Kodaikanal comes alive on holiday weekend

MADURAI: The princess of hills, Kodaikanal, has once again come alive with bustling tourist footfall on a long holiday weekend.

Hotspots such as the Kodaikanal Lake area, Pine Forest, Pillar Rocks, Guna Cave and Coakers Walk saw people jostling for space owing to the sudden increase in tourists at this Dindigul district tourist attraction.

According to the president of the Kodaikanal Tourist Guides Association A. Robin, the turnout was overwhelming after the festival of Deepavali.

“The tourists were mostly from parts of Kerala. Hotels and cottages were mostly occupied by the vacationing tourists. The next season of tourism would kick off in December when foreign tourists are expected,” he said.

Much to the relief of the hill station’s traffic woes, vehicular traffic leading up to the most popular hotspots was made one-way on Saturday, avoiding clogging of the roads.

A tourist guide Dasprakash said that the government declaring one more day as the holiday was one of the reasons for the Deepavali rush this time.

Kodaikanal Hotel and Resort Owners Association president S Abdul Gani Raja said handling choking roads is still a problem.

“The solution needs to be long-term. Owing to the e-pass system, vehicles bringing tourists had to stop before the verification counter at a toll plaza near ‘Silver Falls’, causing traffic problems in that location,” he said.

He suggested that such counters could be set up at entrances on Batlagundu and Palani Road to avoid congestion on Ghat Road.