DERISANAMCOPE

This is a small village 12 km north of Nagercoil (kanyakumari dt:Tamil nadu) and is famous for ayurvedic treatment for nearly a century. The village is on the eastern side of the Nagarcoil-Palmore road. The place is so called because Lord Ram had shot three arrows at the Thadaka which together had stiched up her body. Thus, Trisharam (Three arrows) Korpu (stich) has become today’s Derisanamcope.

Sri Raghaveswarar temple

This temple is locally refered as "Periya Kovil".
Legend - When Lord Ram had killed Thadakai (Women Demon), he worshiped Lord Shiva at this place in order to get relief from the sin of killing a woman. Thus, the Lord Shiva here was consecrated by Lord Ram before he had worshipped at the more famous Rameswaram. So, this place is also called Adi Rameswaram and the Lord is known as Raghaveswarar.

History - It is believed that Rajaraja chola build this temple with the same stucture of Thanjavur Brahadeeswarar temple.
Temple - As at Rameswaram, there are two thirthams (ponds) are located in the front and back of the temple. The pond in the front is called Thirthavari kulam and the pond at the back is called Godavari Thirtham. A small rivulet case Nanjil Nattu Gangai flows in front of the temple. Lord Shiva and the Goddess Ulaganayaki Ammai shrines are seen facing the east. In between the two is the shrine of Lord Subramanyar along with his consorts Valli and Devayanai. Hence, the place is also referred to as Somaskanda sthalam. The roof above the Lord is in the shape of Meru. Shrine of Lord Vinayakar is in front of Lord Shiva. On the left side of the Lord Shiva, bronze idols of Adalvallan, Shivagami, Chandrashekara Murti, Karaikkal Ammaiyar, Ram, Lakshman and Hanuman are seen. In a corner of the inner prakaram, Lord Dakshinamurti is seen. Shrine of Lord Chandesar is also seen. The Holy tree of the temple is Vilvam. The main shrine is at a height above the prakaram due to which devotees have to climb up a few stairs to reach it.
Ulaganayaki Ammai is seen holding the flower Neelotpalam in her right hand. It is believed that this idol, about 5 feet high, was obtained in the Ganga river and brought here. Locals believe that by worshipping the Goddess here the devotees derive the benefit of worshipping the Goddess Ulaganayaki at Papanasam. On the right side of the shrine, stairs leading into a tunnel underground is visible. It is believed that this was created to hide temple properties etc during times of enemy attacks.
The shrine of Swarna Akarshana Bhairavar faces east. Worshipping here is believed to bestow prosperity and wealth on the devotees.
A sculpture of Lord Ram killing Thadaka is seen inside the Mahamandapam on the west Prakaram. Inscriptions are seen in some stones which were written during the eighth and tenth years of the reign of the King Rajaraja Chola. In these inscriptions, the Lord is referred to as Cheeraghavan Iswaramudai Nayanar. In a pillar, the figure of Adi Shankaracharya is inscribed from which it is inferred that the saint had visited this temple.
Outside the temple, on the way to the rivulet, there is the Vadakku Vazh Selvi temple. The Goddess, Munnootru Nangai is worshipped as the guardian deity of this village.
Prayers – Though the temple is built in tamil style, all the poojas are held in Kerala style.

MANDAIKADU

Mandaikadu is situated in the sea coast north - east of Colachel Port, 23 KMs west from "NagerKoil" and 15 Kms south-west of Thuckalai. It is connected with Nagercoil and Trivandrum by a motorable road. Nearest railway station is Eraniel, about 12 Kms away. Nearest airports are Thiruvananthapuram and Madurai. The scriptural name of the place is Mandhaikadu.

Bhavagathiamman Temple

This Temple is more than 500 years old and is also known as the Mandaikattamman Temple. It is known as a Sabarimala for Women. Women visit the temple with the Irumudi (a bundle containing puja items for the Goddess) as men go to Sabarimala.

