Jason Ranjit's visit to Kodaikanal

Dolmen Circle and Pillar Rock

Dolmen Circle

 Some sites of anthropological interest called Dolmen Circle can be seen near Parvatha Vihar and the Pannaikadu village. Due to willful vandalism or neglect, many of them are lost. Only two remain intact, one at Perumal Peak and another in the Shenbaganoor museum. These rectangular stone structures were once the dwelling or burial places of the people of prehistoric time. Now, as relics of the Stone Age, they are the sad reminders of the life in the distant past.

Pillar Rocks

  The three 100m high columns of solid granite boulders, called Pillar Rocks are a geological wonder. The chamber between two columns is called Devil’s kitchen. This stone formation would have sprung millions of years ago. It inspires a love for mountain climbing among the tourists. However, going beyond the fence is dangerous. A visit to this spot before 9am offers an amazing view beyond imagination. Frequent rains and mist may hide the sight. 

 

Kodaikanal Lake

The Lake

  The lake and the circling road around it are central to all activities in Kodaikanal. The first-time tourist’s love of Kodai begins with a quick walk to the lake. It is one of the most beautiful man-made lakes up in mountain slopes. A swamp of rainwater bound by the valley was landscaped into the present form in 1863.  It is the creation of Sir. Levinge. It is spread over an area of 60 acres and surrounded by a circular road of 5 km length. Here boats can be hired from the Boat Club for a charge ranging from Rs.50 to 100 for an hour. To avoid the weekend rush, tourists are advised to go for boating on weekdays. Though it has lost its original luster, its appeal for tourists endures. Walking round the lake on foot is best, but riding a hired bicycle will offer the additional pleasure of enjoying the breeze. Sitting on the bunds one can enjoy watching both people and boats moving against a delightful natural background. While circling round the lake in a boat one can see a different perspective of Kodaikanal: the white clouds and mist slowly gliding down to touch the green trees in the slopes and the distant buildings. The Upper Lake view is a scenic spot from where you see the whole beauty of the Lake from above. 

2.What To See In Kodaikanal

What To See In Kodaikanal

  Listed below are some of the important places of tourist interest in Kodaikanal. Guided tours to select spots by taxi operators are available.

 Shenbaganoor Museum

    A six km-drive down the Ghat road leads to Shanbaganoor. Here Shanbagam trees [Michelia Nilagria] are found in plenty, hence the name of the village Shenbaganoor. Here a Natural History Museum is housed in The Sacred Heart College, a training centre and home to Jesuit priests. The museum named after Anglada, a European professor and priest, contains stuffed speciman of all the flora and fauna of this region. The collection of birds and butterflies is a great attraction to the tourists and lovers of natural history. Original burial urns of prehistoric times are on display. A visit to this museum is a veritable trek back in time to glimpse at things aged, but preserved for the posterity.  It remains open from 10 am to 12 noon and 3 to 5 pm in the evening.

Parks

Bryant park

  Kodai boasts of a number of beautiful parks and lawns landscaped by the British developers in the early days. Bryant Park is named after H.D.Bryant, the District Forest officer, Madurai who designed it in 1908. There is a variety of plants and ferns that would not normally grow in the plains. A 150 years old Eucalyptus tree adds special significance to this park. Garden lovers buy exotic plants developed by modern methods. Here a flower show is held during the month of May every year. Flowers, vegetables and fruits grown in and around Kodaikanal are displayed. [An English man by name Sir.Vere Henry Levinge, the then Collector of Madurai[1860-1867] had introduced numerous new species of fruits and flowers in the Kodai hills]. The town dons a festive mood these days. The Chettiar Park, 3 km from the town is a quiet place away from the din of city environment. It is home to some two acres of beautiful flowering plants and sculpted hedges laid out on wide forestlands.

