It was the 28th of April, and we were sitting in the office, realizing that most of us had no plans for the upcoming long weekend—thanks to Labour Day falling on the 1st of May. The work mood was already dead, and everyone was half in vacation mode.
That’s when we randomly decided: “Let’s go to Kodaikanal!”
The plan started with five of us—me, Aditya, Vinay, Abhay, and Nithin. We quickly split the tasks: I began looking for car rental options, while Abhay and Aditya took charge of finding a place to stay.
But clearly, we weren’t the only ones with this brilliant last-minute idea. Almost every Airbnb in Kodaikanal was either booked or absurdly overpriced. The car situation was worse—only 1–2 cars were available, that too at ridiculous rates. Luckily, I managed to pull a favor and arranged a car from a friend who rents vehicles.
As expected during long weekends, no one in the office was actually working. People were buzzing about their own plans—some heading to Coorg, others to Ooty. The bottom line? No one was staying back in Bangalore.
Finally, we managed to find a decent Airbnb in Kodaikanal. But just after we booked it, we got a call from the host saying the property “wasn’t available anymore.” He offered us another one that “belonged to a friend,” which was more expensive and clearly inferior in quality.
We’ve dealt with this Airbnb trick before—hosts use attractive photos to lure customers, only to redirect them to different properties (usually outside the app) to avoid platform commissions and increase rates. After some back-and-forth, we politely declined and started the search again.
Now, with just one day left, we had only the car figured out—and nothing else. That’s when another issue popped up: I realized I’d be the only one driving. Kodaikanal is around 460 km from Bangalore—roughly a 9-hour drive. I could manage the distance, but not with four non-drivers in the car. I’d be too exhausted to enjoy the views or explore once we got there.
So, we ditched the car idea and started looking into trains and buses.
Bus prices were insanely high, and trains were fully booked. Our last shot: Tatkal booking. We crossed our fingers and, to our surprise, managed to grab confirmed tickets. We were finally set!
That’s when Nithin had to back out due to health reasons. So now it was just four of us.
Eventually, we found another Airbnb—this one right in front of the Kodaikanal lake. It looked nice, was reasonably priced, and more importantly, available. We locked it in.
Our train was scheduled to depart around 7 PM, so we planned to leave office by 4 PM, head home, pack, and reach SMVT Railway Station by 6:30.
Just as we were about to leave, I received an SMS—the train was delayed by 4 hours. So we dumped our bags back in the office and resumed our legendary bakchodi session.
By 8 PM, we finally decided to head out. Since all of us lived within a 2–3 km radius, the plan was to pick everyone up on the way to the station.
Aditya booked a cab. He first picked up Abhay, then Vinay, and was on his way to get me when the cab driver got super annoyed about the multiple stops. He demanded extra money. We firmly told him, “Bhai, we’ve paid what the app says. That’s it.”
He got pissed and dropped everyone at Vinay’s place—and left.
Now, the three of them were stuck at Vinay’s, and I was waiting at my place with my bag packed. To make things worse, it had started drizzling. Auto drivers were refusing to go to the station, which was expected—SMVT is crowded and chaotic in the evenings, and it was peak hour.
After an hour of trying, I finally got an auto—but only after agreeing to pay ₹600 for a ride that usually costs ₹150–200. Same was the case for the others. Everyone ended up shelling out 500–600 bucks just to reach the station.
We all eventually made it, only to find out that the train was delayed by another hour.
After another hour of waiting, we boarded the train and settled into our seats. Thankfully, all four of us were in the same compartment. We were excited and started chatting and joking around. But the coach was full, and soon an uncle gave us the classic “keep it down, boys” speech. We lowered the volume and, soon after, everyone crashed for the night.
Day 1 – Reaching Kodai We woke up around 6 AM. Our plan was to get off at Madurai, have breakfast there, and then figure out our route to Kodaikanal.
