Kodaikanal: Getting lost in the mist

Overview:

Day 0: The summer of 2009 was getting on our heads and we were searching for an escapade into the hills. I decided to visit Kodaikanal in April 2009 with my collegemates. We booked our hotels in advance and going by the reviews it was a pretty decent one. But for travel we had to book a special bus at 10:13 as the regular buses were full because of the long weekend and the sweltering heat. So our bus started from Shanthinagar bus terminus at 10:13. I usually don't prefer buses for long distances but we didn't have too many options. The roads were pretty good till Dindigul so didn't feel much tired.
Day 1: We saw the first sight of the hills at 07:00am. Our bus stopped for tea in the morning at around 07:40am. The temperature was gradually decreasing as we were climbing. Finally we reached Kodaikanal bus stand at 10:30am. We got a number of a cab driver named Selva at the bus stand whom we could approach for local sightseeing. After checking-in at the Spring Valley resort, we got fresh and decided to have early lunch.  We went to a restaurant named 'Tava' suggested by Selva in the upmarket area near Coaker's walk. We were famished after our long journey and couldn't wait to pounce on the food. The food was also very good at the restaurant. Then later we called Selva for the sightseeing options. He agreed to take us around for the 3 days. So first up was a view point from where we could see the entire Kodaikanal Lake. It started drizzling and the view was absolutely stunning. Then next we went to the Pine forest where a lot of movies have been filmed. We went into the woods and clicked a few pics. Our next spot was to go to Guna Caves which are bat infested and are fenced so that tourists don't venture out deep into the caves. These caves lie beneath Pillar shaped rocks. Next was the Botanical Garden where a number of flowers were kept on display. It was a delight to watch flowers with so many colours. Next place was the Green Valley View or the Suicide Point which offers a panoramic view of the Palani hill range which looks awesome. On the way is a golf course. A lot of stuff is available near the Green Valley to purchase especially for the ladies ;-). Next we went to the Murugan temple which is another popular place for the visitors in Kodai. The temple is not a huge one but looks charming. This was our last place for the day and we asked Selva to drop us to the lake. We spent the evening near the lake and had lunch nearby before heading back to the hotel.
             

Day 2: Our today's schedule was a very interesting one. The first one was the waterfall trail which we were supposed to follow the waters along the jungle crossing a few waterfalls. We started our walk at around 11am and immediately saw the first waterfall which was a small one. The rocks were wet and a bit slippery so we were advised to walk carefully. It was a really pleasant trek across the jungle where we came across several cascading falls both small and bigger ones. We saw one bear cave on the way as well. Our driver Selva accompanied us all the way and clicked our pictures with different poses. We came back to where we started and in all it took around 1.5 hrs.Our next plan was to visit Dolphin's nose. We went there at around 1:30pm and had to change our footwear so that we got better grip and its more comfortable in slippers. We had stalls selling noodles and omlette all the way through our trek and lot of people were trekking along with us. The trek was not very tough and we reached the Dolphin's nose in around 40 mins. We walked to the cliff and it looked scary from the top. We got our pictures clicked from the professional photographers standing at the edge of the cliff. That was a thrilling experience. Then on returning back after the wonderful trek we decided to wind up for the day.
           

Day 3: Today we had plans to just visit the Kodaikanal town and roam around the lake. First we went to the Coaker's walk which is a well-paved pedestrain path on the slope of the hills. We saw a couple if view points inside the premises. After this, we went for boating at the lake and later went inside the Byrant Park just beside the lake on the east side. The park is maintained well and is lined up with different trees and a Horticultural display is also set up inside. We did some shopping after visiting Byrant Park and then headed for the hotel. We had to catch our bus for our return journey at 6:30pm. This was a memorable trip and special thanks to Selva for making it easy for us in exploring the places in whatever time we had.
        

How to reach: By own vehicle- NH7 up to Dindigal. At Dindigal, take the state road to Vakkampatty. At Ganguvarpatti take the Kodaikanal road.
By public transport: KSRTC buses available from Bangalore to Kodaikanal which depart in the evening. 

By train: 16732 Tutucorin express leaves Bangalore City at 21:20 hrs and reached Kodaikanal road at 06:23 hrs the next day. At Kodaikanal road, private taxi can be hired to go to Kodaikanal.

Food/Accomodation: Plenty of good resorts/restaurants available in Kodaikanal

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodaikanal

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