Things to do in Kodaikanal
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Kodaikanal
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Clearest views and coldest nights, low crowds outside Christmas, New Year and Pongal weeks, best for Coaker's Walk mornings.
March is fine walking, then April to June is peak season with May flowers, highest prices, traffic and forest fire closures.
Monsoon mist and rain, full waterfalls, slippery forest paths and leeches, best for slow cafe days not guaranteed views.
Post-monsoon green and quieter with north-east monsoon rain, full falls and landslip risk on saturated ghat roads.
What's on
- Pongal mid January
The Tamil harvest festival, a busy holiday week in town with families travelling from across Tamil Nadu.
- Kodaikanal Summer Festival and flower show May, exact dates set by the district each year
The peak season festival with the Bryant Park flower show, cultural programmes and the year's biggest crowds.
Best things to do in Kodaikanal
Kodaikanal Lake
A star-shaped lake with a 5 km walking and cycling loop and boat hire, at its best in dawn mist.
Coaker's Walk
A 1 km cliff-edge promenade from 1872 with valley views to the plains, worth it only on a clear early morning.
Bryant Park
A botanical garden by the lake with terraced flower beds and lawns, easiest with children and in May colour.
Pillar Rocks
Three granite pillars about 122 metres high seen from a fenced viewpoint, the postcard stop on a clear morning.
Guna Caves
The Devil's Kitchen fissures made famous by film, viewed only from behind fences after fatal falls inside.
Pine Forest
A tall pine grove on the forest circuit, atmospheric a few minutes in from the horses and stalls at the gate.
Silver Cascade Falls
A roadside waterfall fed by the lake overflow, fullest after monsoon, a 15 minute stop on the drive up.
Where to stay in Kodaikanal
Lake and town centre
first trip without a car
Walk to the lake, Bryant Park, Coaker's Walk and most cafes, with the mid range lakeside resort and hostel stock.
St Mary's Road and Lake Road heritage edge
heritage luxury and quiet in-town base
The two top hotels sit here, close enough to walk the lake but set apart from the bus stand crowds.
Outskirts toward Perumalmalai
families and groups arriving by car
Resort space, views and parking outside the gridlocked centre, at the cost of driving for every town meal.
Vattakanal
walkers and the traveller cafe scene
A separate village on the Dolphin's Nose path with guesthouses and cafes, livelier and later than town in season.
Think twice about
- Vattakanal lanes for travellers who need parking and early sleep
Lanes are narrow with almost no parking, cafes run late in season and the scene is loose. Sleep in town and walk in for the day if that is not your trip.
- Isolated stays far down the ghat or village roads without your own transport
Roads are unlit, misty and empty after dark and taxis are scarce, so dinner and any medical need becomes a long hill drive. Base in town or at a resort with a desk.
Best restaurants in Kodaikanal
Bistro 1845
The town's splurge table, a French style bistro and bar in the heritage Tamara, best for an occasion dinner.
Cloud Street
A long running traveller cafe for wood-fired pizza and pasta, the in-town answer for a group that cannot agree.
Ten Degrees
A central restaurant by the lake for Indian, Chinese and continental comfort food and named desserts.
Altaf's Cafe
A Middle Eastern terrace cafe in Vattakanal since 2011, the natural lunch after the Dolphin's Nose walk.
Tava Vegetarian Restaurant
A reliable pure vegetarian town restaurant for a full hot meal at town prices in the centre of Kodaikanal.
Hotel Astoria Veg
A long standing vegetarian hotel dining room on Bazaar Road with some of the lowest sit-down prices in town.
Daily Bread Pastry Corner
A known Bazaar Road bakery for bread, cakes and the take-home box of Kodai chocolate and baked goods.
Outdoor things to do in Kodaikanal
Dolphin's Nose
The best short walk near town, from Vattakanal out to a flat rock nose over the valley, best started early.
Green Valley View
A fenced cliff viewpoint with a sheer valley drop on the forest circuit, entirely dependent on clear weather.
Berijam Lake
A pristine permit-only forest lake reached by forest department tour from Moir Point, quiet and uncrowded.
Mannavanur Lake
A grassland lake via Poombarai with coracle rides and a sheep farm nearby, open and uncrowded after Kodai town.
Poombarai Village
A terraced farming village with a historic Murugan temple, seen first from the viewpoint over layered terraces.
Vattakanal Falls
A small seasonal waterfall below Vattakanal village that pairs with Dolphin's Nose on one half day out.
Best hotels in Kodaikanal
The Tamara Kodai
A restored heritage resort at La Providence with 53 suites and a spa, the top of the Kodaikanal market.
The Carlton
The classic full service hotel on the lake edge, the most central luxury base for walking the town sights.
Great Trails Kodaikanal By GRT Hotels
A modern mid range resort outside the centre with valley views, a pool and parking for self-drive circuits.
Sterling Kodai Lake
A predictable mid range resort by the lake from a known Indian holiday brand, practical for a first family trip.
Zostel Kodaikanal
The best known budget hostel in town, with dorms, private rooms and company for walks and shared circuits.
Is Kodaikanal expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₹2,200 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₹5,500 a person |
| Splurge | ₹16,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Berijam Lake: a few days ahead
- The Tamara Kodai: weeks ahead
- The Carlton: weeks ahead
- Bistro 1845: a few days ahead
- Book April to June rooms, the e-pass and a private car first, in that order, when peak season fills all three.
- Check Berijam permits with the forest office or your hotel the day before and be at Moir Point by about 9:30am.
- Call Bistro 1845 ahead if you are not staying at The Tamara Kodai.
Is Kodaikanal safe?
- Both ghat roads are hairpin climbs with monsoon landslip closures, so use a hill driver and check notices after heavy rain.
- At about 2,100 metres nights are cold in every month, and the nearest full hospitals are below the hills in Dindigul, Madurai and Palani.
- Emergency numbers are 112 for all services, with police 100, fire 101 and ambulance 108.
Kodaikanal travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Trying to do the forest circuit, the village day and Berijam in one day, which the hill roads make fail.
- Arriving at viewpoints at midday and finding only mist, when the clear product is the first hour of the morning.
- Carrying single-use plastic bottles and bags up the hill, which are banned and can be seized at check posts.
- Going past the fences at Guna Caves or onto wet rock at Dolphin's Nose for a photograph.
Getting around Kodaikanal: public transport and more
- Nearest railhead is Kodai Road, about 80 km below town, then taxi or bus up the ghat. Madurai airport is about 120 km away.
- Walk inside town in season, hire a car for the forest circuit and village day, and travel both ghat roads in daylight where you can.
- Apply for the vehicle e-pass on epass.tnega.org before travelling by private or hired tourist vehicle, and carry it in print and on your phone.
Who Kodaikanal suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Kodaikanal your trip
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