Kodaikanal

I have gone to Kodaikanal 2 times. I was blessed in a way, that I worked in a company that encouraged extensive travel on work – I went to Kodai for a conference. And again I went to Kodai for a trek in the jungles along with my friend.

During my first visit to Kodai, we stayed in the Carlton Hotel, which is by the Kodai lake. The property is beautiful has several rooms and is a luxury hotel, with luxurious facilities. The lawns oversee the lake, and it is a great view. The presentations and the corporate bonding sessions took up all the time, and there was no time for sight seeing. Except that I could peek out of my bus at the Silver Cascade waterfall.

The second trip was much later, in December 2003, between Dec 24th and 31st. It was meant to be a winter trek. Kodaikanal was cold….at about 8 degree C, and during the trek, we passed through virgin forests, waterfalls – which none would have seen, several lakes, meadows and small and beautiful villages. The trek was very memorable. After the trek, we had 1 days time to go around Kodai, and experience the hill station. Kodai in winter is awesome.

For folks who live in Chennai, Kodai is summer retreat. The Chennai – Madurai Pandian Express leaves Chennai Egmore Station at 8.00 pm and reaches Kodai Road Junction at about 7.30 am the next morning. One can take a bus or a cab to reach Kodai, which is 120 kms away, usually a 2 and half hrs drive. But, since we made plans in the last minute, we could not get a train ticket, we had to go to Kodai by bus. Kodai is well connected from all places in the South.

Kodai is situated at an altitude of about 2,133-m and covers an area of 21.45-sq-km. The hill town is renowned for its educational institutions of international repute. The pride of Kodaikanal is the 'Kurinji-flower', which blossoms once in 12 years.

We reached Kodai at 11 am. It was a trek organized by the Youth Hostels Association of India, and we were to report at the base camp in KodaiKanal at about 2 pm. Since, we had a lot of time, we checked into a hotel, the Rs. 300 per day kinds, had a hot water bath, ate sumptuous break fast, went around the place, long walks, looked at curios in a shop, and then, reported at the camp. Kodai is famous for the home made chocolates – don’t forget to indulge.

The base camp was in the most scenic place of Kodai, near Coakers walk, the camps rooms were at the sides or edges of the mountains, from here, one could get a great view of the valley on all sides. The tall trees, were covered with mist and the sight is beautiful. Trust me, the description is nothing in comparison to the beautiful sight, coz I do not know the right words.

In the evening, we introduced ourselves to all the other members of the trek group. We knew that we were here for fun, and were getting prepared.

One needs to understand what happens in a Youth hostel trek. You get tents to stay in, you are woken up at 5 am every morning with a hot cup of tea, after which you will wonder where to pee, there are open bathrooms ie, I mean there are no bathrooms, you could do it anywhere, under a tree or behind the bush. You can dig a pit in the earth, if you want to feel comfortably. You got to carry your bucket of water, and those who don’t mind the paper, can use it. There are areas designated for Gents and Ladies, and it is appreciated if you stick to your demarkated territory. A bath is a complete impossibility. Simple breakfast is served in the morning, followed by lunch, which you are to pack in a box, fill water and put your rucksack on the back, and get going. In the next camp where you get to, dinner is served, sleeping bags, rugs are provided, which are comfortable. After dinner, you can socialize with the rest of the gang, and have fun. But, there are rules. Lights out at 7.30 pm.

So, as Kodai is a regular hillstation with large parts of it, under the Forest Department, we could trek into dense forest. There was a place, in the jungle, called wet jungle, it is completely dark here, as the forest is extremely thick, there is a waterfall in the vicinity, and hence the froth / fizz of the waterfall, keeps the entire place wet. It was awesome.

