresh pastries served by Tibetan refugees.

Best way to get there from the North is to arrive at Kodai Road by rail.Tuticorin express arrives at around 7.00am in the morning.Buses and taxis take you to Kodai in a little over 2 hours.Alternatively one can arrive from Coimbatore or Palakkad via Palani which gives you a fantastic experience. Stop at various spots on the road and click away the scenic beauty of the Palani hills.