The spectacular hill station of Kodaikanal offers abundant natural beauty and a host of tourist attractions some of which are discussed below:
The Kodai Club exudes an aura of colonial past. The lounge with the piano, its period hearth, the Leigh Hunt prints, the well stocked library, and the English d�cor of the bar and the restaurant are all remarkable for the eye and the soul. The English atmosphere is accentuated with the dinners that include steaming mulligatawny soup, roast chicken, potatoes, and apple pie.
One of the major Kodaikanal tourist attractions, a lovely artificial star-shaped lake, the Kodaikanal Lake, spreads over sixty acres and is enclosed by lush greenery. It also has a boat club that feature several pleasure and racing trips.
Diagonally from the Kodaikanal Club is located the Kodaikanal School - an impressive campus of lush green manicured lawns, tall trees and stone buildings. This coeducational, English medium boarding school offering a pre-university syllabus in 12 grades, trains students for Indian and worldwide colleges and universities through the Kodaikanal School Diploma. Selected students are further trained for the external exams of the Geneva based International Baccalaureate.
Adjacent to the Kodaikanal School is the Lutheran Church - a Gothic stone structure with stained glass windows and contemporary paintings and batiks illustrating stories from the life of Christ. Close at hand is another famous church - Christ the King Church.
Certain houses with names like Loch End Mansarovar, Hillbrook, Furzbank, Wood-cote, Whispering Pines, and Rock Cottage are epitomes of the colonial charm.
Bryant�s Park located on the eastern side of the lake was named after the forest officer who designed its plan circa the turn of the century. It is home to several beautiful pine and eucalyptus trees. The well-maintained lush gardens contain many annuals and perennials like watsonias, azaleas, dahlias, primulas, stock, fusschias, and asters. Numerous rare and exotic varieties of orchids are found in the Orchid House.
At around 1km from the lake is the Coaker�s Walk, christened after St. Coaker of the Royal Engineers, offering an extraordinary view of the valleys and the distant hills. There is a rough and pristine beauty about these surroundings.
The Green Valley View is one of the favorite tourist attractions of Kodaikanal. Knotted cypress roots have created a natural bizarre path up to the sheer drop of 1,000 feet that stands opposite to the Vaigai Dam. The exclusive Kodai Golf Club is located very near Green Valley View.
The 114-acre Golf Links is one more colonial legacy. Thick woods border the road that takes you to the Pillar Rocks which are three vertical pillars shoulder to shoulder measuring 112 meters. The mists, rocks and hills � all taken together generate a romantic stimulation, for sure.
The �Fairy Falls�, is another tourist attraction. About five and a half km from the Kodaikanal Lake is the Shenbaganur Museum, managed by the Sacred Heart College, a Theological Seminary founded in 1895.
Excursions form Kodaikanal:
As excursion, you can visit Dolphin�s Nose, positioned about eight km from the Kodaikanal Lake. It is a flat rock from where one can have the incredible view of the yawning chasm below. The Perumal Peak, approximately 11 km from Kodaikanal, is a trekker�s delight. Berijam Lake that supplies drinking water to Periyakulam town is located 21 km from Kodaikanal (beyond the Pillar Rocks). It is a popular picnic spot with a beautiful scenic beauty. Kukal Cave, 40 km from Kodaikanal, is a preferred camping site for trekkers.
Log on to www.touristplacesinindia.com which gives online information on Tourist Attractions on your Kodaikanal tour to India.
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