Kodaikanal

The princess of hill stations

Kodaikanal track in the tea gardens

Cool down

 

At over 2,100 metres above sea level, Kodaikanal is a welcome breather from the hot lowlands of Tamil Nadu. The hill station was used by The British, escaping the heat of Madras during the mid 19th century, there are traces of British style houses and buildings all around the town.

There is a man-made lake which provides a nice walk of around 5 kilometers and a boat club that looks as if it could be on the Thames, although the various pedaloes sort of debunk this idea.

Kodaikanal is only about 120 kilometers from Madurai, but the drive up to the hillstation is pretty hairy at times as big buses take the hairpin bends in the middle of the road.

We were quite surprised (nicely surprised) that all disposable plastic is banned here, so make sure you have a refillable water bottle as your plastic water bottles could be taken away at the police post on the way up.

We came in January form the hustle and bustle of Madurai, so the quiet of Kodaikanal was very welcome, as were the daytime temeperatures of about 23°c, although the evenings and early mornings were pretty cold. Our driver said that it had snowed during the night when we were ther, although I think it was really just a frost, which we saw on the cars in the morning.

Morning in the Western Ghats
Kodaikanal lake

Around Kodaikanal

Coaker’s walk, a paved pathway built by a certain Lt. Coaker in the 19th century ias an easy 1 kilometer walk with fabulous views when it is not shrouded by thick cloud – which is quite often.

There are some other points where the views are breathtaking including Dolphon’s nose, Suicide point and Pillar Rocks, although when we went the visibility was down to about ten meters, so we could only imagine how fabulous the view was from the misty car park.

What to see

Waterfall outside Kodaikanal

The undoubted attraction of Kodaikanal are the views that can be see from the town, although you could get unlucky as we did, where all the viewpoints are hidden by thick cloud. There are also some waterfalls in the area, including Bear Shola falls and Fairy falls and may can be seen on the way up from the road to the town.

It is definitely a great place for treking, not only due to the beautiful, unspoilt forest and countryside, but the weather makes it very doable.

Getting there

Fruit stall Kodaikanal

We drove up from the busy city of Madurai, stopping off for some fresh coconut water and local tea on the way up to Kodaikanal.

There are places to stop on the way up to drink in the beautiful views, which is adviseable if you can as when you get to the top you may not get another chance if the clouds close in.

There are warning signs in some of the parking spots about wild animals, apparently tigers, leopard and elephants are not uncommon here, along with the usual snakes found throughout southern India, although we saw nothing. 

However, on our last day here, we left early in the morning to get to Polacchi and our road was blocked by a stubborn Indian biffalo who just stared back at us and took his time to let us get on our way, which was nice to see.

Food and drink

We ate a a crowded restaurant, The Astoria Veg Restaurant, in the centre of the town at lunchtime, which was a really nice mix of Tamil and Kerala food in a setting that was more like a canteen than a restaurant, but it was very good.

On the way to the restaurant there are several food stalls selling anything tandoori – fish, chicken, quails and vegetables, which looked good, but as the Astoria was recommended to us, we made a bee-line there.

We had dinner in The Sterling Hotel, where we stayed, which was fabulous, where they also serve cocktails in a nice cosy bar that feels like it could have been visited by officers of the British Raj. The hotel was great as too was the food.

Rooftops Kodaikanal b&w

Drop us a line by email

Start a conversation with us, we are really friendy and would love to hear from you.

contact@twofrogstravel.com

More photos of Kodaikanal

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway Tamil Nadu, India

A trip on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway in Tamil Nadu, India from Mettupalayam to Ooty - sometimes called The Ooty Toy Train. Beautiful scenery on this UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is truly unique and the only rack and pinion railway in India. We met some lovely...

South India Highlights 2020

South India Highlights 2020 of our trip to Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in South India in January 2020. From the deserted village destroyed by a tsunami at Rameshwaram, the tea plantations at Munnar and Fort Kochi, in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil...

Munnar

Kashmir of South IndiaHigh in The Western Ghats  The best parts of Munnar are on the outskirts of the town and the drive up and down to the hill station. Munnar is a hill station high in the Western Ghat mountains at around 1,600 meters above sea level, which...

Marari Beach

Miles of beach The Chill capital of Kerala?   Marari beach is a short tuk tuk ride from the busy town of Aleppey and if you have a choice, stay at Marari beach and travel in when you need / want to. In terms of culture and sightseeing, well, there is ,not much...

Menal Shiva temple complex

Ancient TemplesMahanaleshvara temple  Menal was a huge surprise for us - our driver mentioned, on the way to Bundi that he knew of an interesting temple that we could visit. We expected it to be crowded as usual, but the surprise was that it was completely...

Madurai the jasmin city

The city of TemplesThe Meenakshi Ammanahanaleshvara temple  The city is centred around the spectacular Meenakshi Amman Temple, with, amongst other sights, the 100 pillared Mandapa Nayaka Mandapam, a pillared corridor with different animal sculptures at the top of...

What to do and see in Haryana, India Podcast

In this podcast episode, I speak to a local from Hisar, Haryana about Haryana : Things to do Places to see What to eat & drink Things to be aware of All the best advice given by a local for travellers to Haryana. [powerpress...

What to do and see in Calicut, Kerala, India for two days Podcast

In this podcast episode, I speak to a local from Calicut (Kozhikode), Kerala about Kozhikode : Things to do Places to see What to eat & drink Things to be aware of All the best advice given by a local for travellers to Calicut (Kozhikode). [powerpress...

What to do and see in Kasargod, Kerala, India for two days Podcast

In this podcast episode, I speak to a local from Kasargod, Kerala about Kasargod : Things to do Places to see What to eat & drink Things to be aware of All the best advice given by a local for travellers to Kasargod. [powerpress...

Kumarakom

The backwaters Back to nature   One of the first things that you notice in Kumarakom is the peace and quiet along with the very laid-back feel of the place. We travelled the short distance from Allepey, where we spent a day and a night on a rice barge, which was...
[instagram-feed]
Click to rate this post!
[Total: 0 Average: 0]

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This