Kodaikanal is Dindigul's pride to have this beautiful hill station. Kodaikanal means a cool resting place in summer (kodai). the
hill is of 7000 ft height (2133m) and was discovered by the Madurai American
missionary aroung 1820.
The erstwhile collector of Madurai vere leving
constructed several roads and dug the lake. the climate is quite ideal for
blossoms to bloom and the Pambar stream provides excellent water. one of the
world's oldest solar observatories (1899) is also located here.
During 1821, Lieutenant B. S. Ward, a British surveyor was, the first European
to visit Kodaikanal, who was on the lookout for a healthy place to live, for
the foreign missionaries working in Madurai and the surrounding areas to escape
from the summer heat and epidemics.
The early visitors to Kodaikanal, had to travel by horse,
bullock cart or palanquin. The forest were infested by robbers and wild
animals, and yet it became very popular with the elite families, because of the
wonderful climate and clean air.
In 1834, the Collector of Madurai climbed up from
Devadanapatti and built a small bungalow at Kodaikanal. By the second half of
the 19th century, churches and other colonial structures started popping up in
and around Kodaikanal. Examples of some beautiful structures are the Union
Church built in 1895, and a large number of private bungalows.
In 1863, Sir Vere Hendry Levinge, the Collector of Madurai,
created the 60 acres Kodai Lake by damming three streams flowing through. He
stocked the lake with fish. He also brought the first boat from Tuticorin. A
boat club was formed in Kodaikanal in 1890. Since May 1929, the club has
permitted tourists to join the club as temporary members and avail of boating
facilities.
Missionaries established church properties. Many of the
ruling princes built summer holiday-homes. Clubs, school and hotels came up.
Civic amenities were introduced. Kodaikanal developed slowly, but steadily.
They also established the famous Kodaikanal International School.
One of Tamil Nadu's most picturesque hill
stations, Kodaikanal is
located at an altitude of 7,200 ft in the Palani hills in the Western Ghats.
Comprising of densely wooded jungles, cascading hill slopes, circuitous rivers
and green rolling valleys, it is a favourite amidst tourists visiting the
country's south.
Centred on a beautiful lake, Kodai rambles
up and down hillsides with patches of shola forest,
unique to the Western Ghats in South India, and
evergreen broadleaf trees like magnolia, mahogany, myrtle and rhododendron.
Another of its plant specialities is the kurinji shrub, whose lilac-blue blossoms appear only
every 12 years: next due 2018.
Kodai is popular with honeymooners and groups,
who collect to the spectacular viewpoints and waterfalls in and around town.
By
Air
The nearest airport to
Kodaikanal is Madurai airport which is at a distance of 120 km from the city.
Madurai is well-connected to Chennai and Coimbatore.
By
Rail
The
nearest Railway stations are Palani Railway Station (64 kilometres or 40 miles)
north, Kodai Road Station (80 kilometres or 50 miles) south east and Dindigul
Railway Junction (100 kilometres or 62 miles) east.
One can get down at
the Dindigul Railway station, and take an autorickshaw for Dindigul bus station
from where straight buses are available to Kodaikanal.
By
Road
Kodaikanal is connected by road with
Chennai (520km), Ooty (264km), Trichy (197km), Coimbatore (175km), Kumili
(160km), and Madurai (120km). There are regular bus services from Madurai,
Palani, Kodaikanal Road, Theni, Dindigul, Tiruchirapalli, Kumuli (Thekkady) and
Coimbatore. For local transport, taxis and luxury buses are available for local
transportation. There are no auto-rickshaws in Kodaikanal.
