CHETTIAR PARK - A PLEASING TOURIST SPOT IN KODAIKANAL

After leaving the sanctum(kurinji andavar temple) premises, we visited "CHETTIAR PARK - A Precise Garden", which is just a stones throw away fromthat temple. It is a beautifully landscaped park in one corner of the Kodaikanal town. Being distinct from other commercialised areas, this park is vey silent and you can unwind yourself in a world of serene and peaceful. Carefully maintained decked floors for flowering plants, beautifully designed bushes, huge variety of fascinating flowers, well developed lush green grass meadow and the bracing breeze make the ambiance fresh. Hence it became "a pleasing tourist spot". The visitors will be allowed here for free. It was a queer experience roaming over there and everyone will find themselves enjoying the experience. You can have a look at my write up on total KODAIKANAL.

KURINJI ANDAVAR TEMPLE - KODAIKANAL

The first and foremost place in the list to visit in KODAIKANAL is “KURINJI ANDAVAR TEMPLE”. For those who are religiously inclined or quenching the religious thirst, this temple will be a perfect destination. The specialty of this temple is that it is situated at a calm and secluded hill top with peaceful atmosphere, surrounded by deep valleys and natural sceneries. It has a colorful mandapam over the gateway that leads to a main hall. The name “KURINJI ANDAVAR” is associated with kurinji(flowers) shrubs. In Tamil, kurinji means “hill region” and andavar means “god”. Hence Lord Muruga is referred as “God of Hill Region”. Kurinji is a plant special to that region which blooms the flowers in abundance once in 12 years. These flowers carpet the hill side. At that time the slopes gives us a feel like sea of purple. During the flowering period, the honey from this place will be considered as pure and good for health. The other days you will have a spectacular view of the terraced hills with carrot cultivation and a few hamlets. There is a famous festival celebrated in summer, when thousands of devotees visit the temple to seek the blessings of the god. Coming to the history of the temple, they used to tell like the temple was built by a European lady, who on coming to India got impressed and started following Hindu religion.

The Kurinji blooming happened last time in 2006 and if the shrubs survive, it is expected that they will bloom again in 2018. I am desperately waiting for that time. Overall the sanctum is a place that you would not feel like leaving the premises. So make it as a place holder in your trip to Kodaikanal, as you would get an inner peace which you are longing for a long time. You can have a look at my write up on KODAI LAKE, Moon Light Walk and total KODAIKANAL.

BEAR SHOLA FALLS - KODAIKANAL

We all started early in the morning towards "Bear Shola Falls", which was a place holder in our planned list of places to visit. They used to say that in early days bears used to inhabit the area and came to drink water here. Hence the name Bear Shola falls. Initially we thought like we need to spend time in travelling to reach falls. But with in 15 minutes ride from the cottage(where we stayed), we are almost

there. From that spot we need to take walk to reach the falls, since its not possible for vehicles to go near the falls. At that early hours it was still quiet and the trail to the falls was deserted. Surrounded by lush greenary and rugged landscapes, the walking path is a sight to behold! The fresh, soft air and calmness of the surrounding is indeed a treat while walking towards the falls. For sure the first glance of the falls takes your breath away and mesmerizes you totally. I had a nice few minutes sitting by the falls with all my friends and thinking about how lucky we are to be on earth and had so many nice places to explore. Most of us had a walk and explored the surroundings of the falls. It is ideal to visit the Bear Shola Falls during rainy season to enjoy the beauty of the abundant misty waterfalls in its fullness. At the end of it all you definitely cherish the moments you spend out there.

You can have a look at my write up on KODAI LAKE, Moon Light Walk and total KODAIKANAL.

MOON LIGHT WALK - IN KODAIKANAL FOREST

After enjoying the picturesque view of Dolphin's nose we all started towards the evening sun. Our energy levels are totally exhausted by the time we reached half the way to our parked vehicle. But some how covered the challenging part, walking uphill. By the time we refilled our energy levels with some drinks and snacks, its already dark. Literally no one was there on the way and we need to walk one more kilometer in that hilly forest to reach our vehicle. Smiling moon and twinkling stars came out which we hardly get to see and enjoy in the city skyline. Then we all started walking in a nice leisurely pace, chit chatting with each other and away from the chaotic city life. No words to express what kind of amazing moments we got in our lives by the time we reached our vehicle. You have to experience it yourself to get/believe it. But I can assure you one thing, going for such kind of walk with your friends in a dense forest with full moon on top of your head gives you a rare unforgettable experience. Given a chance to travel to past, this is one situation which I prefer to land.

You can have a look at my write up on KODAI LAKE and total KODAIKANAL.

KODAI LAKE - A RELAXABLE PLACE

CREW: Sudhir, Paddu, Venkat, Ravi, Geeta, Pruthvi, Swetha, Kranthi & Me.

Sometimes it is so refreshing to get out of the hustle bustle of city life and relax yourself. As part of this we planned a trip to KODAIKANAL - A NATURE LOVER'S PARADISE. There may be many place holders in your list of spots to watch in Kodaikanal, but the most rewarding one is KODAI LAKE. This lake is in the middle of the town with around 5km circumference and is a quieter portion away for the hotels area which will provide you boat peddling, horse riding and the best one - cycling(it will be more exciting if it is with your best pals). Lake will be surrounded by vast private properties(kind of estates) and some pretty good houses.

Lake is fringed by bunch of eucalyptus trees. It will be very refreshing to do fun cycling with your buddies, while breathing the fragrance drifting from eucalyptus trees, hearing the sounds of colorful birds and enjoy the taste of some stuff like pear, peaches, corn etc. It will be thrilling to have a chacobar/Ice cream in that chill whether and peddling a boat at the snail's pace around the lake. Whatever may be the season, near this lake, I will assure you that it will be relaxing and quaint, peddling the boat, eating chocolate/ice cream, admiring the lake view, a well worth stroll and cycling with your pals. You can enjoy the beauty and serenity of Kodaikanal and surroundings in my next write up KODAIKANAL - A NATURE LOVER'S PARADISE.