Legend – Bhairavar, one of the eighteen siddars, used to stay here. He was doing dhyanam and pooja on the Srichakra Puja placed on the ground. When he wanted to move to another place, he also decided to move the chakra. He began meditating when he had a vision of goddess Bhagavathy. She told him that she wished to reside in the same place where he had been doing puja. She also said “I bid you to sit beside me inside the earth and guard this place which is inside dense forests.” Immediately, the hermit buried the idol and he himself attained Samadhi next to where he buried the idol. The place where he buried the chakra began growing steadily like a small sand hill. Some time later, a few boys who were playing with a palm fruit dropped it inadvertently on the hill. Immediately blood began to ooze from the hill. Scared by this turn of events the children ran to bring the elders to the spot. The elders believed that this was Bhagavathy who was guarding the area and began lighting a lamp daily at the temple. Soon one day there was another incident. A few people were entering the village at midnight. Knocking at the doors of the villagers, they asked them to provide them some food as they were very hungry. The villagers however, were not very hospitable and directed them to the temple nearby to find their own food. Dusk was fast approaching and the village was on the fringes of a dense jungle on the coast. So the people were scared. Still they went to the temple and said “Mother please give us some food.” Miraculously they heard a voice that said “go take a bath and return, you will get food.” They dutifully did what they were told and Bhagavathy is said to have fed them herself. After a sumptuous meal they slept in the temple premises. The next morning when they woke up they had a vision of the goddess smiling benevolently at them. Immediately, they left several valuables they had brought with them in a sack and left. Meanwhile the Marthanda Verma, the King of Travancore had a vision of Bhagavathy in his dream. She told him to build a temple for her with the money left by the travelers. Next day the king visited the place which had appeared in his dreams and fulfilled the wishes of the goddess.
However as he began construction of the temple, the sand hill continued growing in size. They had to demolish the temple twice because of its gaining height. So the king implored the goddess not to grow in height. But the goddess said that it would not be possible. However, she said that she would grow only the size of a grain each year. It is believed that to this day the sand hill is growing in height each year.
An alternate version says that a woman sanyasi from Kollam is stayed here and prayed to Goddess Bhagavathy. The ant hill has grown over her Samadhi.

Temple - The temple is built in the Kerala tradition in a very simple style. It is spread over an area of 1 acre. The roof of the temple has orange colour tiles, and the anthill touches the roof. The Amman is in the form of anthill which is about 15 feet in height and with five heads and believed to be growing gradually. At the upper end is the face of Goddess Bhagavathi facing the north direction. There is a Srichakra at the ground of the anthill. The King Marthanda Verma had prepared a face kavacham made of silver for the goddess but it did not fit in the ant hill. Now, this can be seen, kept separately in front. The Holy tree of the temple is the neem tree.

Prayers and Festivals - Goddess Bhagavathy is believed to cure all the ailments which women suffer. She is also believed to rule the nine planets or the Navagrahas in one’s astrological chart.
Puja is performed only in the morning in the temple in typical Kerala tradition.
The women devotees who offer worship during festive occasions take a dip in the sea.
The women offer wooden toys, salt, pepper and other things obtained from the first harvest, to the Goddess. People cook a pudding (with all the facial features) here with rice flour, sugar, jaggery called Mandaiappam and offer it to the Goddess for relief from headache. Devotees offer silk cloths and Mangalsutra (for marriage) to the goddess. The handicapped offer limbs made of silver for cures. People also offer cradles in the temple for getting children. Crackers are fired to relief from the impact of evil looks and effects. Some use to have the food placed on the floor and eat it. This is known as Mansoru Eating. People make offerings to Mother human figures encraved in silver, brass or aluminum foils and also metallic snakes for the boon of children.
The major attraction of the temple is the `Kodai' of ‘Masi’ festival, an annual 10 day event held in March. The Goddess is taken out in a procession on the 9th day. The `Valiyapadukkai vizha' and the `Odukku pooja' (held after midnight on the 10th day) are the important events during the festival.
During Odukku Pooja, the rice is cooked and kept inside containers made from dry palm leaves. The devotees carry these containers to the temple during the night in a procession. On this occasion they wear new veshtis but no shirts. Their Mouths are shut, tied with red cloth and a blue cloth is kept on the head. The procession is lead by people carrying flame torches. After going around the temple, all the food is kept before the main entrance, facing the diety. Earlier a goat was sacrificed but now this practice has been stopped. Thereafter the temple flag is lowered and the temple gates closed to bring the festival to end.

