Kodaikanal - calm and serene hill station
Kodaikanal is a must place to see and is way way better than Ooty. One need to spend minimum 2-3 days in Kodaikanal to enjoy its natural beauty. Even though its getting commercialized there is still serenity around it.
Photos can be seen here - http://picasaweb.google.com/chandan.maloo/KodaikanalTrip#
HowToGofrom Bangalore
Tuticoriun Express: Bangalore to Kodaikanal Road, leaves at 9:30 PM from Cantonment Rly, reaches around 6 AM. Once you reach Kodaikanal Road, one can hire a taxi which will cost around Rs. 1000. If one is fine to wait for another 2 hours there is a Govt bus at 8:10 AM which will only take Rs. 40 :). I decided to chill around Kodaikanal road and meanwhile had 2 awesome teas, very cheap given the quantity they offer + a nice breakfast at a local restaurant in front of the Railway station. Thand ke mausam mein chai ki chuskiyon ka ek apna hi alag andaz hai. I was really amazed at the way tea is prepared in Tamilnadu in general. Bustand for Kodaikanal road is 200-300 meters from Railway station.
Return Journey to Bangalore
Mysore Express: from Dindugul to Bangalore, Starts at 9:15PM and reached Bangalore at 6 AM. Kodaikanal to Bangalore buses are normally full, so its better to take train journey. There is only one bus from Kodaikanal which takes you to Kodaikanal road or Dindugul in the evening. It leaves at 5 PM from Kodaikanal to Dindugul, Make sure you reach kodaikanal bust stand by 4:30 PM otherwise the bus will be full. Bus charges a mere Rs 32 and will drop you near the Dindugul railway station upon request. [Reaches around 8 PM in Dindugul, so you can have dinner or awesome chai. ... Bus drops you at a junction square from where the railway station is around 0.7 km]
BusTrip from Kodaikanal Road to Kodaikanal
Cool breezes with mountains around, mand mand baarish ki fuhaarein, ghats, sometimes up the road and sometimes downhill... My ears responding appropriately to the changing atmospheric pressure. It was very nice experience in the local bus which was completely jam packed after vattalagundu. Waterfalls, valleys, chirping of the birds, fog moving around...
FYI: One can board a bus in every half an hour from Vattalagundu (also pronounced Batlagundu) to Kodaikanal hill stations if somehow he misses bus from Kodaikanal road. Its 20kms from Kodaikanal road.
BusTrip from Kodaikanal to Dindugul
It was very much the same like the onward journey, the only difference being it was evening time. Our bus also stopped for a brief period at the Silver Cascade falls which looked to be the biggest water falls in the area to me. Water was still shining in the evening cloud covered Sun...
Stay:
Inside Mount Zion Lutheran Church
Very near to HillTop Inn restaurant. [ Comes on the way when coming from BusStand towards AnnaSalai Road]
Distance from BusStand: 0.5 - 0.6 KM
Rate: Rs. 200 per room [ Bargaining still possible ]
Contact: Mr Devdas Paster
Number: 9486729645, 0452 - 241745
Its a pretty decent place much better that the forest resort place in Bandipur where we paid Rs. 600 per person. The place also has Beramda with relaxing chairs + a nice garden in front + offers views to rich flora (different kind of flowers and trees). With Rs. 200 i don't think one can ask for so much, what do you feel??
Food: Tawa, Rasoi + many other veg options are available on Anna Salai road. I chose Purohit restaurant besides Tawa since it had a Jain thali to offer for 70 Rs with 5 chapatis + sabji + dal + curd +kadi+ little amount of rice with papad. I also had breakfast at the same place. The owner is from Rajasthan, it was pretty obvious for me to choose this place to quench my hunger :D
CityTour
1. Kodaikanal Lake - 300 meters from the BusStand, Its a gigantic lake, at the very onset it appears to be very very small but as you start moving around it you witness its true size, Its very much like our chickpet lanes in Bangalore, the only difference being yeh moti moti galiyan hai.... Only when one visit those lanes you realize they having so much traffic. I am pretty sure if visitors get to know the actual size of the lake and the distance to be covered they may think twice to get into Cycling mode or not, neverthless its worth it
2. Cycling around the lake ( around 4 km road, 10Rs per hour ) - This was the best part, cycling in such places is real fun, with tenderly showers hitting on your face, all sides surrounded with lush green mountains and a beautiful lake to roam around. Cycle journey is bound to make you tired since you have not been used to such long distances, even i felt the same. But mausam hi itna suhana tha ki, thakaan mahsoos ho hi nahi rahi thi, Hawa ke bahaav mein cycle ke pahiye apne -aap chale ja rahe the... Hawa ke saath saath ghata ke sang sang, Oh saathi chal...
