2025 Vacation Diaries - 4

 

Read Day 3 Diaries Here!

Day 4 - Kodaikanal 

We had decided to first visit the lake and then continue with the rest of the sightseeing. After a delicious breakfast and some photo sessions, we started for the lake. 

Kodaikanal lake is pristine, surrounded by small winding paths and hills looming yonder.

We were only 12 of us this day so we arranged for two boats, 6 of us in each. There was a guy who rowed the boat. We had a serene experience listening to the gentle rush of water and watching the landscape at leisure. There were ducks who played hide-n-seek with us, raising their heads every now and then and when caught staring, ducking (pun intended) into the water.

The weather too was perfect for a boat ride. The children got down from the boat with satisfied smiles and we adults breathed a sigh of relief. 

Next on the list was Coaker's Walk, a pathway offering stunning views of hills surrounding Kodaikanal. I would put this place as a must-visit, if nothing then just for the spectacular views. 

We had a wonderful time here taking photos against the backdrop of the majestic hills from where mist was rising. Even as we walked along the pathway, the hills started disappearing one by one under the mist. It was a beautiful and unforgettable sight! 

Once we had lunch, we decided to attempt the apparently impenetrable and inapproachable Guna Caves, (only because of the traffic and crowd). Again we encountered the same traffic jam. It was already 4 in the evening and Guna Caves were to be open only until 4.30. Some of us decided to walk to the caves instead of waiting for the traffic to clear.

‘Walk’ is a very mild word for what we actually did to reach Guna Caves. We hiked through slippery paths, clung to gnarled tree-trunks while climbing and ran severely out of breath to reach the caves.

The cave is actually barricaded and hid now and we could see the same only from a safe distance. The rest of the area is a forest made of pine trees that seemingly reach to the very sky. There were too many people, shouting dialogues from the movie Manjummel Boys and trying to recreate famous scenes from the same. 

The forest is made for silence and solitude, and we would have enjoyed it more if it weren’t for the noisy and obnoxious crowd that ruined the aura of the place.

Speaking about the aura, the place did have a slightly dark feel. Or atleast that is what I felt. There is also a place inside the forest where the roots of several trees have sprung out of the earth and twisted and turned into one gigantic structure that has been named Devil’s Kitchen. Needless to say this was quite a sought-out place for photos.  

Speaking about ‘sought-out’ and ‘photos’, I found myself turning into the quite sought-out photographer for a newly married couple who were trying their best to catch a photo without any stranger photo-bombing them. I captured their snap against the background of the barricade of Guna Caves and another one at Devil’s Kitchen. For the later, the husband requested me to not to zoom as they wanted the structure in their photo. If they wanted a photo of roots that look like some giant animal’s intestine, as their honeymoon background, who was I to refuse?!

The last stop for the day was Kurinji Andavar temple dedicated to Lord Muruga. 

We reached here in the evening and got treated to a spectacular sunset view. The temple has a very serene aura and is quite peaceful. I would suggest this place too as must-visit spot when and if you plan a trip to Kodaikanal. Being situated at a high altitude, it was very cold here. 

To our immense surprise, we found a vendor selling chaat just outside the temple. We relished Mumbai-style spicy Bhel-puri and other chaat items here. Soon coffee followed thereafter. A cold evening, spicy chaat and delicious filter coffee – the evening could not have been better!

We returned to the hotel feeling as if we accomplished something compared to the day before. We had managed at least a little bit of sightseeing at Kodaikanal. We were to leave for Pazhani the next day. The end of vacation blues had already started looming overhead.

Kodaikanal is a beautiful town. The weather is superb. It just needs better crowd management. In spite of enforcing the e-pass that restricts the number of vehicles per day, the town still is flocked by huge crowds of people. Perhaps the authorities would find some way to ensure that tourists coming here have a peaceful and relaxing time and do not get caught in the madness of unruly crowds.

At night as I shivered while going to my room to sleep, I realized that from the next day onwards, I would long for this type of weather. For the few days we stayed in Kodaikanal, we forgot that it was May, and that it is supposed to be scorching.

The next morning we left Kodaikanal and proceeded to Pazhani where we were to have another level of ‘experience’.

Read Diaries Of Day 5 Here!