This was the extended weekend of 1st May 2023. We extended it by two more days and made it a Kodaikanal and Munnar road trip from Bangalore. It was a much-needed unwinding trip after some health-related stressful events. Generally, we prefer beaches, but this was the month of May, so we finalized these two locations. The goal was to relax, and so we did. I will cover the Kodaikanal here, and Munnar is in a different post.
Route
We started at 5am from north Bangalore and took the following route:
Bangalore -> Hosur -> Krishnagiri -> Salem -> Dindigul -> Kodaikanal
Google Maps also suggested a route through Errode, but I had good feedback, so preferred this one. The map perfectly guided us in most parts. Just make sure not to give the exact hotel location from the start itself, as in that case, it shows shortcuts through not-so-good hill roads, excluding the main one. The road condition was excellent throughout, even in the hills. The traffic was also less on the highway after Salem.
There were ample options for breakfast. While we struggled to find a good place for lunch around Dindigul, many were on the road toward Kodaikanal from Dindigul. We were stuck in traffic for 1.5+ hr while entering Kodaikanal as it was a long weekend during summer vacation time. Rain was on and off throughout the hill part. Not sure what made it rain so early, as it was not the official rainy season for the place.
Once in the Kodaikanal area, traffic was heavy through the main roads, and the internet was also unstable. Google Maps went mad and started showing rout to the resort though absolutely anywhere. So, we kept checking with locals about road conditions while entering apparently narrow roads. It took us a total of 10.5 hr of driving, including the traffic jams and excluding breaks.
Stay
Due to the long weekend and summer, Kodaikanal was overcrowded. So were its hotels. To save ourselves from the crowd, we booked The Kodai Heaven at Vattakanal. It is on the way to the Dolphine Nose point, towards the end, till a car can go. This is the only resort with proper parking at that location; the rest are either parking on the narrow road or on the grassy hill slope – by specially skilled, separately hired drivers.
The road to the resort was tricky, mainly the last part. It was a slippery concrete slab-made hill road without a guard rail, which could only accommodate up to one car at most places. The vehicles returning from the dolphin nose point took me over half an hour to complete the last couple of hundred meters of the trip. Taking my car in reverse towards the uphill on such a road was not part of my plan. The rain also decided to peak at the same time.
The view from the hotel room took all the frustration away. It is at the slope of the hill facing towards the east. The resort is an accumulation of rooms and cottages built on the hill’s slope at 10+ layers, if not more. We got the Olympus wooden cottage room. It is uphill from the parking and has a clear view of the range of hills. At night, we could also see the glittering lights of a city, possibly Theni. For the most part of our stay, the weather was either rainy or cloudy. On very few occasions when it was sunny, we saw the fantastic view of multiple hill ranges visible like gigantic waves. Sometimes the cloud flowed up from the bottom of the hill, covering the area and even inside the room.
The resort is thoughtfully decorated, from the parking to the topmost cottages, with different flowers, making us feel very close to nature. We liked it so much that we stayed back the entire two days at the resort, without going anywhere, relaxing and enjoying its beauty.
Places to visit
We planned to visit these places in Kodaikanal but ultimately didn’t due to the rain, heavy traffic, and the hotel being excellent and comfortable to relax.
- Silver cascade falls – we have seen this on the way toward Kodaikanal, but nothing as such special to stop.
- Green Valley Viewpoint, Pillar Rocks Viewpoint, Guna Cave, Pine Forest, and Moir Point – these are on the same route and worth visiting if the weather is good.
- Coaker’s Walk – same view as our hotel room, so skipped.
- Dolphin Nose – had to trek 1.5 km up/downhill through rocks, and no point visiting in cloudy weather.
- Lake – just another hill station lake.
- Bryant Park – just another hill station park.
- Liril Falls, Fairy Falls – just another tiny waterfall.
Though we haven’t visited any places, I don’t think we missed much. The opportunity cost of not relaxing at the resort would have been more, for sure.
Just to be fare to tell the whole story of the resort. The maintenance inside the room doesn’t reflect the thoughtfulness, though. The bed materials were having damp smell, which we were okay with, considering the weather and hill, but those didn’t look to be clean either. You must be very slim to use the bathroom, or you might not even fit. That is the size of it. The wooden walls of the room were shabby. Though the staffs were very well behaved, they were understaffed to manage the fully booked situation. So, any food order took forever to reach. At night when it rained heavily, drops of water started leaking from the roof, making part of the floor and bed wet. The available staff tried to manage the situation, but all rooms were booked, so we had to stay back there.
The hotel staff was also incapable of managing guests parting till late at night with loud music. Even after multiple requests to the resort authority to handle the issue, I had to in-person intervene to stop the nuisance. Still, somehow all these didn’t make the overall stay experience negative. Given a choice, I will return to this place, maybe at a less crowded time.
Oh, another fact, and this one might be negative or positive for you, depending on your preferences. As most of the crowd was young groups, I could even smell weed smoke a couple of times. None made any disturbance to us, though. – Yes, I recognize the smell very well. Don’t judge me!
Published by Wriddhi Bagchi