Timings - Morning : 4.30 A.M to 11 A.M Evening : 5 P.M to 8 P.M. Nirmalya darshanam is at 4.30 am every day in the morning.

KUZHITHURAI

Kuzhithurai is a municipality spanning over an area of about five sq km. The town is situated on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari National Highway 47. Tamiravaruni River flows through the town. Kuzhithurai is about 24 km from Nagercoil, 16 km from Colachel and 15 km from Neyyattinkara. Trivandrum International Airport is the nearest airport. Kuzhithurai Railway Station serves the town.

Mahalakshmi temple

Kuzhithurai Amman Temple is an 400-year old ancient temple. This temple enshrines Goddess Mahalakshmi as the presiding deity. The deity is highly revered by the devotees and is worshipped as Varaprasadhi. The Goddess is seen standing in the beautiful lotus flower, “Padmapriya”. Shrines of Lord Ganesh and Lord Dharmashasta are located inside the temple complex. It is believed that finance and money related problems get resolved very quickly by worshipping Goddess Lakshmi here.

Prayers - Here, Sree Sookta prayanam is held 12 times everyday. Special is the worship of the Goddess with Pal Payasam as prasadam.

SUCHINDRAM

Suchindram is a panchayat town in Kanniyakumari district about 11 km from Kanyakumari and about 7 km from Nagarkoil lying between these two towns. The nearest railway station is Nagarkoil. Suchindrum was renowned as an important citadel of Travancore.

Thanumalaya Temple

Stone inscriptions speak of this temple as 'Thiruchivindrum', 'Sundara SathurVedhi Mangalam' etc. This is also called Gyanaranyam (Gyana-Divine Wisdom (equivalent to Gnosis)-Aranyam: Forest). This temple attracts both Vaishnavites and Saivites in large numbers.

History - The temple belonged to, and was maintained and administered by the Travancore kings till Kanyakumari became part of Tamil Nadu In 1956. Though the time of construction of the temple is not officially known, it is believed to have been built in the 17th-18th centuries. Most of the mandapams were built by the Nayak kings., particularly Tirumalai Nayakkar.

Legend 1 - Once, the Asuras were ruling over the Devas. Their king Banasuran, was very wicked and used to trouble everyone. He had been given a boon by God Brahma that only a Kanni (small girl) will be able to kill him. This made him to think of himself as invincible. The Devas lived in hiding fearing him and prayed to Goddess Parashakti for relief. Pleased the Goddess took the form of a Kanni and started staying in Kumari doing penance. Lord Thanumalaya swamy in suchindram desired to marry the Goddess and their marriage was fixed to be held one night. The thanumalaya swamy from suchindram went to marry shri Kanyakumari amman in Kumari. Sage Narada realized that if the marriage is held, Banasuran would never be killed. So, when the Lord going, the Sage took the form of a cock and crowed. Thinking the auspicious time fixed for marriage had expired, the Lord came back to Suchindram. The Godess at Kumari remained a Kanni, continued her penance and killed Banasuran to rescue the Devatas.