After this, we started walking into forests that were beautiful…silver oak forests, like never seen before, we passed through water falls, no one has even been to, except the tribals of the village…several lakes..there were several meadows…good enough for the guys to play a game of cricket. But, the Kodai trek was different, as most of the route was through the jungle, we could stay in the Forest Officers bungalow. Some of these bungalows were more than 100 yrs old, were constructed during the days of the British Raj obviously, and were in the most picture perfect locations of the valley. Awesome places. To get to these place, you need to trek through the jungle, almost 12 - 17 kms every day, and in the end of the day, when you get to the camp, you will be delighted that your effort was not a waste.

The usual trek follows from Berijem lake to the Kerala border Vandaraw and will be back via 'Poondi' , Poomparai, Kavunji, and Kukkal. We can see the big Mannavanur sheep farm while trekking via this route.

After the trek, every bit of the body was aching, coz we trekked, on an average, about 15 kms every day. One day, we got soo tired, of walking, we knew there was a road nearby, we walked to the road, stopped a lorry and got into it. Kodai is a highly populated hill station in South India, and hence, no matter where you are, even if you are the deepest and thickest of jungles, you will always hear a lorry or a taxi going by, which means, you are close to a road. So, none of us, were scared that we would get lost in the jungle.

Yeah, so after the trek, we said good bye to all the new friends, left the camp, checked in to a hotel again, for a hot water bath, we had not had a bath for 4 days. We ate sumptuous meal – at the Carlton, and started going around the city. There are a lot of places to see in and around Kodaikanal – the lake, Coakers walk, Pillar Rocks, Guna Caves, Berijam lake etc.

There are lots of palces in Kodai, they are Kodai lake, Byrant Park, Berijam Lake ( 21 kms ), Coakers Walk, Thalaiyar Falls, Bear Shola Falls, Pambar Falls, Kukkal caves, Silver Cascade, Pillar Rocks (8 kms ) and Dolphin Nose. If one has additional time at hand, one can visit the Vembadi peak and Palani hills as well.

I will make a special mention of Coakers walk. It is a narrow pedestrian path, constructed by Lt. Coaker in 1872, a one kilometer mountain road which runs along the edge of steep slopes on the southern side of Kodai road which is 1/2km away from Kodai. The walk winding around Mt. Nebo starts near van Allen hospital and joins the main road above St. Peter's Church, provides a wide-angle spectacular view of the plains. On a cloudless, clear day one can have interesting sights, such as.... Dolphin's nose in south, valley of the Pambar river in South East, birds eye view of Periyakulam and even city of Madurai.

They are several buses that leave to Madurai every 30 minutes. I took one of them to Madurai. I reached Madurai and my train back to Chennai was at about 7. 30 pm, and I just the right amount of time to visit the Meenakshi Temple.

Getting There :

By Road : Chennai ( 520 kms ), Madurai ( 120 kms ) There are buses from Madurai, Trichy, Coimbathore, Sales etc..and is never really problem.

By Air : Madurai is the closest airport at 120 kms

By Train : Nearest rail head is Madurai is 120 kms.

Best time : April to May and Sept to October as it is a hill stations. Winters can get bitterly cold.

Trip duration : 2 to 3 days.

Accomodations :

The Carlton, Lake Road, Kodaikanal 624 101, Tel: +(91) (4542) 240056/240071, \Fax: +(91) (4542) 241170 , Email: carlton@krahejahospitality.com

Hotel Paradise Inn, Paradise Compound, Laws Ghat Road, Kodaikanal 624 101Tel: +(91) (4542) 241075/241175 , Fax: +(91) (4542) 241024
Hotel Kodai International , Post Box 33, 17/328 Laws Ghat Road, Kodaikanal 624 101Tel: +(91) (4542) 245190~93 , Fax: +(91) (4542) 240753 , Email: hki@vsnl.net

Sterling Resorts, 75/76, attuvampatti, Kodaikanal 624 101, Tel: +(91) (4542) 244447/244448
Kodai Resort , Noyce Road, Kodaikanal 624 101, Tel: +(91) (4542) 242107/8, Fax: +(91) (4542)