Dolphin Nose in Kodaikanal, Echo Rock and Mountain View
Wonderful morning on the second day of our Kodaikanal trip, with hopes to explore and see more of “The Gift of The Forest” city. After grabbing a hefty breakfast near the bus stop as we expected fewer food spots at Vattakanal. As they were mostly a trekking spots for people coming there. We grabbed a taxi near the Bus Stand and for 8 Kms he was charging us 400 INR. Even though we knew that was a little high we took as my friends were returning by evening and also we didn’t know how much the fare actually was.
Vattakanal
We drove from the city of Kodaikanal to Vattakanal a place every trekker would love as they enter it. We had 3 spots to visit here The Mountain View, Dolphin’s Nose and Echo Rock. The taxi guy dropped us at the spot from where we need to be on our foot to reach the 3 spots.
Before the messy path started we already had a teaser of the view which we will be getting to have a closer look at these viewpoints. It was a fun and bumpy walk as you would feel like a camel even if you try to walk normally. With the bumps made of tree roots almost the whole path surrounded by huge trees. But properly fenced the whole trail so people don’t get lost in the middle. There were cafes and also a unique rentable item – sandals, something never seen before. And also I saw a homestay in the middle of the path where I think you can stay surrounded by the forest around.
Mountain View
We reached our first stop the Mountain View with a cafe in front of which you can sit there sipping your cup of tea enjoying the beautiful view of the place. As we walked towards the edge of the place we were in the moment of awe, to see those layers of mountains and the valley. Not a visible scene with your naked eyes but as I used my zoom lens to get a closer look I saw houses on top of the mountains on both sides.
Wonderful places you can live in the world, I don’t know what that place was called. But if someone who knows about that please do let me know in the comments down below. Again you can take the binoculars at the place for 5 INR to be able to see a more of the viewpoint.
Dolphin’s Nose
After finishing our lemonade at Mountain View Point we were on our way to Dolphin’s Nose. The main attraction of Vattakanal, the path was totally different from the one we just covered. We were surrounded by these eucalyptus trees, which were not allowing the sun to enter the area. After a km, we were at the Dolphin’s Nose viewpoint as we saw many people around taking selfies on the dangerous cliff. Which resembled the nose of a dolphin, the cool breeze made the place more serene.
I too grabbed my camera and went to the edge of the cliff, which was really scary the depth just made me shaky. And the turn to return back wasn’t that easy after that, but I made it overcoming the fear of height. I sometimes feel I have overcome and later some viewpoints make it come back. Like this one for a moment but I was back to normal later. Just check the part where I was at the top of the Dolphin’s Nose and later as I turned I made the run to reach the other part, in the youtube vlog i made.
Echo Rock
Just as you walk past the Dolphin’s Nose you will reach the tree which directs you to Echo Rock. The path here too changed with a narrower one with more trees surrounding you. Another 500 metres I think making it a 3 km trek after reaching the Mountain Viewpoint. There were many rocks laid down there with people all around them clicking pictures with the breathtaking view around.
One huge boulder was there in the middle of the spot with just one guy on top of it. I too climbed the same to get the best view so far with the cameras and the bag. People guiding me to be careful as it was slippery and they saw me running almost all over the place to take all the shots I can of the place. It was wonderful but quite scary to stand on top of that rock, I tried to shout my name from the Echo Rock. Maybe there was some technical error that day as nothing got returned after trying twice.
After spending some time there I returned to unite with my friends and head back to Kodaikanal. And farewells as they go back to Bengaluru, but I was staying for another day. As Kodaikanal is not yet over and the day too. As I go for the cheapest and the best tour you can to visit all the places around Kodaikanal. Which I will be posting in the next one to give you guys the whole experience what you can expect on such tours. Also subscribe to my newsletter, to not miss any of the articles.