How We Spend a Day in Kodaikanal
Morning walks, breakfast and lunch in the garden, afternoon rain, tiffin and evenings at home.
People often ask what they should do in Kodaikanal.
We have never been particularly good at answering with a list.
Four generations of our family have spent holidays at The Dunnottar, and many of the days we remember most clearly contained remarkably little.
Someone woke early.
Someone made coffee.
We went for a walk.
We came home hungry.
Then we ate.
The rest of the day worked itself out.
That remains, for us, one of the best ways to spend Kodaikanal.
Start With the Lake
Most mornings begin with the same decision.
Shoes on.
Out of the gate.
Kodaikanal Lake is immediately outside The Dunnottar, and the road around it makes a circuit of about five kilometres.
We walk it so often that we rarely think of it as something to do.
It is simply the morning walk.
We prefer to leave around seven or eight.
At that hour the lake is still relatively quiet. Boats are being prepared. There are walkers and runners, a few dogs and much less traffic than there will be later in the morning.
Sometimes there is mist over the water.
Sometimes the morning is completely clear.
One of our favourite stops is A1 Tea Stall, opposite the Kodaikanal Boat & Rowing Club, if it is open when we pass.
Tea.
Stand for a few minutes.
Keep walking.
The circuit takes around an hour at a comfortable pace.
By the time we reach The Dunnottar again, the kitchen is open.
This may be our favourite way to begin a day here: five kilometres around the lake and then breakfast at home, preferably outside when the weather allows.
You feel just hungry enough to take breakfast seriously.
Read: The Morning Lake Walk
Or Walk Further
Not every morning stays at the lake.
Some days we want to go further.
There are walks our family has done repeatedly enough that they have become part of the geography of being here.
The Dunnottar Walk
The walk we give guests most often begins at the same gate but leaves the lake almost immediately.
It climbs Lower and Upper Shola Road, passes some of old Kodaikanal’s houses, the Old Cemetery and Bombay Shola, continues towards La Salette and Upper Lake Road and eventually drops back towards the water.
It is partly a walk through landscape and partly a walk through the town’s history.
Allow a few hours if you want to stop along the way.
Read: The Dunnottar Walk: A Self-Guided Loop Through Old Kodaikanal
Dolphin’s Nose
When we want more of a hill walk, we drive to Vattakanal.
The trail drops towards Dolphin’s Nose and opens onto the plains below Kodaikanal.
For many people, this is enough.
Walk down.
Sit for a while.
Walk back up.
Come home.
It is a good morning.
Read: Dolphin’s Nose and Vellagavi: How Far Do You Want to Walk?
Vellagavi
Sometimes we keep going.
The path continues beyond Dolphin’s Nose and descends towards Vellagavi.
This is a different day.
It is longer, harder and needs to be planned properly.
The descent feels generous.
The climb back does not.
For the longer walk, current guide and trail-access requirements should be confirmed beforehand.
The bungalow team can help arrange a taxi to the trailhead and collection afterwards.
If you tell us in advance, sandwiches, fruit and simple trail snacks can also be prepared to carry with you.
The important arrangement, though, is the one at the other end.
Decide what you want to eat when you get home.
Come Home Hungry
This may be our favourite part of walking here.
You return to the bungalow tired enough that nobody debates what restaurant to visit.
Shoes come off at the door.
People disappear to wash.
Walking clothes are exchanged for something warm.
Then everybody finds the table.
Breakfast is included at The Dunnottar. Lunch, tiffin, dinner, grills and wood-fired pizzas can be arranged from the bungalow kitchen and are charged separately.
If the weather is good, eat outside.
There is very little better than coming home after several hours in the hills and finding lunch in the garden.
It can be completely ordinary food.
That is not the point.
You are hungry.
Your legs are tired.
The eucalyptus is moving above you.
The lake is somewhere beyond the lawn.
You feel like you have deserved lunch.
Some of our fondest memories of Kodaikanal follow exactly this pattern.
Walk for half the day.
Come home hungry.
Eat together.
Then do very little.
Leave the Afternoon Alone
This is the part visitors often try to fill.
We would not.
Kodaikanal changes after lunch.
During the monsoon, clouds often begin moving in. Rain starts hitting the iron roof. Even in drier months, people become slower after a long morning outside.