Friends...Hope we all had a good time in Kodaikanal. I really miss you guys and the rocking trips like that. Stay tuned for our entire trip write up KODAIKANAL - A NATURE LOVER'S PARADISE.

KODAIKANAL - A NATURE LOVER'S PARADISE

Starting from : Chennai

Destination : Kodaikanal

Crew : Sudhir, Paddu, Venkat, Ravi, Kranthi, Geeta, Pruthvi, Swetha & myself

A gulp of fresh air has become rarity in city life and we are desperate to have a break from our work pressure. So started to search for a picturesque and perfect holiday destination. After chasing with lot of options, KODAIKANAL was chosen as the place to go and unwind ourselves. After getting down in Kodai road station, we had a good three hour drive up the hill but the breath taking views make it all worth while. After finishing our check in formalities with TTDC(TamilNadu Tourism Development Corporation), we rushed towards our cottages for fresh up. These cottages are pretty good and most economical ones. After having the break fast we started exploring the place, with everyone in their best spirits.

KODAI LAKE

CHETTIAR PARK

KURINJI ANDAVAR TEMPLE

DOLPHIN NOSE

COAKERS WALK

BEAR SHOLA FALLS

GET TOGETHER - A TRIP TO HOGENEKKAL FALLS

Starting from : Bangalore

Destination : Hogenekkal Waterfalls

Crew : Graduation friends

As getting nearer, every one's attention will be dragged by the roaring sound of Cauvery/Kaveri river and surprised to see plenty of herbal vegetation. WELCOME TO THE LAND OF SMOKING ROCKS - "HOGENAKKAL WATERFALLS", popularly known an Indian Niagara. It is istuated in Dharmapuri Dist in Tamil Nadu, which is around 150 KM drive from Bangalore.

As get-together party, 2 years after graduation, we planned one day trip to visit this place. Even though we started early in the morning, we reached Hogenekkal by noon, as we halted considerably good amount of time in between for breakfast and permit related stuff at state check post. The first thing which yo will come across after getting down there is CORACLE(small round boat) drivers. You need to act wisely with them; otherwise you will need to pay huge amount for them. This is the main source of income for those guys. Somehow we managed to take 2 coracles(to & fro)...of course we paid a lot :-)

One way coracle drive will be happen in 2 stretches. First one will be till waterfalls, ther we need to get down and walk tillwe cross the falls. Second stretch will start from here to a small island nearby in kaveri river. Here you will get chance to play/bath in water which supposed to having some curative nature, as the river flows thru the dense forest consists of herbal plants. Apart from this you can see spa like environment with few people taking body massage. We enjoyed a lot by playing in water. Need to be careful while playing as the force of the water will be really high, of course it depends on the season as well. Everyone got exhausted with their energy and this was the time we got the delicious meal( since we were literally hungry), popularly called as "Meen Kolumbu", gravy kind of thing prepared with fish. After enjoying the meal at sunshine, we all started back to Bangalore and reached almost late night.

Some other attractions of this place are having history of film making, kids diving into water from around 30 meters height(Just like hero introduction seen in RAVAN....hope some part of this movie shooted there) etc., Overall this trip leaves memorable moments, which we can remember throughout our lives.

JOYFUL RIDE TO NANDI HILLS, LEPAKSHI & GHATI SUBRAMANYA - NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS 2010

Nandhi-Lepakshi

http://picasaweb.google.com/lokeshnetwork/NandhiLepakshi?feat=directlink

Start Place: Bangalore

Destination: Nandhi hills, Lepakshi, Ghati Subramanya

Date: 1st Jan, 2010

Crew: Praneeth, Sujay, Laxmi, Saravanan, Nagendra, Kaushik, Praveen & myself Travel Mode: 2 Maruthi WagonRs

The faces of each and every traveller who came there glowed along with the rising sun and their eyes sparkled with the quiet appreciation that comes from knowing that they had witnessed something truly special. WELCOME TO THE LAND OF PURELY MAGICAL SUNSHINE - NANDHI HILLS. It is a place to visit atleast once in a life time.

Eventhough we started one hour late than our planned schedule, we reached top of the nandhi hills before sunrise. On the way we came accross the guys who are deeply involved in new year celebrations. We all had tea before the ghat section starts. After taking the entry/parking tickets we all rushed towards the view point.

After spending some good time roaming around & playing with cameras, we all started towards chikbakkapur. We had our breakfast in Shanthi Sagar and then started our journey on NH-7(Even an amateur driver can fancy his chances on these roads. Thanks to our Joy Riders ;-)) towards our next destination "LEPAKSHI".

No words to explain the architectural beauty of Lepakshi's veerabhadra temple. Some where or around in the temple you can find idols of most of the Hindu gods. The paintings on the ceiling of the temple, unfinished Kalyana mantapam(marriage hall), foot print of Sita Devi, idols explaining the situation in Indra loka, blood marks of Virupaksha's eyes, hanging pillar and designs on the pillars and many more will tell the beauty of monuments. The main attarction of lepakshi is statue of the Nandhi which is biggest one in India and it will be there at good 1 KM distance from the temple. If you are planning to visit Lepakshi, it is advisable to visit Nandhi Statue first and then the temple.

Form there we went hindupur where we had good and delecious lunch and then moved towards Ghati Subrahmanya temple, where you can see Lord Subramanya from one side and Lord Narasimha from the other side of the same idol.

Overall we had a good ride of around 350 KM covering all the 3 places as part of new year celebrations.