Legend 2 - Anasuya, the wife of Atri Maharishi was famous for her chastity and her devotion to her husband - an embodiment of a Hindu wife. She could perform miracles by sprinkling the 'paatha theertham' (water with which she washed her husband's feet) to bring rain to a parched earth or to transform objects to her desire. When the three Devis, - Goddesses Luxmi, Saraswathy and Parvathy heard through Sage Naradha the powers of this earthly woman they wanted to test her chastity. They approached their husbands Lords Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to test Anasuya's devotion to her husband. The three Moorthys transformed into three old mendicants and went to the hermitage where Anasuya was living and sought alms from her. When Anasuya was about to serve them food they told her that they had taken a vow whereby they could not accept alms from a person wearing clothes. As it was a sin to refuse alms to mendicants she prayed to her Lord and sprinkled a little 'paatha theertham' on the three old beggars. They were all immediately transformed into babies and throwing off her clothes she offered them food. The Goddesses learning what had happened pleaded with Anasuya to grant them 'maankalya biksha' (gift of married life) and to give them back their husbands. Anasuya showed them the three babies. The Devis ran to the cradle and picked one baby each. Anasuya then prayed to her Lord to restore them back to their original form. Lo and behold! Brahma was in Luxmi's embrace, Siva in Saraswathy's lap and Parvathy cuddling Vishnu. They accepted that Anasuya's fame as the chastest woman on earth was justified. Hearing about this, Atri Rishi came and to the place and together with his wife had darshan of the Trimurtis along with their consorts. When the Gods disappeared, at the base of the konnayadi tree in that place, there appeared three lingas. Thus the Thrimoorthy came to be represented by the Lingam at Suchindram; the bottom represents Brahma, the middle represents Vishnu and the top Shiva.

Legend 3 - Once Indra was infatuated with Ahalya, the wife of Rishi Gautama. One night he came to the hermitage where Gautama was living and crowed like a cock indicating the approach of dawn. Rishi Gautama thinking that dawn was imminent awoke from his sleep and went to the river for his ablutions prior to commencing his prayers. Realising that it was too dark for dawn and too early for morning to break he returned to his hut. In the meantime Lord Indra took the physical appearance of Rishi Gautama, approached Ahalya and satisfied his desire. Rishi Gautama returning from the river was enraged when he saw his wife in another man´s embrace and cursed the man's entire body be covered with 'yoni' (the female organ) and his wife Ahalya to become a statue of stone. Lord Indra in order to get rid of this curse went to Gnanaranya and prayed to the Three Moorthys to rid him of this curse. When he was rid of his curse and transformed into his original form he built a temple and installed the Lingam to represent the three Moorthy - Thanu-Maal-Ayan, and the name of the place came to be known as Suchi-Indran (the place where Indran was purified). The term "Suchi" means purifying and the place where Indra was purified got the name of Suchindram. It is popular belief that the God Indra still pays a visit to the temple and performs the Ardhajama pooja every night.

Temple - The entrance tower to this temple is visible from a distance as it rises majestically for 134 feet. The face of the tower is covered with sculptures and statues from Hindu mythology. There is a covered area in front of the main entrance and the entrance itself is about 24 feet high with a beautifully carved door. Look up the sculptures of 1108 women holding oil lamps on the side of the long hall after the entrance. The temple corridor, running along the outer wall of the temple, is the longest next only to Sri Rameswaram Temple. It is adorned on both sides by pillars with exquisite sculptures. Many shrines (about 30) and mandapams are scattered in the inner area. The temple has a beautiful white gopuram (tower). The temple is rich in sculpture and architecture. In the long-pillared halls and are seen depiction of scenes from the great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata on the walls. In a massive boulder halfway down the hall is inscribed the history of the temple in Tamil and Sanskrit. Seen inside the temple are Kontai Adi Temple, Nandeeswar, Chitra sabai, Vasantha Mandapam, Kailasanathar Temple, Pancha Pandavar temple, Subramania Swamy temple, Alankara Mandapam, Sthanumalaya Swami Sanctum Sanctorum, Chenbagaraman Mandapam, Dwaja Mandapam, Unjal Mandapam and Hanuman Statue. One of the unique aspects of the temple is the presence of the gods across the length and breadth of the Hindu pantheon.