Someone reads.
Someone sleeps.
Cards appear.
Children disappear into another room.
Someone says they are going to work for half an hour and does not.
This is one of the reasons having a house matters.
You do not have to remain together simply because you are on holiday together.
The Dunnottar has several living rooms, studies, dining rooms, verandahs and outdoor spaces.
People can drift apart for a few hours without leaving the property.
Eventually they return.
Read: Kodaikanal in the Monsoon: Rain, Roads, Clothes and the Daily Rhythm
Tiffin
Between four and five, tea becomes useful again.
This is tiffin time.
What comes from the kitchen changes.
Sandwiches.
Something savoury.
Biscuits.
Sundal.
Whatever suits the day.
On a cold afternoon, masala chai.
On another day, South Indian filter coffee.
If there has been rain, people emerge when it stops.
The lawn looks darker.
The birds return.
Plans begin again, although rarely ambitious ones.
Read: Breakfast, Tiffin and Dinner at The Dunnottar
Walk Again
Sometimes the second walk is no more than the lake.
That is enough.
The light is different in the evening.
The traffic begins thinning.
The water changes colour.
If the morning walk was long, nobody needs another achievement.
You are simply outside again.
Or Stay Home
Some evenings never leave the bungalow.
The wood-fired pizza oven sits on the South Garden Terrace.
It takes time to heat, so pizza evenings are arranged with the team in advance.
A grill or bonfire can be organised too.
None of these need to become activities.
The fire is lit.
People move towards it.
Dinner takes longer than expected.
Our Best Days Here Have Always Looked Like This
As children, we did not think of this as a way of travelling.
It was simply what happened when the family came to Kodaikanal.
You went outside because the morning was clear.
You walked because there was somewhere to walk.
You came home because lunch was at home.
You spent the afternoon reading or sleeping because there was no particular reason not to.
Then everybody appeared again when tea arrived.
Our memories are less often of major sights than of these intervals.
A walk.
Someone waiting for the slower person.
Wet shoes beside a door.
Lunch outside.
Cards when it rained.
The sound of plates arriving.
The first fire of the evening.
The house has been in our family since 1947.
The routines have changed around the edges.
Not very much.
If You Are Staying With Us
Do not try to see everything.
Choose one good thing for the morning.
Most days, walk around the lake. It is about five kilometres from the gate and back, and you will be home in time for breakfast.
On another morning, take The Dunnottar Walk through the roads above the lake.
Go down to Dolphin’s Nose when the sky is clear.
If you are fit and have planned properly, make a full day of Vellagavi.
We can help arrange taxis to trailheads where needed.
For longer walks, let the bungalow team know in advance if you would like sandwiches, fruit or simple trail food to carry.
And tell us approximately when you expect to return.
Breakfast is included.
Lunch, tiffin and dinner can be arranged separately.
If the weather allows, eat outside.
Then leave some part of the afternoon deliberately empty.
That is usually where Kodaikanal begins.
— The Puliyadi Family
Walks From the Bungalow
The Morning Lake Walk
Easy · Approximately 5 km · Around 1 hour
The walk we do most often. Straight through the gate and around Kodaikanal Lake before breakfast.
Read The Morning Lake Walk →
The Dunnottar Walk
Moderate · Around 2½ hours
From the lake through Lower Shola Road, Bombay Shola, La Salette and Upper Lake Road before returning home.
Read The Dunnottar Walk →
Dolphin’s Nose
Moderate · Half-day
Drive to Vattakanal and walk down towards one of the best open views from the edge of the plateau.
Read Dolphin’s Nose & Vellagavi →
Vellagavi
Challenging · Full day
Continue beyond Dolphin’s Nose and descend towards Vellagavi. The climb back is the part to plan for.
Read Dolphin’s Nose & Vellagavi →
Related Journal Articles
Breakfast, Tiffin and Dinner at The Dunnottar
Kodaikanal in the Monsoon
The Whole Bungalow, North or South: Which Booking Is Right for You?
How to Get to The Dunnottar
Spend a Few Days Here
The Dunnottar can be booked as the Whole Bungalow, North Bungalow or South Bungalow.
Breakfast is included. Other meals can be arranged from the bungalow kitchen. For walks further from the house, the team can help organise local taxis.