On the way, the train stopped at Kodaikanal Road station. We were like, “Wait—isn’t this the stop for Kodai?” Technically, it is. Kodaikanal Road is about 80 km from the hill town. From there, you can hire a cab or take a bus uphill. But since we weren’t sure about the availability of transport from there and didn’t want to risk being stranded, we stuck to our original plan: get down at Madurai.
We reached Madurai around 9 AM. The moment we stepped out of the train, the heat hit us like a truck. Coming from Bangalore’s chill weather, we were sweating within minutes.
We asked around and were told to head to the bus stand to catch a bus to Kodaikanal. The bus stand was about 1 km from the railway station, so we hopped into an auto and got there.
After reaching Madurai bus stand, we asked around for the next bus to Kodaikanal—only to be told that the last one had left just 10 minutes ago. The next bus was scheduled in about an hour.
That worked out perfectly—we were starving anyway.
Right across from the bus stand, we found a decent enough pure veg restaurant. Nothing fancy, but it did the job. We grabbed a quick breakfast, rehydrated ourselves after the train ride and the heat, and made our way back to the bus stand just in time.
We boarded the bus to Kodaikanal—a 3-hour uphill journey through winding mountain roads. Naturally, we took the last row so all four of us could sit together and continue the nonsense we’d been spouting since the night before. The ride was bumpy, to say the least. At one point, we all looked at each other and said, “Thank god Nithin didn’t come—his back would’ve never survived this!”
Some of us dozed off midway, while others kept gazing out at the changing landscape. As the bus ascended, the air grew cooler, the views greener, and our excitement louder.
Finally, we arrived in Kodaikanal! The moment we stepped out, we felt the chill in the air—it was bliss. After the Madurai heat, the refreshing mountain breeze hit differently.
Well, almost all of us stepped out.
Just as I was about to get off, the bus suddenly started moving. I didn’t dare make a risky jump, so I had no choice but to go to the next stop. It wasn’t too far—about half a kilometer—so I hopped off there and walked back to reunite with the others.
Now that we were officially in Kodai, it was time to plan our sightseeing. We spoke to a few cab drivers standing near the bus stand, got an idea of the common tourist spots, and took down a few phone numbers.
We told one cabbie to stay on standby—we’d start our sightseeing by 5 PM. It was around 2 PM at that point, so we had some time to kill.
Luckily, we were standing right next to the famous Kodaikanal Lake. Our Airbnb was just a 10-minute walk away, along the lakeside road. But first—snacks.
We spotted some local vendors selling roasted corn, raw mango slices with chili-salt mix, and freshly cut pineapple. One bite into that pineapple and we were sold. It was incredibly sweet and juicy—unlike any we’d had before.
We didn’t stop at one. Or two. Between the four of us, we must have polished off at least 5–10 pineapples. We just kept buying more. The vendor was amused, and probably grateful too. Honestly, that pineapple deserves a Michelin star.
After about half an hour of feasting on nature’s candy, we decided to finally check into our Airbnb.
We called the property manager, who was already waiting for us. He handed over the keys and showed us around.
The property didn’t disappoint—two clean, cozy rooms perfect for the four of us, a nice sitting area, and a great location just off the lake. We were more than satisfied. After the chaos of the last 48 hours, it finally felt like vacation mode had officially begun.
After settling into our Airbnb and freshening up, we headed out to explore Kodaikanal.
Our cab driver arrived—and here comes a story worth telling. The man was a gem. A cheerful Christian fellow who told us how he gave up drinking after “coming under the light of God.” His energy was infectious, and we knew this trip was going to be special with him around.
Our first destination was Vattakanal Waterfalls.
The moment we reached, we were greeted by the sound of rushing water and the cool mist of the falls. The stream was freezing—we didn’t get fully into the water, but even dipping our feet gave us chills (the good kind). We spent some time clicking photos and shooting videos, soaking in the view—both literally and figuratively.
Next, we set out for the Dolphin’s Nose Viewpoint. The trail involved a short but slightly steep downhill hike. However, by the time we got there, it was already past 5 PM, and the entry was closed. Bit of a bummer.
