KodaiKanal More commonly known as Kodai is on the southern side of Palani Hills about 150 Km from Madurai. Kodai is surrounded by dense forest and wonderful waterfalls. The hill station is the Honeymoon capital of India, it provides an escape from the heat and haze of the plains and a n opportunity to hike. Kodai is famous for its hill fruit, Plumps and the rare kurunji flower which blooms once every 12 years due to bloom in 2004.

Getting There
Kodai is conveniently linked by bus to major cities such as Madurai (120Km, 3.5hr, Rs 30), Coimbatore (250km, 8hr), Bangalore (480km, 12hr, Rs150), Ooty (330km, Rs200) and Kanyakumari, it is advisable to book seats in advance. The nearest train stations are about 3hr by bus, Kodai road is to the East on the Madurai-Trichi-Chennai line and Palani to the North on the Coimbatore-Madurai-Rameshwaran line. The telephone number for the Tourist office is 41675.

Dinning
Most of the restaurant are located on the Hospital Road. Hear you will find a variety of food like pure vegetarian, Chinese and continental. The famous restaurants are Chef master, Wang's Kitchen, Hotel Punjab, Tava Restaurant, Ahaar, and many more.

Site Seeing
On the Observatory Road is the Astrophysics Laboratory with a museum. Also worth watching is the Flora and Fauna Museum open from 10 am to 5 pm (closed between 12 noon to 3 pm.), closed on Sundays. Bryant Park and Chettia Park near Kurinji Temple are also good to visit. Trekking is what most tourist like to do in kodai, for Rs 20 you can get some good information on trekking routes at the District Forest Office on winding road near TTDC youth hostel (open mon to fri 10 am to 1pm and 2 to 6 pm). If you want to go boating then the Tourist department and Kodaikanal Boat and rowing club rents them out.

Getting Around
The most common and cheapest mode of travel is renting a bike. Taxi's are also available