[Mr.Boss]

Christmas to New Year being winter vacation for me (fortunately) we always plan for a short tour (atleast) every year. Last time we made a 3 day trip to Ooty. Kodaikanal was on our cards for few years, which went on skipping for various reasons. So this time when we started the topic "Where to?" we had the below options
- Kodaikanal
- Valparai - Athirapally
- Wayanad
- Theni - Kanyakumari

Started exploring the possibilities and drafting plans for all the above destinations. Finally decided Kodaikanal. Found a decent offer for Hotels in Travelguru.com and booked one immediately.

Plan:
Day 1:
- Pine Forest
- Berijam Lake
- Silent Valley view
- Pillar Rocks
- Devil's Kitchen (Guna Caves)
- Green Valley View
- Dolphin Nose
- Fairy Falls
- Liril Falls
Day 2:
- Kurinji Andavar Temple
- Chettiar Park
- Bear Shola Falls
- Lake
- Bryant Park
- Coakers Walk
- Silver Cascade Falls
- Senbaganur Museum

As usual, there exist an deviation between Plan & Actual. Below is the actual,
Actual:
Day 1:
- Varathamanathi Reservoir
- Pine Forest
- Devil's Kitchen (Guna Caves)
- Pillar Rock
- Liril Falls
- Dolphin Nose
- Pambar Falls
- Lake
Day 2:
- Kurinji Andavar Temple
- Chettiar Park
- Bear Shola Falls
- Coakers Walk
- Silver Cascade Falls

Route & Road Condition
We preferred Dharapuram --> Palani --> Kodaikanal

Started by 6:30am (as planned) from home. Roads till Palani were pretty good with least traffic. Palani to Kodaikanal out of 60km atleast 50% is broken stretches and 20km before Perumalmalai (where the roads from Dindigul merges) is worst. Thank God, we managed to escape without scrapping the Sunny belly. One Honda City got stuck badly and all occupants got down & pushed her out.

A little 'About us'
No. of travelers : 4 (myself, better half, mom & dad)
Vehicle : Nissan Sunny
Photo Gears : Nikon D5100, Nikon P500, Canon IXUS105, Apple iPhone 4s

Some more points to add
- Kodaikanal entry fee 40 INR is collected at toll plaza just before the silver cascade falls (8 km ahead of the town)
- We paid no parking fee for the entire trip
- Dedicated parking is available only at certain areas, otherwise it's Road side parking only.
- Entry to Berijam lake requires forest department permission. It is easy to get. A form is issued at the check post, fill it along with a fee 150INR, you will be allowed to enter. But if you have plastic water bottles (empty) or any plastic covers, it will not be allowed inside the forest.
- When we visited the checkpost, it was a big traffic jam (almost for an hour) and we skipped Berijam from our list
- It is always better to carry an umbrella as we experienced unexpected downpour twice without any shelter around.
- Instant photography printing requires a good negotiation skill. People charge anything from 30INR to 100INR.
- Take care when you visit Bear shola falls and Dolphin Nose, park your vehicle atleast 200m ahead (at both the locations we have seen many cars got stuck at the dead end, without any space left out to move / turn / reverse the vehicle)

Restaurants & eateries:
- Almost all restaurants in Kodaikanal offer warm drinking water (at few places, it is served on request)
- Royal Restaurant at Perumalmalai (Palani, Dindigul & Kodaikanal road junction itself) is good in all aspects (quality, taste, price, hospitality) except for the parking space. Only 2/3 cars can be parked inforn of the restaurant and for the rest, we have road side parking. Both Veg & Non-veg served (we tasted both)
- Thalapakattu Restaurant at Laws Ghat road (Near Zion matriculation school) is a kind of okish. Briyani items are good, but Chinese items lacks taste.
- Near Kurinji Andavar temple, there is a road side shop by an ealderly lady who prepares Vada. Tastes good but with excess oil.
- Homemade chocolates are available at almost all places and in different flavors. They do sell in assorted varieties.

Hotel review:
I got a decent offer for Hotel Spring Valley at Laws ghat road, near Zion Matriculation School through Travelguru.com
Facility, hospitality and parking is good (I will rate 4/5) except the connecting road to hotel (should I say no road at all?) Restaurant serves quality and tasty food, but that is not open 24x7. We reached around 3:00pm and by the time restaurant was closed. Staff were so caring and helpful in every aspect. For sure I will recommend this hotel for the one who requires a decent stay.
http://www.hotelspringvalley.com/

Now coming to the site seeing part

[Mr.Boss]