Kontai Adi temple - When you enter the temple, on the eastern prakaram you see a laurel (konnayadi) tree that is about 2000 years old. In the hollow of the tree there are three lingas representing the Trimurtis-Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. This is the Kondraiyadi Nathar Sannidhi.

Sthanumalayan temple - Suchindram temple is unique in the whole of India in that it is dedicated to three different deities represented by one large Lingam in the sanctum called Sthanumalayan (Sthanu-Shiva; Maal-Vishnu and Ayan-Brahma) kovil. According to tradition, the top, middle and bottom portions of the image in the temple represent Siva (Sthanu), Vishnu (Maal) and Brahma (Ayan) respectively. Sthanu (from the rootword stha,"to stand"), "a post" is Rudra's concrete symbol. Its upward direction shows His inflexible stance across the universe...This image is the monument in which the Lord of Yoga became Sthanu or Linga-formed. ...The whole of ascetic Rudra's being is within its pillar shape. If the pyramid of the Sole Vratya was built mentally in a vision, a monument the inner realization of that God, the verticality of Stanu is a presentation of Rudra-Siva, the yogi.Sanctum Sanctorum of the Lord is illuminated by oil lamps. Golden Kavacha. 27 stars, 14 lunar phases and snake adorn the crown of Siva.

Kailasanathar Temple - This temple is situated on a small hillock within the temple. This temple is more than 1500 years old. Presence of Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions belonging to the fifth century CE attest to this fact. The Great Imperial Chozha emperor Raja Raja Chozha the first, paid his obeisance to Siva here and recorded them in the stone inscriptions. Subsequent Chozha as well as their rival Pandya kings and emperors made tributes to the Deity here. This part of the temple is rich in stone inscriptions.During the period 770 CE to 1000 CE the Pandya rulers and vassals including Varaguna Pandyan, Veera Narayana Sadayan, Abimana Meru Maravarman and Veera Pandyan, made land allotments for the purpose of serving the temple (daily Puja). In 900 CE Gomara Sadaya Pandyan gave the Vishnu temple inside the Sthanumalayan temple gold crown and lands. In 960 CE Veera Pandyan created a flower garden (Nandavanam-floral forest) for the sake of daily Puja. The present temple of Kailasanatha was built by Raja Raja Chozha the great.

Alankara mandapam – This is adjacent to the Northern corridor. Here there are four large pillars each formed by a group of smaller pillars all carved from a single stone. Two of these large pillars have 33 smaller pillars and the other two 25 each. These are the famous musical pillars. Each of these smaller pillars produce a different musical note when tapped. Now these pillars are surrounded by iron grills to prevent vandalism. There are 1035 pillars with carvings in the dancing hall.

Veera Hanuman - Step out of the 'Alankara mandapam' and you come face to face with a gigantic figure of Hanuman with folded hands. The figure is 18 feet high and depicts 'visuvaroopam'. It has been made out of a single granite block. Most probably this is the depiction of Hanuman standing before Mother Sita in Ashoka Vanam as told in the Sundara Kandam of the epic Sri Ramayana. More than 260 years ago there was an invasion by Sandha Sahib Khan. People of Suchindrum wanted to protect the statue of Hanuman and so buried it. For 190 years Hanuman laid buried in ground. Sri M.K. Neelakanta Iyer, the then Secretary of the Devaswom Board,an extremely pious and honourable aristocrat under the Maharaja of Travancore tripped and fell while circumambulating the temple. The Namboothiris were summoned and after a detailed study of Prasnam, it was found that the Hanuman statue was buried there. The statue was dug out and in 1930 it was installed through rituals in the present place. But Ashta Bandhana Prathisda was not done. So everyone can touch the Lord and pray. Butter covering, Vadai garland are the special worships that can be done by devotees. There is a grand function with abisheka on Hanumath Jayanthi here.

Nandi - There is a massive figure of Nandi, the holy cow, and the idol is considered to be the biggest in India. It is 13 feet high, 21 feet long and 10 feet wide. It is not a granite idol but made of lime and mortar and is hailed as "Maakkaalai".