3. Horse Riding ( Rs 80 per 1 KM )
4. Boating (govt rates)
5. Coakers Walk - Half a km walk, around 0.7 km from bus stand. Offers very scenic view of the valley.
Make sure the sun is shining before you plan to take a walk. (Rs. 3 entry fee). Most of the package tours in Kodaikanal will talk about various views, green valley and so on but trust me by taking Coaker's walk you would have almost covered everything which the valley has to offer. 1st time i had been to Coakers walk at 2:30 PM in afternoon and it was quite foggy, nothing was visible. I considered it my bad luck to not get a glimpse of the awesome lush green valley... But God had a nice plan for tomorrow where early in the morning at 7:30AM Sun God was at his peak and the whole valley was crystal clear. Mast khilkhilati dhoop thi... Even sky's blueness was at his best, Thanks you god for making it happen.
6. Peter's Church - Its besides Coakers walk, nice church.
7. Byrantt park - Botanical Garden again 0.7 km from Bus Stand, Two entrances, one is 100-200meters from Coakers walk and the other one is 20-30 meters.
8. Shopping around the lake/byrant park - You will find many tibbeti people selling woolen clothes, Local people selling nilgiri/almond products + home made chocolates ( I had bargained up to Rs. 200 per Kg for 300 gms), Nilgiri tel can be bargained up to Rs. 60 per 125 ml. One can also enjoy having small samples for tasting around many shops which i used to my full potential :D
Maize, (butta in Hindi) + boiled groundnuts are available everywhere for some small food breaks.
OutSide tour
1. La Saleth Church - Simple Blue church with nice blue Sky above it :D
2. Jain Temple + Kurinji Andavar Temple - [ I had covered this by walk the very 1st day, 4 kms from bus-stand, used lift approach to reach, recalled my earlier days in Nagpur when i used to take lift from Mahindra employees from Amabazari to Hingna :P ]
3. Waterfalls: Bear-Shola falls + Vatakkal falls + Pambar falls - All these falls are formed by river Pambar and are 100 mts apart. Nice and Small waterfalls (20-30 mts max). Bear-Shola falls got this name due to many bears seen in the area. All these waterfalls also provide a stunning view of the valley. Its bit slippery way and one needs to be very careful. Some famous Tamil cinema shootings have happened near these waterfalls.
4. Lion Cave - This is 100 mt from Bear Shola falls, just a simple cave where sometime back lion used to stay... [made up story], better name would have been StoneAge mans cave... hmmm
5. Mountain Beauty, Dolphin Nose, Eco Point - 0.5 KMs from Vatakkal falls location, this is a 2 Km trek which
covers these 3 places. This was the 3rd best part after cycling and Coakers walk, again offering some stunning views of the valley. Dolphin Nose was the best among them and was a bit risky too, tourists did not mind risking their life for a nice orkut snap and so was me :P
6. 500 year Old Tree - This comes on the way returning back to City from the Vatakkal falls. You can only catch a glimpse of the tree since it has been fenced around.
On the way to Dindugul, you will see the biggest falls popularly known as Silver Cascade falls in Kodaikanal at least it was the largest among 4 i have seen.
Things i missed - Pillar Rocks, Guna Caves, Museum, Observatory. Golf course was not a major thing for me as i have seen them at many places. Other names mentioned in the tour guides are just different names of the above mentioned with the angle of location changing.
I personally recommend you to take the Trekking tour which offers all the above mentioned. ( will take 3-5 hours to complete depending on once chilling mood :) Tour rate is Rs. 175 but i got it bargained down to Rs. 125. They also charge Rs. 30 for forest entry.
All in all - a well worth trip and something i will cherish for a long time to come, I am pretty sure, i will come back to Kodaikanal sometime again in future...
