Kodaikanal

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Kodaikanal
Kodaikanal
State - District(s)	Tamil Nadu - Dindigul
Coordinates	10.23° N 77.48° E
Area - Elevation	- 2133 m
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Population (2001) - Density	32,931 -

Kodaikanal (also known as Kodai) is a city and a municipality in Dindigul district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Kodaikanal is a hill station on the southern tip of the upper Palani Hills. Kodai is also a minor tourist attraction, and many of the locals make their living through tourist services. Kodaikanal is sometimes referred to as "Princess of Hill stations."

1 Demographics
2 Geography and climate
3 Infrastructure
4 Tourism
5 External links
6 References

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Kodaikanal had a population of 32,931 on 21.45 km². Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Kodaikanal has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 73%. In Kodaikanal, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. The languages spoken in Kodai are Tamil and English.

[edit] Geography and climate

Kodaikanal

Kodaikanal is located at a latitude of 10°7' N to 10°20' N and a longitude of 77°16' E to 77°45' E. and is situated at an altitude of about 2,133 metres (6,998 feet) above sea level. It is also a popular tourist destination, with an artificial lake [1], and numerous scenic mountain view points[2]including Coaker's Walk, which has magnificent views down to the plains. Next to the lake is Bryant Park, a botanic garden. To the South is Perumal Malai (Mount Perumal), a hill which resembles an extinct volcano.

Temperature varies from moderate to quite cool - during the summer it is between 20 and 11 °C and during the winter it is between 17 and 8°C. The average rainfall is 1650 mm^[1]. The best times for traveling there are from April to June and from September to October.

[edit] Infrastructure

An artificial star shaped lake is located close to the centre of town. Rowing boats and pedalos can be hired.

The nearest airports are Madurai, Trichy and Coimbatore. The nearest Railway station is at Kodai Road, about 2 hours by bus via a Ghat road.

There are several temples, mosques and churches in the town. There are numerous hotels of all grades, various restaurants, six banks and three hospitals. The oldest restaurant in Kodaikanal is "The Silver Inn", whose speciality is the "Steak sizzler" - beef steaks and assorted vegetables on a hot plate made to sizzle by adding meat sauce on the hot plate.

Close to Kodai is the Physical Observatory. Its director John Evershed discovered the phenomenon of radial motion in sunspots, now known as the Evershed effect.

Kodaikanal is also renowned for the Kodaikanal International School. There are five further schools (two of them teaching in Tamil), two colleges and the Mother Theresa University.

There is an excellent bazaar where one can buy woollen material, flowers, vegetables, handmade articles, hot snacks, children toys, medicinal herbs and oils. The cosmopolitan nature of Kodai is evident at the market place where it is not uncommon to see Scandinavian backpackers, retired French tourists and people from other parts of India enjoying fresh pastries served by Tibetan refugees.

[edit] Tourism

The economy of Kodaikanal, like most hill stations,is based around tourism. Special products include home made chocolates, assorted herbs and naturals oils. Narcotics like "Magic Mushrooms" and Marijuana are also quite popular with tourists. Kodaikanal remains a favourite for tourists from Israel, France and the United States.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Kodaikanal

Palani Hills seen from the road leading to Kodaikanal

Kodaikanal Lake

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