It was April, the time of the year when most
Indian states begin their own regional years. Tamil New Year fell on a Monday
ensuing a long weekend for us. Chennai was getting hotter by day. Naturally, we
were looking for a cool hilltop getaway. Our search ended at Kodaikanal, a 2000
feet hill station around 550 Km away from Chennai. We booked a 3-day package
with Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation or TTDC. I earlier vacationed
with other state tourism corporations like APTDC (Andhra Pradesh), OTDC (Orissa),
WBTDC (West Bengal) etc. My experience with them was satisfactory. Hence, we
hoped that TTDC wouldn't disappoint us either.
As the bus made a move, the guide greeted
us and explained the itinerary for the next two days, first in Tamil and next,
thankfully in English. We made a stop at Chromepet for dinner. People from
suburban areas were returning home to celebrate the first day of the New Year
with their friends and families. The roads and even the highways were
jam-packed with crowd and cars. We moved on at a snail’s pace. The queues at
toll plazas were humongous.
View from Coaker's walk |
It was an overnight journey. The bus made
toilet stops couple of times on the way. We travelled through Trichy, Dindigul
and reached Batalagundu early morning, where we freshened up. It was to be
another two and half hours to Kodaikanal. The Palani hills were already visible
in front of us.
Soon we started trekking up the hills. The
bus had a trying time maneuvering the twisted bends. The guide pointed us
towards the ‘yellow river’ (Manjalar)
dam visible on the down left. The hilly road with thick green vegetation all
around gave impression of a deep forest. Only small patches of the sunlight were
able to pierce through the thick cover. Eucalyptus and Pine trees dotted the surrounding
hills.
We reached Kodaikanal around 9.30 AM.
Kodaikanal, though primarily known as a tourist hill resort, also boasts off an
international school, a golf course and a hundred years old solar observatory.
Many famous food and retail brands have presence here. The amoeba shaped Kodaikanal
Lake and the adjoining Bryant Park are the main attractions of the place.
We were lodged in the Tamil Nadu hotel
located in a quiet and peaceful locality. The hotel has been built on a large
area. Apart from the usual deluxe and AC rooms it has cottages built at
different levels of the hill flank. The gardens and parks are well maintained.
The morning was all to us. He had breakfast
with Idli and Uthhapam in the restaurant and retired to our second floor room. We
took a quick nap. We could not catch much of sleep in the bus the previous
night. The temperature, 20° C or so, was a
delight. We took a refreshing bath and ventured out to explore the surrounding
area on our own. We returned to the hotel at noon for a typical Tamil lunch,
after which we were to go for sightseeing.
Carrot seller at Pine Forest |
We made our first stop at the pine forest,
a favorite for shooting song and dance sequences for Indian movies. The guide
informed us that the pine leaves were used for making currencies. Few makeshift
shops at the entrance sell fresh carrots and raw mangoes to the visitors. We
hurried back to the bus as it started drizzling.
Our next stop was at Moir Point, a
beautiful viewpoint looking over series of cliffs. Surprisingly, visitors need
to buy five rupees tickets to take in the natural beauty. From here runs a
shorter pathway through the forest to Munnar in Kerala.
We drove next to Pillar rocks. These are
huge masses of charnockite and granite rocks about 500 feet high shaped as huge
pillars. Some endangered species of birds like crested serpent eagle, honey
buzzard nest in the cliffs and crevices of Pillar rocks. However, we were not
lucky enough to spot any of them except a few red whiskered bulbuls.
We next had a short drive along the
Kodaikanal golf course and reached a place called green valley a.k.a. suicide
point. We walked through a small alley surrounded by numerous shops to reach
the dead end. Well, it could have been the
‘dead end’ has there not been an iron fence. The hill sharply descended to the
green valley ahead. Somebody might have fallen to his or her death in the past,
hence the name ‘suicide point’.
Tamil Nadu tourism logo at Tamil Nadu hotel |
The tourism bus then took us to a
‘government approved’ shopping complex. The guide advised us to only buy from
these cooperative shops, as they were the only ones selling genuine products! People
bought home made chocolates, ayurvedic oils and spices in handsome quantities
even though prices were artificially high.
In India, whichever tourist places you go –
be it a natural attraction or a man made one – it would be dotted with
innumerable shops selling souvenirs, foods and so on. And the tourists themselves
are as interested to see the place as to shop, if not more, effectively turning
the attractions into noisy market places. You cannot just quietly enjoy the
beauty of the place. You enjoy a leisurely boat ride at Dal Lake and soon a
person row to your boat to vend saffron. You go to any beaches, and soon an
enterprising fellow with a camera hanging from his neck would come to take your
group photo. Religious folks visiting the famous Indian temples are well aware
of the menace of the Pandas (temple
guide). The story is same everywhere and Kodaikanal is no exception. You
probably need to go on a trek to the high Himalayas to really enjoy the beauty
of nature.
The night was cool and comfortable.
However, the vegetarian Tamil platter for dinner was not very palatable. We
were to vacate the room next morning after breakfast. We had a packed schedule
for the next day.
After having, well, the same breakfast as
the previous day, we vacated the room and loaded our luggage into the bus. Our
first sight was Coaker’s walk – a strip of fenced footpath along the edge of
the hill. If you ignore the crowd and the cacophony, this is a nice half a
kilometer or so walkway overlooking the city below and a series of hills in the
distance. There are telescopes installed at couple of places where the visitors
can pay a small fee and peep through the eyepiece to have closer looks at the
distant landmarks like a church or a mosque. At night the illuminated city
appears as a jewel box from this vantage point.
Across the road is Bryant Park, our next
stop. This is a beautiful park nestled within a valley surrounded by tall
eucalyptus and pine trees. Wavering lanes through numerous flower plants lead
you to the center of the park where lies an open ground and a rectangular pond
with a fountain system. An Ashoka Stambha
(Pillar of Ashoka) stands tall at the center of the ground. A greenhouse at one side boasts many rare
flowering plants and cactuses.
Outside the Park lies the Kodaikanal Lake.
Tamil Nadu Tourism’s jetty is just a few steps away. One can have a horse ride
or cycle along the sides of the lake. However, the cyclist has to paddle
through the same road shared by pedestrians and cars. I doubt how much fun the
rides would be. The series of shops and the teeming crowd, though a good recipe
for commerce, spoil the beauty of this serene locale.
We jostled through the small gate at the
jetty. There are two and four seats paddle boats, which the riders maneuver
themselves and boats rowed by a boatman. Unfortunately there is no orderly
manner to get into the boats and we better not talk about safety measures like
life jackets etc. We somehow managed to
jump into one after waiting for ten minutes or so. The boat ride on the lake is
pleasant, only if you shut off ice cream vendor’s screams from the edge of the
water.
We had to walk a kilometer or so to get
into the bus. It started drizzling, which soon gave way to downpour. We were
partially drenched by the time we boarded the bus. We went back to the Tamil
Nadu hotel for lunch. And there were no surprises – same platter for lunch - rice, sambar,
rasam, one mixed vegetable dish, papad and rice kheer! We were supposed to
start our descent after lunch. However, the bus developed some snag. We were
delayed by two hours. When we started from the hotel, it was already 4.30 PM.
On the way back we briefly stopped at the Silver Cascade waterfall. We missed
one of the sights – the dam; when we reached there it was already dark.
Due to the delay, our plan was somewhat
jeopardized. We stopped at Batalagundu for evening tea and then at Dindigul for
dinner (instead of at Trichy). The roads were not that crowded for the return
journey. We reached Chennai at around 4 AM in the morning.
Kodaikanal lake |
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