How to Visit Kodaikanal Without the Crowds

If you look up things to do in Kodaikanal, you’ll see the same recommendations everywhere such as the Kodai Lake, Coaker’s Walk, a pine forest plus a handful of viewpoints. They’re not wrong. Most of them are worth seeing.

But when everyone ends up at the same places, often around the same time, it changes how those places feel. By mid-morning, even the nicer spots can feel crowded enough that you’re more aware of the people than the place itself.  Most of this is avoidable. Here’s a very simple guide on how to get around it.

Start early. Earlier than you think you need to

Kodai in the early morning feels noticeably different. The roads are quieter, and most places like Coaker’s Walk or the roads around the lake feel less claimed. By mid-morning, post 10 AM, that atmosphere changes,  especially during peak season (April to June), around public holidays, and in December. Expect traffic on the ghats and crowded roads leading to most of the usual spots. 

Visit Kodaikanal on weekdays

Kodai, before it gets busy.

Kodai gets busier over weekends as we get quite a few day-trippers visiting from the plains and Kerala. It’s not always easy to take time off during the week for a Kodaikanal trip, but if you can manage it, the difference is noticeable. The same places feel far less crowded, and getting around is a lot easier.

Visit the pine forest, but go further out

The pine forests in Kodai are one of the most visited spots in Kodaikanal, given its frequent cameos in Tamil films and songs, and consequently is always full of people trying to recreate their own movie moment. This is especially true of the pine forests near Pillar Rocks and along the Golf Course. 

If you want a quieter experience, it’s worth driving further out, about 40 minutes to an hour away from town where you’ll find other stretches of pine forests, with fewer people, less noise, and a setting that feels less like a stop and more like somewhere you can stay for a while.

When I was a child, my family would whisk me and my sister off for picnics in pine forests on the weekend. After we ate, we’d walk through the woods with a stick, lifting pine needles off small, suspicious-looking bumps on the ground. Sometimes it would just be a pine cone. Sometimes it would be a grey-capped mushroom, which we’d take home, clean, and add into a kuzhambu or fry them for breakfast. This strange type of treasure fun is tremendous fun even if you don’t eventually take home anything.

Plan your days a little differently

There’s a tendency to try and fill every day with a packed itinerary with multiple stops, back-to-back viewpoints, and long drives squeezed into a single day or in two days but the result is that you will end up visiting the same places and usually at the same time as everyone else.

So when planning a Kodaikanal itinerary, it usually works better to split things out. One day can be for places closer to town such as the lake, Coaker’s Walk, and a few of the more accessible spots. Another can be set aside for going further out such as Mannavanur Lake, Kookal Lake, or even a hike up Perumal if you’re up for it which are all full-day trips. And then it helps to keep one day with no real plan at all, either simply staying in or walking around without trying to structure it too much.

If you’re looking to get away from the crowds, a hike up Perumal usually does the trick.

Spacing things out like this changes the pace of the trip more than you’d expect.

Ask your taxi driver where to go

If you’re getting around Kodai by taxi, it’s worth checking with your driver before heading to the usual spots. Most of them have been doing the same routes for years and will be able to suggest alternates. For instance, instead of Upper Lake View, you could head to City View. Instead of Silver Cascade, go further out to Thoothoor Falls (also known as Kookal Waterfalls). These aren’t exactly hidden, but they’re far less busy, and the experience of being there is completely different.

If you’re excited about an upcoming trip to Kodai, keep in mind that small changes like these make a noticeable difference. You end up spending less time in crowds, and more time actually enjoying where you are.