Trip to Kodaikanal – The Queen of Hills
I am a typical Taurean. Really lazy to do something out of the ordinary.. n happiest when left alone. While my idea of a holiday is lazing around the house watching TV or reading a book ( or Crafting 😀 ) my hubby is a total outdoors junkie. He is the restless kinds whoz idea of bliss is a long drive through unknown terrains. This weekend being a long one, I had grandiose plans of doing some diwali shopping and making some diwali cards to gift friends and family. Hubby dearest had other sneakier plans in place. On Thursday afternoon he calls me at office and says.. “Its a long weekend, Why don’t we go out somewhere?” And I was like – ” ya! where? Its last min we won’t get any good resorts. N then my phone went dead.” I returned home really ignorant of all the plotting done behind my back to find hubby dearest grinning ear to ear saying – “Pack your bags we are going to kodai tomorrow!!!” And kodai we went…
Route: (480 kms)Bangalore –> Krishnagiri –> Dharmapuri –> Salem –> Namakkal –> Karur –> Dindigul –> Batlagundu –> Kodai
The travel was fantastic, the scenery was simply breathtaking. Rolling hills, Cotton ball clouds, Breathtaking water falls and tiny rivulets along the way, Valleys and green fields greeted us everywhere. We also saw the famous Silver Cascade falls about 8 kms before we reached Kodai.
We had seen kodai before and were not really keen on doing all the touristy thing, so we checked into a resort relatively far from the center of the town. Now this is a place where you’d love to lie back with a warm cup of coffee, watching your kid run around the lawns and feed the ducks. They also have a play area in front of each cottage with swings, and slides to keep the little one busy.
We loved it that the resort was relatively quiet, the food excellent and the staff was extremely courteous. Normally they have a campfire and some activities outdoors but since its the rainy season they had arranged for a disco night in one of the conference rooms.
The next day we headed off to do some boating at the kodai lake. On normal ( Season ) days, You can enjoy cycling or horse riding around the lake. With a 4 year old and intermittent rains we chose to just laze around on a shikara and enjoy a mickey mouse paddle boat ride much to Lil p’s delight. There are other tourist spots and views which offer a panoramic view of the valley below. Coaker’s Walk is about a kilometre from the lake, which runs along a steep slope on the southern side of the Kodai. Some of the best views of the plains can be seen from here. At Pillar Rocks one can see three boulders standing shoulder – to – shoulder vertically. Then you can also check out the Upper Lake View, from where the star shaped kodai lake can be seen clearly. The best way to see these things is to hire a guide who would be happy to ride along.
Speaking of kodai and not sharing a picture of the flora would be sacrilege. I’m not a macro photographer and these pics do not do full justice to the riot of colors present there.
The last three days have been absolute bliss. I am sure no one who has spent their time in nature’s bosom would dare say otherwise!
While you are at Kodai don’t forget to pick up some homemade chocolates & these gorgeous handmade earrings – available at shops next to the silver cascade falls.
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