TRIP TO KODAIKANAL -- "THE PRINCESS OF HILL STATIONS"

Hello Folks,

          Hope everyone are doing fine and wish everyone a successful year ahead!!!.Here is the long awaited blog - Trip to Kodaikanal. A must visit to this place if you are a nature lover. 

On one fine evening, we were discussing to go out for some two or three days for vacation because of a stressful month that time. The beautiful place that remainded us was Kodaikanal (because it is our favourite place).Do you know Kodaikanal is also known as the "PRINCESS OF HILL STATIONS" and it is very true.  

In this blog, I am going to share some exciting places in Kodaikanal with travel planner for three days.(Please let us know in the comments whether it is useful to you so that we will include the planner in upcoming travel blogs as well). We went to Trichy / Dindukal the day before the travel by Air / Train from Chennai because of easier commute to other cities in Tamilnadu.   

Best time to visit  :   October - November (Winter)

                           :   April - May (Summer Vacation)

DAY :1

       We started our trip from Palani hills and we thought why not we have a "dharshan" before leaving to Kodaikanal because its been a while we went there. Palani hills is known for Lord Murugan temple (there is a story behind it) and it is one of the house for Murugan out of six houses. We started around 4.00 am in the morning from Trichy / Dindukal by cab(from one of the known travels we booked) and reached there at 6.30 am. We climbed the hill by walk and it took 20-30 minutes to reach the hill top. It is better to have something like tea or coffee or biscuit and not heavy foods) before climbing the hill otherwise that will become problem for many(had own experience).We had a nice,peaceful dharshan and we decided to climb down the hill by rope car (each Rs 10). This will take only 15 minutes to reach the ground. We bought some "Palani Prasdham i.e., Pantcha Mirtham” which is Palani famous and had breakfast there. It is always peaceful and mind relaxing when going to temple and we felt the same.

        At 9.30 am after breakfast, we again started our journey to Kodaikanal. The fine breeze and fresh air welcomed us when we enter kodaikanal and it was like refreshment to the body and soul.(It can be felt not to be explained). We visited silver  falls a few kilometer away before entering to kodaikanal.(Falls are my personal favourite because of its unending roaring sound and its mooligai properties which is good for health).There is no entry near the falls to take bath but enjoyed from few distance away.We reached around 2.30 pm in the afternoon and checked-in to hotel nearby the Kodai lake (its the center part of Kodaikanal) and took some rest till 4.00 pm.After that we planned to roam around nearby Botanical garden and Pedal Boating.We hired pedal boat of two(INR 100 for one hour) and slowly enjoyed the beauty of nature, chit-chated with some snacks we carried, took photos (which is mandatory) and finally returned.It was a huge lake and one can enjoy the real beauty of nature. I have added some photos to enjoy.

Silver Falls

        After that we went to Botanical garden nearby and during summer season they will arrange for a flower show (don't miss this during summer season)but we missed this time because we went during winter season. There's a huge grass landscape play areas for small children and other groups of children were playing volley ball and some stuffs etc., and very small children were playing hide and seek, see-saw, slider etc. we spent some good quality time there and after that decided to roam around the shops nearby Kodai Lake. There are many chocolate shops and other gift items shops, usually at tourist places the cost of every item in the shop will be higher comparatively(we all know that but couldn't resist to buy) so please bargain as much as possible, if you are willing to buy something from the shops. We bought some home-made chocolates for us and our relatives, then we bought some fresh fruits for our dinner (we would like to eat fruits because it is a must try where different fruits will be available there then what we eat in our town).

Kodai Lake

Botanical Garden photo shoot

DAY: 2

        My husband is a morning person and irrespective of holiday , weekend, vacation and week days his wakeup time is usually at 6 am in the morning. When we are out for any hill station, he loves enjoying morning climate there, so we decided to go nature walking around the Kodaikanal Lake, and it was really a nice experience by hearing birds chirping sounds,fog formation,had morning tea(it is must to have in that climate) etc..Actually we can enjoy the nature inch by inch very peacefully and pleasantly.Then we return to hotel room at 7.30 am in the morning and got refreshment to explore other places.