Photos can be seen here - http://picasaweb.google.com/chandan.maloo/KodaikanalTrip#
HowToGofrom Bangalore
Tuticoriun Express: Bangalore to Kodaikanal Road, leaves at 9:30 PM from Cantonment Rly, reaches around 6 AM. Once you reach Kodaikanal Road, one can hire a taxi which will cost around Rs. 1000. If one is fine to wait for another 2 hours there is a Govt bus at 8:10 AM which will only take Rs. 40 :). I decided to chill around Kodaikanal road and meanwhile had 2 awesome teas, very cheap given the quantity they offer + a nice breakfast at a local restaurant in front of the Railway station. Thand ke mausam mein chai ki chuskiyon ka ek apna hi alag andaz hai. I was really amazed at the way tea is prepared in Tamilnadu in general. Bustand for Kodaikanal road is 200-300 meters from Railway station.
Return Journey to Bangalore
Mysore Express: from Dindugul to Bangalore, Starts at 9:15PM and reached Bangalore at 6 AM. Kodaikanal to Bangalore buses are normally full, so its better to take train journey. There is only one bus from Kodaikanal which takes you to Kodaikanal road or Dindugul in the evening. It leaves at 5 PM from Kodaikanal to Dindugul, Make sure you reach kodaikanal bust stand by 4:30 PM otherwise the bus will be full. Bus charges a mere Rs 32 and will drop you near the Dindugul railway station upon request. [Reaches around 8 PM in Dindugul, so you can have dinner or awesome chai. ... Bus drops you at a junction square from where the railway station is around 0.7 km]
BusTrip from Kodaikanal Road to Kodaikanal
Cool breezes with mountains around, mand mand baarish ki fuhaarein, ghats, sometimes up the road and sometimes downhill... My ears responding appropriately to the changing atmospheric pressure. It was very nice experience in the local bus which was completely jam packed after vattalagundu. Waterfalls, valleys, chirping of the birds, fog moving around...
FYI: One can board a bus in every half an hour from Vattalagundu (also pronounced Batlagundu) to Kodaikanal hill stations if somehow he misses bus from Kodaikanal road. Its 20kms from Kodaikanal road.
BusTrip from Kodaikanal to Dindugul
It was very much the same like the onward journey, the only difference being it was evening time. Our bus also stopped for a brief period at the Silver Cascade falls which looked to be the biggest water falls in the area to me. Water was still shining in the evening cloud covered Sun...
Stay:
Inside Mount Zion Lutheran Church
Very near to HillTop Inn restaurant. [ Comes on the way when coming from BusStand towards AnnaSalai Road]
Distance from BusStand: 0.5 - 0.6 KM
Rate: Rs. 200 per room [ Bargaining still possible ]
Contact: Mr Devdas Paster
Number: 9486729645, 0452 - 241745
Its a pretty decent place much better that the forest resort place in Bandipur where we paid Rs. 600 per person. The place also has Beramda with relaxing chairs + a nice garden in front + offers views to rich flora (different kind of flowers and trees). With Rs. 200 i don't think one can ask for so much, what do you feel??
Food: Tawa, Rasoi + many other veg options are available on Anna Salai road. I chose Purohit restaurant besides Tawa since it had a Jain thali to offer for 70 Rs with 5 chapatis + sabji + dal + curd +kadi+ little amount of rice with papad. I also had breakfast at the same place. The owner is from Rajasthan, it was pretty obvious for me to choose this place to quench my hunger :D
CityTour
1. Kodaikanal Lake - 300 meters from the BusStand, Its a gigantic lake, at the very onset it appears to be very very small but as you start moving around it you witness its true size, Its very much like our chickpet lanes in Bangalore, the only difference being yeh moti moti galiyan hai.... Only when one visit those lanes you realize they having so much traffic. I am pretty sure if visitors get to know the actual size of the lake and the distance to be covered they may think twice to get into Cycling mode or not, neverthless its worth it
2. Cycling around the lake ( around 4 km road, 10Rs per hour ) - This was the best part, cycling in such places is real fun, with tenderly showers hitting on your face, all sides surrounded with lush green mountains and a beautiful lake to roam around. Cycle journey is bound to make you tired since you have not been used to such long distances, even i felt the same. But mausam hi itna suhana tha ki, thakaan mahsoos ho hi nahi rahi thi, Hawa ke bahaav mein cycle ke pahiye apne -aap chale ja rahe the... Hawa ke saath saath ghata ke sang sang, Oh saathi chal...
