Kool Kodai

The work was driving me mad. It had my hands full to the extent that I was driven to balance the load with my feet too. Enough was enough, and we wanted to get away for a while without touching a phone, laptop, TV and not endure the Bangalore traffic.

Kodaikanal was our choice of vacation, since neither of us had been there and its not far from Bangalore either. Located on the Western Ghats on the western side of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Kodai is a much sought after hill station, to literally cool your heels. We decided to travel by train.

How we got there?

We decided to make the journey by train. Kodai doesnt have a railway station. The closest place is Kodai Road which is about 75kms from Kodai. Tuticorn Express (Train No. 6732) leaves from Bangalore at about 9:15pm and reaches Kodai road by 6:30am. A "AC 3 Tier" costs about Rs. 510 per person. From Kodai Road we expected to strike a bargain in a taxi or take a bus. The illusion was purely shattered upon alighting.

Taxis are dime a dozen there, but its the brokers who call the roost. They demand nothing less than Rs. 1100. After a hard bargain we were able to round it for Rs. 1000, only to be told by the driver, on the way, that if one approaches the taxis directly you can get away by paying about Rs.800-850. The journey takes 2hrs and the roads are good. The ghats form majority of the distance, about 55kms.

Tips: If you are making a similar trip to Kodai, think about driving yourself. Or if you know a tourist operator in Kodai, call up before hand and strike a deal. All Hotels in Kodai charge about Rs. 1000+Taxes for this trip.

What we saw?

Kodai isnt such a place where you need to do an elaborate plan to decide what to see and when to see it. Its a pretty small town and you can pretty much cover all the attractions in a single day. We booked the same taxi operator who brought us to the hotel, to take us around the town as well. To take it all in at an extremely leisurely pace we split up the tour into two halves for two days. Some of the main attraction to see are...

• Coakers Walk: Lt. Coaker, an Englishman, mapped the Kodai city. He also designed this walk which is on the edge of the mountain and overlooks the valley below. It makes for a beautiful sight of the magnificent nature. A must-see place and try to visit during the twilight hours for a better experience. But be warned that fog may play spoilsport.

• The Lake: This ought to be the most famous attraction in Kodai. Spread across almost 6 sq kms of area the vast expanse of waters have a mountainous backdrop. Boating here is a must & makes for a serene soothing experience. Take a rower boat & if you are luck the boatman Laxman will tell you interesting facts and click some good pics too.

• Upper Lake View: A beautiful spot from where you can feast on the view of the entire lake. If you have a SLR cam with wide angle lens, then you get the best desktop wallpaper you can lay your hands on. Else, you can splurge Rs.200 for 2 photos from one of the multitude of photographers there.

• Pillar Rocks: Natures show of strength and invincibility is showcased at this site. True to its name, sheer vertical rocks stand tall next to each other. Monkey menace is large here.

• Pine Forest: Touted as the Cine Shooting Place, this is really a beautiful location. Pine Trees grow in abundance here and are so dense in some places that sunlight can only trickle through in. Calm, quite & serene, this is one romantic spot any couple would love to spend lots of time in.

• Green Valley View: The name makes full justice to the place. However it is infamous for its numerous life ending missions as the steep fall ensures that no trace of any bones can be found ever. Beautiful though, one must tread carefully to enjoy the vast expanse of nature.

While these places are the bulk of the main attraction in Kodai, there are few smaller ones. Dont be fooled by names like Kodai City View, Palani View, Golf course etc. The views can be seen standing near the Kurunji Andavar Temple (dedicated to Lord Subrahmanya) while you can only glimpse at the golf course on the way to other places. There is a small Jain Temple too, but Lord Mahaveera is truly resplendent in marble. Chettiar Park & Bryant Park are not out of the ordinary but a quick visit doesnt harm. Both parks charge a minuscule entry fee and some more for the camera as well.

As I said earlier in the post, one can round off all these places within a day. If you want to do it at leisure, the max you need is two days. Apart from the sights, there is no other attractions. Night life is non-existent, while shopping offers nothing new. But some Tibetian shops near the lake have some good fare to be considered. Plethora of "Home Made Chocolates" shops are seen too, but again nothing special about them.

Other forest & trekking tours too are offered for which the forest department's permissions is a must. I am sure the tour operators can get your the permission without any hitch.

Where to eat?

Veg restaurants are not hard to find in the city, near the lake. Hotel Hilltop Woodlands, Astoria Veg, Tava are some of the restaurants which have fairly good variety to satisfy the gastronomy. The local Pizza Corner (next to Hilltop Woodlands) delivers to your hotel room too, if you want. Branded bottled water comes at a small premium. Aquafina costs about Rs.2-4 more than the MRP.

To sum up, Kodai is truly a nice place to visit to getaway from the maddening hustle-bustle of the city. We lazed, I am really lazed around in our hotel room for one more day, before we were travel bound to our next destination.

Hotel Tip

The only grouse I had about Kodai is that Taxis are the sole mode of local transportation. If you hotel is not neat the city, then you end up spending a minimum of Rs.60 per taxi trip. We stayed in Hotel Kodai International which is 2kms away from the lake. While 2kms. doesnt seem a long walk, it indeed is tiring when you walk uphill the entire distance. If you are planning a trip to the Kodai, check for a hotel which is not more than 1km away from the lake.