On the way view to Mannavanur Lake 

       As usual, we had breakfast at hotel nearby and we went to Mannavanur Lake.On the way to Lake we visited Poombarai Village view.It was two hours of journey to Mannavanur and I can say that two hours is worth the travel because it was such a beautiful place to spend time nicely. There was a huge area of lake surrounded by trees,grasses etc.. The grass view of entire place is a gift to an eye. The statement "Nature is a gift of God" is true here and I realized the same. This is the perfect place for any kind of photo-shoot. The entry fee for Mannavanur is INR 30, we did Boating (Coracle/Parisal). The boating cost is seperate i.e., INR 30. It was 20 mins journey. Aww! It was such a nice experience for the first time doing Parisal boating in my life. We heard that Tamil movie: I (Vikram), Perenabu (Mammuti) movie house they all shooted in that place. There are tea/snacks shop at the entrance where you can have some refreshment. I can really say that it was a wonderful experience and I personally like this place and also recommend you to this place when you visit kodaikanal(I am sure you will have nice time there). We had lunch on the way and started to explore other usual places in Kodaikanal.

Parisal Boating

Here are the list of some significant places to visit .

1. Moir Point

2. Guna Cave

3. Pine Forest

4. Pillar rock

5. Silent Valley      .      

6. Golf club view

7. Coakers Walk

Moir Point:

First we went to Moir point, It is a view from top view of Valley, Mountains with full of mist. There is a monument which mentions this and stands on the road joining the kodaikanal - Berijam lake. Since this place offers amazing views of the valleys it remains one of the most crowded place in Kodaikanal.

Moir Point

Pillar Rock :

The place is named so as it has three vertically positioned boulders reaching up to a height of 400 feet, the view of rocks is not something to be missed. They stand as an untouched miracle for the tourists visiting Kodaikanal.

Silent Valley view:

This is located in close proximity to the pillar rock garden in Kodaikanal. This is famous for some astounding and stunning views of the Silent valley.   

Devil's Kitchen (Guna Cave):

Devil's kitchen also known as Guna Cave is situated on the outskirts of the Kodaikanal. It can be reached from the Moir point, this place was earlier not very famous and was only visited by hikers. It got famous after Tamil film movie named Guna in 1992. It Remains filled with thick clouds in the monsoon and winter season. To reach hilltop, visitors need to walk 400 meters from the main entrance. This place is worth visiting and has so many secrets enclosed within it which are worth finding out.

After visiting above places we returned to room to have some nap.After that we went to cycling (Rs 100) to go round the Kodai Lake.Both rider and pillion have pedals to do cycling. We had dinner the same way like yesterday i.e. fruits.

Pine Forest:

As the name suggests that the place has lot of long pine trees and gives an experience as we were in middle of the forest. Here the speed horse riding is available and miss it as it gives a real horse riding experience without the rider.

Coakers Walk:

It is beautiful place in Kodaikanal city with long valley view at the edge of the Mountain range. We can have an amazing long romantic walk if you are newly married and the place sometimes with full of mist. It has some small shops throughout the walk and there is a place where telescope is placed. From there we are able to see Vaigai Dam when there is a clear sky. 

DAY: 3

        Next day we planned to have a short trip because we are returning to Trichy the same day. We started our day by finishing breakfast and decided to go to Dolphin Nose & Vattakanal Lake. Cab driver dropped at one point and after that we have to go to Dolphin Nose by walk (kind of Trekking).The way to Dolphin Nose was so hard and narrow with lots of stones, trees,its roots and running waters flowing all the way. It was around 2.5 km from the starting point to reach the destintion. While going there please be prepare like going for trekking and wear Shoes with trekking accessories.

Lyril Falls

      The mountain valley view is amazing view from top of the Dolphin nose rock. We ate some snacks and took rest for 30 minutes and then return to cab. Then on the way we went to Wax museum and Lyril Falls. We had lunch and went to hotel to check-out. We visited one more museum called Hartley College museum, it is more informative for school age students. 

It has a wonderful collection of snakes, coins, stones,animals preserved.Butterflies collection was awesome. It would be a feast for zoological students, especially those who are doing research in butterflies.Some of the exhibits were rare and not to be found in other larger museums too.It takes around 20-60 minutes depending on your interest and cost you some time.It has a geographical representation of kodai city ,which is a must to watch in that museum.

Museum Pics

Then we geared our vehicle to reach Trichy. Any briyani lover can have briyani at Tindukal Thalapakatti which is on the way.(a small info). And that's all our short three day trip ended with heartful of joyness. Please click the below link to check the planner in our website with all the activities and bugeting cost.

Kodaikanal Planner