Unjal Mandapam - Here one can see Rathi and Manmatha statues with very beautiful stone ornaments and even the nail has been made polish and shining in stone itself with different grades of colors. Many beautifully rendered statues of Gods and Goddesses can be found at the Gopuravasal.

Chenbagaraman Mandapam - This Mandapam is furnished with very beautiful sculptures. This Mandapam has 32 pillars with exquisite sculptures adorning them. It was completes 525 years ago. Some of sculptures seen in the Mandapam are - Vigneswari sculpture - a rare sculpture of Ganesa in female form; Siva's 64 sacred adventures (Thiruvilaiyadal); Ravana, the demon king, is depicted as playing Veena to please Lord Siva; Kannapa Nayanar is seen offering his eye to Lord Siva; episodes from the Ramayana; Lord Narasimha killing the demon Hiranya; etc.

Festivals - There are two important festivals, one in Markazhi (December/January) and the other in Chiththirai (April/May). During the Markazhi festival, on the 9th day the deities are taken out in procession around the streets on three festival cars. Puja is conducted to Dwaja Sthumpa and on festival day the divine flag of Siva-Vishnu-Brahma is hoisted. The priest who performs the arthajama pooja won’t do the nirmalya pooja. It is because of the belief that Indra does pooja here every night.

Kaimukkal - This is a variant of the agnipariksha, Suchindram style. Kaimukkal or dipping of the hand, was a practice followed between the 17th and 19th centuries till a Government order prohibited it in the 1860s. Any Namboothiri, or a high caste Brahmin, who was excommunicated following a suspected instance of immorality had to dip his hand in a copper vessel containing boiling ghee and pull out a small silver ox statuette to prove his innocence and, thereby, his character. The temple was, then, a part of Travancore and the trustees and the priests were Malayalee Brahmins; the dipping could only be done once the king gave his consent, and on a designated date. From the status of an upper class landlord, either he was pushed to the fringes of society, or hope for a miracle to happen when he unfolded his hand on the third day following the dipping. If the hand was found to be black and bruised, he was proclaimed guilty; and it was the end of the social road for him; if white and unscathed, he was given a clean chit, gifts from the king and his position back in society.

SHENBAGANUR

This village is 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the Kodaikanal bus-stand on the Laws Ghat Road. Shenbanganur means the village of the ‘shenbangam’ which is a tree endemic to the South India hill forests. Trekking paths from here lead to the nearby hills and one can even hike up to the summit of Perumal Malai.

Museum of Natural History

The Sacred Heart College was started in 1895 in Shenbaganur for the training of young Jesuit priests, Early students and professors, mostly European, set themselves the task of studying the flora and fauna of a Palnis. One of them was A. Anglade and when the Institute of Natural History was started within the college, it was named after him. The Museum of Natural History, which forms a part of the College campus, is maintained by the institution.
The museum has an outstanding taxidermy collection of more than 500 species of animals, birds and insects, one of the best orchidariums in the country with a living collection of over 300 exotic orchid species, the archaeological remains and the flora and fauna of the hills, etc. Many of the butterflies and birds kept in the museum have almost become extinct and are very difficult to spot now. It also exhibits artifacts of the ancient Palaiyar tribes people whose descendants still live in these hills.
Timings – 10 A.M to 11.30 A.M and 3P.M to 5P.M

KODAIKANAL

Lady of La Salette Church

Church - This white-and blue Catholic Church is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and is the first pilgrimage place in India for Mother Salette. Made of limestone, it is an imposing French structure with exquisite architecture. A striking Gothic edifice atop a hill, it has an arresting facade with its domineering entrance. Enshrined in the central niche of the sanctuary is the statue of Our Lady of La Salette, serene with her eyes looking towards earth, her hands joint in prayer, her appearance gentle and divine. The teardrops in her eyes, the face looking towards the world, the divine serenity and aura of love – all convey a simple message: God still loves us!