But not for long—we noticed another nearby viewpoint just a short walk away. The view was almost the same—misty mountains, deep valleys, and layers of clouds rolling over the hills. We started with solo photo sessions (naturally), and then decided to get a group photo.
We asked a bystander for help, and just as we posed, we heard a laugh that sounded too familiar.
We turned around—and lo and behold—it was a colleague from our office! She was also vacationing in Kodaikanal, completely unaware that we were there too. It was such a fun, random moment. She photobombed our group photo perfectly, joined us for a quick picture, and then went on her way. Small world, right?
After that little surprise, we made our way to Altaf Café.
It’s a small, cozy spot perched on the edge of the hills, offering a mist-covered view of the valley below. The place had a relaxed vibe, perfect for unwinding. We ordered some light snacks and tea, and just sat there—chatting, laughing, and enjoying the cool weather and scenic views. It was the kind of moment you want to hit pause on.
Food, Fog & a Birthday Twist As dusk turned to night, we headed back to our Airbnb to freshen up and relax for a bit. For dinner, we decided to try Hilltop Woodlands Inn, a pure vegetarian restaurant nearby.
The place had a clean, homely ambiance and served pretty good North Indian food—which, after all the travel, tasted amazing. Rich curries, hot rotis, and that comforting spice hit the spot.
But no meal is truly complete without dessert, right?
We found a small ice cream parlour nearby and decided to treat ourselves. They had a surprisingly good variety for such a tiny outlet, and as we were sampling different flavors, someone suddenly remembered—“Wait, wasn’t it Vinay’s birthday a few days back?”
And just like that, it turned into a mini celebration.
We ordered an ice cream cake, sang a very uncoordinated birthday song for him, and dug in. It was simple, spontaneous, and super sweet—literally and emotionally.
With happy bellies and happier hearts, we walked back to our Airbnb, laughing about everything that had happened that day—from near-missed waterfalls to surprise office reunions to birthday ice cream.
We finally crashed into our beds, tired but content. Day one in Kodai was a wrap.
Day two in Kodaikanal started very early. Our mission? Book Tatkal train tickets for the return journey.
Now, booking Tatkal tickets with slow internet is like running a 100m sprint with one leg tied. So we roped in some friends from Bangalore and Gurgaon to help with the booking process. Ironically, our plan worked a little too well—both me and my friend managed to book the tickets successfully, and we ended up overbooking. Classic us.
By the time all that chaos settled, it was already 10 AM, and we were still in bed.
We freshened up and skipped a proper breakfast—just munched on a couple of energy bars. Our cab driver (the same cheerful man from day one) was running quite late that morning, so we took the opportunity to sit by the lake, soak in the peaceful vibes, and enjoy the crisp morning air. It was calm, quiet, and a perfect start to the day.
Once the cab arrived, we started our sightseeing for the day.
Our first stop was the Kodaikanal Golf Course—a lush green stretch that looked straight out of a postcard. Even if you’re not into golf, it’s a beautiful place to walk around, take in the views, and of course, click some nice photos. We did all three.
Next, we drove to Suicide Point—officially renamed Green Valley View (but let’s be honest, no one calls it that). Unfortunately, the viewpoint was completely covered in clouds, so visibility was pretty low, but the misty air added a kind of dreamy touch to the surroundings.
From there, we moved on to Pillar Rocks and the Pillar Rock Flower Garden.
These massive vertical rock formations were wrapped in clouds—it looked absolutely surreal. One moment the rocks would be hidden, and the next, the clouds would clear just enough to reveal the towering cliffs. It was one of those sights you just stand and admire. We spent a good amount of time here clicking photos, especially with the flowers around the garden adding a burst of color.
Then came the Pine Forest Road, one of the more iconic and Instagram-worthy spots in Kodaikanal. Tall pine trees lined up neatly on either side of the path, with soft needles carpeting the ground—it felt straight out of a movie set.