3. Horse Riding ( Rs 80 per 1 KM )
4. Boating (govt rates)
5. Coakers Walk - Half a km walk, around 0.7 km from bus stand. Offers very scenic view of the valley.
Make sure the sun is shining before you plan to take a walk. (Rs. 3 entry fee). Most of the package tours in Kodaikanal will talk about various views, green valley and so on but trust me by taking Coaker's walk you would have almost covered everything which the valley has to offer. 1st time i had been to Coakers walk at 2:30 PM in afternoon and it was quite foggy, nothing was visible. I considered it my bad luck to not get a glimpse of the awesome lush green valley... But God had a nice plan for tomorrow where early in the morning at 7:30AM Sun God was at his peak and the whole valley was crystal clear. Mast khilkhilati dhoop thi... Even sky's blueness was at his best, Thanks you god for making it happen.
6. Peter's Church - Its besides Coakers walk, nice church.
7. Byrantt park - Botanical Garden again 0.7 km from Bus Stand, Two entrances, one is 100-200meters from Coakers walk and the other one is 20-30 meters.
8. Shopping around the lake/byrant park - You will find many tibbeti people selling woolen clothes, Local people selling nilgiri/almond products + home made chocolates ( I had bargained up to Rs. 200 per Kg for 300 gms), Nilgiri tel can be bargained up to Rs. 60 per 125 ml. One can also enjoy having small samples for tasting around many shops which i used to my full potential :D
Maize, (butta in Hindi) + boiled groundnuts are available everywhere for some small food breaks.
OutSide tour
1. La Saleth Church - Simple Blue church with nice blue Sky above it :D
2. Jain Temple + Kurinji Andavar Temple - [ I had covered this by walk the very 1st day, 4 kms from bus-stand, used lift approach to reach, recalled my earlier days in Nagpur when i used to take lift from Mahindra employees from Amabazari to Hingna :P ]
3. Waterfalls: Bear-Shola falls + Vatakkal falls + Pambar falls - All these falls are formed by river Pambar and are 100 mts apart. Nice and Small waterfalls (20-30 mts max). Bear-Shola falls got this name due to many bears seen in the area. All these waterfalls also provide a stunning view of the valley. Its bit slippery way and one needs to be very careful. Some famous Tamil cinema shootings have happened near these waterfalls.
4. Lion Cave - This is 100 mt from Bear Shola falls, just a simple cave where sometime back lion used to stay... [made up story], better name would have been StoneAge mans cave... hmmm
5. Mountain Beauty, Dolphin Nose, Eco Point - 0.5 KMs from Vatakkal falls location, this is a 2 Km trek which
covers these 3 places. This was the 3rd best part after cycling and Coakers walk, again offering some stunning views of the valley. Dolphin Nose was the best among them and was a bit risky too, tourists did not mind risking their life for a nice orkut snap and so was me :P
6. 500 year Old Tree - This comes on the way returning back to City from the Vatakkal falls. You can only catch a glimpse of the tree since it has been fenced around.
On the way to Dindugul, you will see the biggest falls popularly known as Silver Cascade falls in Kodaikanal at least it was the largest among 4 i have seen.
Things i missed - Pillar Rocks, Guna Caves, Museum, Observatory. Golf course was not a major thing for me as i have seen them at many places. Other names mentioned in the tour guides are just different names of the above mentioned with the angle of location changing.
I personally recommend you to take the Trekking tour which offers all the above mentioned. ( will take 3-5 hours to complete depending on once chilling mood :) Tour rate is Rs. 175 but i got it bargained down to Rs. 125. They also charge Rs. 30 for forest entry.
All in all - a well worth trip and something i will cherish for a long time to come, I am pretty sure, i will come back to Kodaikanal sometime again in future...
posted by Chandan Maloo at
9:11 AM
1 Comments:
These are very popular and beautiful places from Bangalore to Kodaikanal.You have an easiest way to book your Trip with your friends and family and you will have guidance too.
Sharma Travelsfacilitates passenger commutation as well as
cargo services across major cities in South India.
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