History - Father Cyr had come to Kodaikanal in 1852 for the first time. This Church was put up by him in 1863-66 in thanksgiving for his cure from the deadly ‘Malagasy Fever’ contracted at Bourbon in Madagascar while he was a visitor there in 1858. After his cure, the Father had vowed to set up a church in India that would mirror the church of La Salete in France. He chose the mountainous region Kodaikanal to built this special House of God because he wished to emulate the French church encased with in the mighty mountain rains of the alps.
The foundation for Mother Salete Church was laid on 1865 February 28. In the same year March 17 the building work was started with the blessings of Father Saint Cyr. In 1866 the day, when brother Lamothy built the body of the Church, thank's offering was fulfilled. In the year 1866, the last sunday of May, Mother Salete Church was dedicated by Keanos.
Father Saint Ceer expired on January 17th, 1887. His Holy Body was burried at the entrance of the Mother Salete Church.
Festival - From 1866 onwards very last Sunday of May, when the Church was dedicated, a festival was celebrated for Mother Salete. Huge crowd of people travelled from the plains for 3 days and reach Mother Salete Church. The British people complained about the disturbances of the crowd. So this festival was banned up to 1893. In the year 1904 steps were taken to recelebrate the festival and it was succeeded on August 15th. Thus, every year on the 14th and 15th of august, a unique carnival takes place at this church. This brings about the conclusion to a Nine-day festival which attracts a congregation of people from all over south India, irrespective of religion, creed or faith. The festival is marked by special services and a special procession.

KODAIKANAL

Pillar Rocks

8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the bus-stand, on the south-western road past the Golf Course, are a set of three giant granite rock pillars rising sheer out of the jungles, which stand 122 metres (400 ft) high. The rocks together stand shoulder to shoulder. In the shadows of the pillars are shady woods that invite picnickers. Tourists can obtain a spectacular bird's eye view of the surrounding panoramic vistas from here. Managed by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, the viewpoint can be crowded but is not commercialized. A small and beautifully tended garden, glowing in the colors of the seasonal blooms adds to the charm and the picture perfect beauty of the place.

Guna caves - These are the deep bat-infested chambers between the three gigantic Pillar Rocks and were previously called Devil’s Kitchen. The caves were made popular by the Kamal Hasan Tamil movie Guna. These can be approached by a footpath but the deep narrow ravines of the caves are now closed to public because of the danger of precipitous falls. These dangerous caves are highly protected now, and tourists can see sections of the cave system from afar.

KODAIKANAL

Kodaikanal Solar Observatory

This Observatory is located in the southern tip of the beautiful Palani range of hills and is the highest location near Kodai. It is about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the bus-stand on Observatory Road, at 2,343 metres (7,690 ft). This is a quiet location within a forested compus. It was established in 1899 as a Solar Physics Observatory and all the activities of the Madras Observatory were shifted to Kodaikanal. The first observations were commenced here in 1901. It is owned and operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics and is the India’s oldest astrophysical observatory. The Kodaikanal Terrestrial Telescope can view a grand panorama including: Sothupparai Dam, Vaigai Dam, Periyakulam and Varaha river.

Solar data collected by the lab is the oldest continuous series of its kind in India. Precise observations of the equatorial electrojet are made here due to the unique geographic location of Kodaikanal. Ionospheric soundings, geomagnetic, F region vertical drift and surface observations are made here regularly and summaries of the data obtained are sent to national IMD and global WMO GAW data centers. The Former Director of this Observatory, John Evershed, discovered the phenomenon of radial motion in sunspots in 1909, now known as the Evershed effect.

The Observatory has a comprehensive Astronomical Science museum with organized public tours, access to the astronomy library, and scheduled night-time telescopic sky viewing. The displays are mainly pictorial, supported by a few models. A live solar image and the Fraunhofer spectrum are also presented.
It is open daily to the public during peak season, and a few hours each Friday the rest of the year.