Our final stop for the day was Guna Cave, made famous by the Kamal Haasan movie Guna. We were excited to see it—until we arrived.
It felt like half of Bangalore had shown up there.
The place was absolutely packed. We could barely move, let alone enjoy the scenery or take photos. Within minutes, we knew it wasn’t worth the struggle. We took a quick look at the cave area from afar, snapped a couple of hurried pictures, and decided to leave before we got completely swallowed by the crowd.
It was a bit of a letdown, but hey—not every spot can be a win during a long weekend.
After finishing up at Guna Cave, we decided to explore the rural side of Kodaikanal, especially the step farming areas near Poomparai village. It was going to be a long ride through winding mountain roads, and by then we were super hungry—we hadn’t had a proper breakfast or lunch.
We asked our cab driver to stop at any pure veg restaurant on the way. He pulled into a decent-looking place called Woody’s Cafeteria. It had glass walls, a clean interior, and seemed nice at first glance.
We ordered Italian food—pizza and pasta—and asked our driver to join us for lunch too, telling him to order whatever he liked. His food came out first—typical South Indian dishes—while we were still waiting for ours.
What happened next completely killed the vibe.
Turns out, Woody’s had a weird policy: they had separate seating areas for Indian and Italian food, and you couldn’t bring Indian food into the Italian section. A waiter came over and rudely told our cab driver he wasn’t allowed to sit there with his food.
Naturally, our driver got upset and tried to reason with them. But things escalated fast. Harsh words were exchanged between the restaurant staff, the owner, and our cab driver. Realizing the scene was heating up, we tried to defuse the situation. We told the staff to just parcel our food, and we’d eat it in the cab.
But no—since we had already prepaid, the owner refused to cancel or parcel the order. And the shouting only got louder.
At this point, we’d had enough. We tried to calm our cab driver down and convinced him to leave. As we drove off, he asked, “Did you at least get your refund?” We didn’t want to trigger him again, so we said yes—even though we hadn’t. But he immediately saw through our lie, turned the vehicle around, and parked it right in the middle of the narrow mountain road, blocking traffic in both directions.
Suddenly, we were causing a full-on traffic jam.
Other taxi drivers and bus drivers got out of their vehicles, yelling in Tamil. But once our cabbie explained the situation, they rallied behind him. One of them even dragged the restaurant owner by the collar out to the street. The crowd was this close to beating him up—but we stepped in just in time to stop it.
We politely told the restaurant owner, “Let’s not escalate this further. Just give us our food, and we’ll leave peacefully.” Still, he refused.
Soon, the police arrived. They questioned both the owner and our cab driver. After a lot of shouting, back-and-forth drama, and a full-on mountain road traffic crisis… we left without our food.
Our cab driver, still fuming, vowed to make sure the restaurant never gets business again—especially from the Kodaikanal taxi union. He felt guilty that we were hungry and that the whole incident ruined part of our trip. So, in true local-hero fashion, he took us on a mini food tour of his friends’ places.
One had great hot soup, another served crispy dosas, and each stop made up for the unpleasantness at Woody’s. We probably made 3-4 stops, grabbing small bites and chatting with friendly locals. We even stopped at the local police station to officially file a complaint against the restaurant—because, well, justice matters.
Finally, the Calm: Poomparai Village & Owl Hollow Stays Eventually, we reached Poomparai Village, a small and peaceful town surrounded by lush green hills and terraced step farms. The weather was pleasant, the air was clean, and we finally felt like we could breathe again.
We walked around, soaking in the views and clicking some photos. The landscape was incredibly beautiful, and the village had a serene, almost meditative vibe. If you’re ever in Kodaikanal and want a quiet weekend escape, this is the place to be. There were a few camping sites here too—perfect for a night under the stars.
On our way back, we stopped at a lovely wooden homestay called Owl Hollow Stays. Built in a rustic style with wood interiors and large windows, it offered an amazing view of the surrounding valley. We didn’t stay there, but it’s definitely going on our list for the next trip.