 

1.Welcome to Kodaikanal

A  Brief  Profile  Of  Kodaikanal*

[*Kodaikanal welcomes you is a tourist guide written by me and

Published by St.Peter’s School Kodaikanal. It welcomes

you to renew man’s ancient ties with mountains,

forests, streams and lakes, and it offers a chance to see and

worship  nature in all its bloom. The picturesque

Kodaikanal is an all-weather tourist destination in India.

Its summer is pleasant, spring enjoyable and winter

is agreeably cold.]

 

For those seeking a summer holiday in India the high altitude verdant Kodaikanal is a rewarding travel destination. It is one of the most beautiful hill-stations in the world. Nestled in the upper regions of the Palani Hills of the Western Ghat at an elevation of 2100m above sea level, it is a quaint little town wreathed in white mist and chill weather round the year. Kodai Hills, as it is often called, is known for its scenic beauty amidst lush green forests. While the Indian summer [March, April and May] is scorching with heat weaves elsewhere, the temperature at Kodai drops to 20°-11°C. During the remaining months [June to February] it reaches as low as 16°-8°C.Kodaikanal has several things to attract the tourists: the climate that is always cool, the evergreen forests, the tall cliffs, an endless stretch of mountains, beautiful gardens with flowers of all colours, heritage buildings of the British Raj, and a lake. The three months Kodai season begins in mid April, passes through a Government sponsored Summer Festival in May and ends in June.

 

The discovery and development of Kodaikanal as a hill-station has a long and impressive history. It all started in the early 1820s. The ruling British elite and the Madurai based American missionaries were in search of a hill-station at an altitude where they would escape the dangers of tropical diseases in summer.

 

   Lt.B.S. Ward, a British army officer and surveyor spotted a coolest part on the top of Palani Hills in 1821. On Ward’s suggestion, the Americans conceived the idea of converting it into a sanatorium for their sick missionaries. A set of two bungalows-Sunny-Side and Shelton-built by the Madurai American Mission in 1845 was the beginning. In the following year, British and American families built houses along the lake area. From that day Kodaikanal, the hill-station was launched. First, it served as a health resort and holiday centre for foreigners. The first Anglican Church was built by the Bishop Caldwell in 1860. Major J.M Patridge of the British army introduced new species of trees like Eucalyptus and Wattle. Major Law was assigned to the task of planning and laying a motorable road from Batlagundu to Kodai. When completed, the Law’s Ghat Road was opened to the public from 1914 after a formal inaugural by Pentland, the Governor of Madras Presidency. 

 

  The retired British officers and missionaries found it more rewarding to settle down at Kodai than returning to their native land. By 1850s, the practice of social calls was replaced by the founding of clubs. To them it was a social necessity. The English Club, the Golf Club and the Boat Club, all stated in the 1890s, were run on English tradition. Though membership was open to foreigners, a handful of Indian aristocrats were also admitted. Later developments include landscaped gardens, a lake reclaimed out of a pool of rainwater, the establishment of an International school in 1901 for the European children, an observatory in 1898 and a museum in 1895. The southern extension of Indian Railways in 1916 gave improved accessibility to Kodai. Kodai was thus spotted and developed by the English bureaucrats and American Missionaries for the benefit of the holidaying westerners.

 

Kodai was a beautiful and cloistered mountain peak until the Indian property developers entered the scene and turned it into a tourist centre. Now, after Indian independence, it has become a vacation centre in the international tourist map. Kodai and its surrounding hills are famous for vibrant flowers, many of which find a place in the annual flower shows. It is the crisp mountain climate and the fresh air tinged with the smell of rain that attracts the tourists to Kodai. Walking near the edge of a rock one can see clouds playing hide and seek, or a rainbow appearing from nowhere only to disappear suddenly or watch the melting of dewdrops from green leaves. Besides the chill weather and the all-around greenery, the tourists enjoy seeing the past British Raj merge with the present modernity: old churches and seminaries alongside the modern hotels, new residential schools near heritage buildings, a century-old observatory competing with the state-of the-art research stations and so on.