It’s raining, you’re in Kodaikanal, and the viewpoint you drove up to see is a wall of fog. This happens often here, especially outside the dry months, so it’s worth knowing what’s actually worth doing when the weather turns. So here are a few suggestions.
A quick note on timing, since most guides only talk about the summer monsoon: Kodai actually has two rainy spells. The southwest monsoon runs June to September and is heaviest in July, and then the northeast monsoon brings showers through October and November. So if you’re here in autumn and the sky is grey, you’re not unlucky, you’re just here in the second rainy season.
Walk to the nearest tea stall
Mist and rain are how Kodai normally is, so a light drizzle doesn’t mean your plans are off. Take an umbrella and walk to the nearest tea stall for a cup of tea, or if you’re a little more ambitious, duck into Coakers Walk to look out on an expanse of white mist. If it’s coming down properly, skip the walk and pick one of the others.
Take a drive
If you have a car or can hire a taxi, the rain makes for good driving.
If you love a long drive, head to Mannavanur. You go through thick sholas, then out onto hillsides, and the whole way it’s quiet and pretty to look at. There’s no viewpoint to reach and nothing to tick off, so a grey sky doesn’t cost you anything.
If you love waterfalls, drive to Silver Cascade, hopefully empty thanks to the rain, or Fairy Falls which is a small waterfall but tucked away in a quiet corner of Kodai - the Horticultural Research Station.
Visit a museum
For something a bit offbeat and properly indoors, head to the Shenbaganur Museum of Natural History, run by Sacred Heart College. It’s an old natural history collection with taxidermy (snakes, birds, a German shepherd), archaeological bits, and a gorgeous collection of local birds’ eggs and butterflies in every shade. The kind of place that’s more interesting than it has any right to be on a wet afternoon.
Head into town for food and a drink
If you want to be out of the house but out of the rain too, head into town. George’s Pizzeria is a good spot to settle in for a few hours during the day. If you’d rather have a drink while it pours outside, End of the Road at the Carlton Hotel is a warm, comfortable pub and lounge bar, and their chilli cheese sandwiches are worth ordering.
Stay in at Sunnyside Up
If you’re staying with us, a rainy day is a slow one, and we’ve set the place up for it.
Books: A rainy afternoon is the best possible excuse to start one. There are books all over the Airbnb, so you won’t have to look hard. You’ll find almost the entire Agatha Christie run, so you can work through Poirot and his little grey cells, Miss Marple quietly being the sharpest person in the room, and Tommy and Tuppence getting into trouble, in whatever order suits your mood. All of Harry Potter and all of Narnia, if the afternoon calls for a wardrobe to climb through. Almost all of Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising, which is the right kind of eerie for a grey sky, and the complete Joanne Harris, and the Ninth House trilogy. And every so often you find something you’d never have gone looking for: All My Friends Are Dead, The Bunny Suicides, Why Do Catholics Eat Fish on Friday?, Be More Vader, Botanical Curses and Poisons.
Puzzles and games: We keep a range of jigsaws, from a quick 100 pieces to a 1000-piece afternoon-eater for when the rain has properly set in. If you’d rather play against someone, there’s plenty to choose from, such as Battleship, Ludo and Jenga.
Tea by the fireplace: We provide a kettle and tea packets. Make a cup, sit in front of the fireplace, and stay in, warm and comfortable.
Colouring and painting: We provide paper, paints and pencils. You don’t have to be any good at it, and a slow rainy afternoon is the perfect excuse to make something just for the fun of it.
Ducks: From your room, you can look over to the entrance of the veggie garden, where a good downpour leaves a puddle. The ducks love it. Leave the door open and watch Idli, Chutney, Ingi and Podi splash around in the rain.
None of this is the trip you pictured when you booked, with the clear views and the photos. But a wet day in Kodai, spent well, is its own thing, and most people who slow down for one end up glad they did.