1) Varathamanathi Water Reservoir
[Reference image from Google]

http://www.nativeplanet.com/palani/a...hamanathi-dam/
This reservoir is located around 7km from Palani Town towards Kodaikanal. There is a small signboard available, one could easily miss it. Take diversion from Palani-Kodai road for few hundred metres, you reach this reservoir.
No restriction / entry ticket to enter the reservoir. It also has an Children park which isn't maintained properly and ruining. We climbed over the reservoir and spent around 30 mins with lots of snaps. Since it was little early we were left alone in the reservoir without any disturbance for photographs. Climate was also good. There are few shops at the entrance of Reservoir selling Snacks, tea & Coffee (not sure about the other shops as they weren't opened when we visited)
Entry Fee - Nil
Parking Fee - Nil
Dedicated Parking - No

[Mr.Boss]

2) Pine Tree Forest
Kodaikanal is famous for Pine Tree Forest and without visiting one of them, trip will be almost Null. Pine Tree forest is located on the Way to Berijam Lake. Horse riding & Instant photo printing is available at this location (better your negotiation skill, best the offer you get) Beware of monkeys, they try to snatch the food items. One should have patience to take snap without any disturbance at backdrop.
Entry Fee - Nil
Parking Fee - Nil
Dedicated Parking - No

[Mr.Boss]

3) Guna Cave (Devils Kitchen)
http://www.journeymart.com/de/india/tamilnadu/kodaikanal/devil's-kitchen.aspx
This is a dangerous cave got familiar after the Tamil movie "Guna". It is fenced now, not allowing public to enter the cave. We are restricted almost a hundred feet before the cave keeping in consideration frequent accidents (fatal too) That's something sad that we couldn't take some wonderful snap inside the cave. Worst part is that the cave isn't maintained properly, full of bushes that cover the beautiful scene. Even if public isn't allowed to enter, I wish forest department could maintain that properly. Again beware of Monkeys here.
Entry Fee - 5 INR
Camera - 10 INR
On the road side there are plenty of shops available (tea, coffee, snacks, wooden gift items, etc)

[Mr.Boss]

4) Pillar Rocks
http://www.mapsofindia.com/kodaikana...lar-rocks.html
3 huge rocks stand like a pillar and this is awarded one of the Top 25 mountains in India. When we visited it was fully covered by mist (around 1:00pm) We kept waiting for an hour, but with least success. There is a small water stream running beneath.
Entry Fee - 2 INR
Camera - Nil

[Mr.Boss]

Liril Water Falls, Pambar Falls & Kodai Lake
There are many water falls around Kodaikanal, with scenic views and best suitable for photography. Kodaikanal Lake is one of the man made lake and had plenty of boats available for boating (including Pedal boats, row boats) Bicycles are available for rent around the lake at affordable prices. Once could hire a bicycle and go around the lake (we didn't) Horse riding and a small children park is located near the lake. On the other side, there is a Tibetian Market where we get a good deal of Woolen products and attractive varieties of shawls.

[Mr.Boss]

8 Kurinji Andavar Temple
This is a small temple dedicated to Lord Murugan and named after the flower "Kurinji" which blossom once in 12 years. Place is fully covered by mist when we reached here. Temple floor was freezing cold, people with Kids should take care.

[Mr.Boss]

9 Chettiar Park
This is a small park near Kurinji Andavar Temple, with few species of flora.
Entry Fee - 15 INR
Camera - 25 INR
Roads are pretty narrow and steep. One should be lucky to get parking space during peak hours / season.

[Mr.Boss]

10 Bear Shola Falls
This is a small water falls with wonderful ambiance, in the midst of forest. This place is quite and the walk way is narrow in between the plants and bushes. We were informed it is a seasonal water falls. Once bears used to visit this place to drink water and hence named as bear shola falls (Karadi Sholai Aruvi)

[Mr.Boss]

11 Coaker's Walk
http://www.kodaikanal.com/coakerwalk.htm
It is a narrow pedestrian path, constructed by Lt. Coaker in 1872, a one kilometer mountain road which runs along the edge of steep slopes on the southern side of Kodai road which is 1/2km away from Kodai. The walk winding around mt. Nebo starts near van Allen hospital and joins the main road above St. Peter's Church provides a wide-angle spectacular view of the plains.

[Mr.Boss]

12 Silver Cascade Water falls
This is 180 feet high water falls formed from the outflow of water from Kodaikanal Lake. It is located next to the Tool plaza while climbing towards Kodaikanal.

[Mr.Boss]

Some random snaps during the trip

[Mr.Boss]

And coming to the final part, covered 316km for this trip in little less than 36 hours. MID shows 18.9kmpl (yet to check the actual figures)

[.anshuman]

Note from Support: Thread moved here from Assembly line. Thanks for sharing the travelogue with us

[Mr.Boss]

Some more random snaps