After the chaos at Woody’s and a long, emotionally charged day, we were exhausted by the time we returned to Kodaikanal. It was around 8 PM when we reached back, and the first thing on our minds was food.
We asked our cab driver to drop us at Hotel Astoria Veg, a place I had noticed earlier and remembered for its great reviews online. It looked promising from the outside—but the moment we stepped in, things started going downhill again.
First, we had to wait over 30 minutes just to get a table. The place was jam-packed, clearly short-staffed, and once seated, it took another 30 minutes before anyone even came to take our order. The waiter who finally did was rude, impatient, and made the whole experience feel worse.
We ordered a few light dishes, but unfortunately, the food was pretty underwhelming. At that point, though, we were so hungry that we didn’t care—we just ate what we could and called it a night.
Day 3: Work, Wander & The Calm After the Storm
We woke up early the next day, but it wasn’t exactly a vacation morning. There was a production issue at work, so Aditya and Vinay had to get on their laptops and troubleshoot. That meant a slow start to the day, and we decided to just stay in the Airbnb for the time being.
After a while, boredom kicked in, so Abhay and I decided to step out and explore a bit. We walked around the lake area, and stumbled upon a 7D theater nearby. It sounded fun, so we bought tickets and watched a 15-minute 7D movie—full of effects, motion, wind, and sound. It was short but actually quite fun and refreshing!
Soon, Vinay wrapped up his work and joined us. The three of us headed to the boathouse, rented a pedal boat, and spent some peaceful time boating on the lake. Surrounded by hills, mist, and calm waters, it was just what we needed after the chaos of the previous day.
The whole experience was relaxing and therapeutic, giving us a chance to just breathe, laugh, and soak in the beauty of Kodaikanal Lake—one of those simple moments that quietly become your favorite part of the trip.
Even on our last day, we still didn’t have a ride confirmed to get back to Kodai Road Railway Station. This time, we decided on Kodai Road instead of Dindigul, since it was closer and more convenient.
So, we packed up and walked around to find a cab that could take us to the station. After some searching, we finally found a cab and started our journey back down the hills.
Our driver turned out to be a really nice and humble guy. We had a heartfelt conversation with him about his son’s education, future career paths, and how he wanted his son to study hard and not follow in his footsteps as a cab driver. It was one of those unexpectedly genuine conversations that stay with you.
On the way, we stopped at a small pure veg restaurant for lunch—and to our surprise, we ran into Sunny from our PV team, who was there with his family. Even more of a coincidence: we were on the same train back.
When we reached the railway station, the cab fare was ₹2200, and we decided to give him a ₹300 tip, rounding it off to ₹2500. But by mistake, Abhay transferred ₹2800 instead. We all just laughed and said, “Well, guess he deserves a ₹600 tip!”
At the station, we met up with Sunny again, and also got to say hi to his adorable son. While we waited for our train, we were sitting at the entrance of the station, just chilling and chatting.
But right before boarding, as we moved to Platform 2, Abhay suddenly realized he had left his bag back on Platform 1. He and Vinay sprinted back to retrieve it while Aditya and I stayed put. Thankfully, they got it just in time.
We boarded our train, found our seats, and were relieved to see that all four of us were seated together. Sunny had an RAC ticket, so technically he had only one confirmed berth, but we invited him to hang out with us anyway.
We played UNO and regular card games for hours, laughing and chatting late into the night. Of course, Aditya still had OpsGenie calls even on the train—classic!
At some point, an uncle nearby complained that we were too loud and that the lights were disturbing him. So we quieted down, and ingeniously hooked a blanket at the end of our compartment to block the light. Surprisingly, it worked perfectly.
Goodbye, Kodai By the time we called it a night, it was already early morning. Around 4 AM, we deboarded at Karmelaram Station, took an auto back home, and finally brought our journey to a close.
It was a fun, chaotic, heartfelt trip filled with unexpected moments, great conversations, some drama, and lots of laughter. We were glad we went, explored a new place, made some memories—and had one more travel story to tell.
