Kodaikanal–Munnar Road

In 1864 Douglas Hamilton submitted a report stating that the Berijam Swamp area was the best site in the Palani Hills for a military cantonment or sanatorium. "Let but the lake be reconstructed and a road made to it, and this magnificent sheet of water . . . will of itself attract residents to its vicinity. "The Fort Hamilton military outpost, later built there, was named for him. In 1900 the Kundale Road and Tramway between Munnar and Top Station was completed by the Kanan Devan Hills Produce Company. The road runs down the valley of the Kundale River. The road was built wide of which was metaled. The sharpest curve was and the steepest gradient was 1 in 30. There were 22 timber bridges between and span. By 1905 the timber bridges were being replaced by steel and concrete structures. though the public response was major and the city was evacuated because of fears of subsequent Japanese bombing and invasion. Many rich families from Madras moved permanently to the hill stations in fear, while poor people were evacuated to both nearby and far-flung villages that lay along the railways. In 1942 in preparation for a possible Japanese invasion of India, the British began improvements to the road to facilitate its use as an evacuation route from Berijam Lake (Fort Hamilton) near Kodaikanal along the southern crest of the Palani Hills to Top Station. It was then called "The Escape Road". Existing roads then continued to Munnar and down to Cochin where ships would be available for evacuation out of India. A far more probable reason for building this road was to secure the "top station" of a Munnar tea exporting rope-way (at Top Station, then in Madras Presidency) by providing a motorable route from Madras Presidency. The road was operative till 1990 but was ignored by both the Tamil Nadu Forest Department and the Kerala Highways Department in a dispute over its inter-state ownership. ==Old route==

The road begins as Club Road at elevation on the bund at Kodaikanal Lake, climbing west as Upper Shola road and forking left as Pillar Rocks road. It has very good dream Nelly the Green Valley View, (formerly called Suicide Point) at km 5.5, Kodaikanal Golf Club at km 6, Pillar Rocks Viewpoint at km 6.5 and Moir Point at km 9.3. At this point of elevation the road forks, with the left fork going towards Berijam, and Munnar. The right fork is the "Goschen Road" to the villages of Poombarai and Kukkal northwest of this place. Extensions to Mannavanur (junction), and Kavunji, together with a connecting road to Berijam Lake from near Kavunji, create a loop of about length, the "Forty Mile Round". In 1929, Sir Thomas Moir "turned the first sod", beginning construction of the "Goschen Road" which was completed in 1932. This event is memorialised with a monument at "Moir Point", located near to the junction of the roads to Berijam Lake, Poomparai and Kodaikanal. Just past this junction is a Forest Department checkpost, which controls entry into the Allinagaram Reserve forest through which the road passes west to Berijam Lake and beyond. This area is part of the proposed Palani Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park. Beyond km marker 13 on the Berijam road there is a firewatching tower from where one may have a fine view of the secluded Berijam Lake and the surrounding forest. The road meanders southwest and passes south of Konalar Dam and reservoir at km 25. It then continues southwest and around the south side of a hill at km 31, then northwest around Ibex peak and through a shallow pass at km 34. 1.5 km over a hill past a rest house, it passes down across a bridge over Kathirikkai Odei (the Second Trout Stream). There is a path from there up along the stream to a waterfall on the stream. The road then proceeds northwest, bridges the Pulavachiar river at km 39, makes a loop north and then passes south along the east side of Vandaravu Peak. The road crosses its highest point of just south of Vandaravu Peak at km 50 where it crosses the Kerala state boundary and enters Pampadum Shola National Park. The road then proceeds sharply down to the southwest through 17 hairpin turns to Top Station (Again Tamil Nadu) at elevation at km 60. Here the road becomes Kerala SH-18 and is well maintained, passing by extensive tea plantations to Munnar. There is public bus service between kodaikanal to kilavarai, vattavada to munnar, the distance between kilavarai and vattavada is 17 km no bus service ==Access==

Berijam is located at the end of Pillar Rocks Road (old SH-18), southwest of Kodaikanal Lake. There were two roads from Berijam, one to Munnar town, about west and another to Kavunji village, north. The old roads are now overgrown with vegetation and are used only as walking trails by local villagers and trekkers. Encounters with wild animals including bison, leopards, elephants, tigers sometimes occur on these trails. ==Trekking==

Trekkers and researchers must get advance permission from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department and the Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department to travel along the route of the old road. A pamphlet, "Sholas For Survival", available from the District Forest Office, Kodaikanal describes 17 local treks ranging from leisurely walks to challenging day-long treks. This booklet provides a trekking map of the Palani Hills and details the degree of difficulty for each trek. ==Rivers==

The Kodaikanal–Munnar Road crosses several rivers between Berijam and Top Station. There are no river crossings between Moir point and Berijam. Rivers that are crossed, traveling east to west include: • Berijam River is crossed at , immediately before Berijam Camp. • Konalur River is crossed at , just south of Konalur Reservoir. • Konalur River II (for lack of correct name) is crossed at , just west of Konalur River. • Road recrosses Pulakachar at , SW of 1st crossing. • Sebastian Odai is crossed at . This stream originates south, near Marian Shola Bungalow. • First Trout Stream (proper name =?) is crossed at , just before the Forest Department Hut and other Forest Department buildings. • Kathirikkai Odei (the Second Trout Stream) is crossed at , after the Forest Dept Hut. It has small pool above a waterfall just south of the road crossing. This stream flows northeast where it is joined by the First Trout Stream, then north to join the Sebastian Odai which in joins the Poondi Stream. • Unnamed tributary is crossed at , just before Pulavachiar Forest Quarters. This stream originates SW, just above a waterfall, in the farthest SW corner of the Palani Hills. • Pulavachiar River crosses the road at , past the Pulavachiar Forest Quarters, near milestone: "Top Station 12". This is below the final climb up to Vunderavu hut. The river flows north, is joined by several tributaries, including the Poondi/Kavunji? stream and flows down the valley between Polur and Kilavarai. Just west of Kumbur, it becomes the major tributary of the Kumbur River which drops into Manjampatti Valley, passing Mungulpalum village and joining the Ten Ar river at Manjampatti Village. • The road crosses small unnamed tributaries 4 times, north of Pulavachiar crossing. • The road crosses only one small unnamed stream at , during its descent from Vandaravu to Top Station. Most of these stream crossings still have stone and/or concrete bridges. ==Shelters==

There are several structures on or near the road which may be available for overnight use by trekkers. Proceeding east to west, they are: • The Forest Dept. checkpost at near Muir Point after Km 9 is not for overnight use but may offer temporary daytime shelter during a rain shower. • Green Hut is an old Forest Dept. bungalow at near km 14, which has been used for overnight camping since at least 1943. It will be renovated soon. • There is a Forest Department Hut and other Forest Department buildings at at the first trout stream. Tamil Nadu Forest Dept. built the buildings to house Dept. staff who lived there while supervising wood cutting enterprises and road work crews. The laborers, mostly Sri Lankan Tamils, built temporary shacks of poles and matting. The shacks were abandoned when the cutters moved on to another area. near mile stone: "Top Station 12". This camp shows below a red star on the Army map. There is overnight shelter here for trekkers. • Vandaravu camp is two structures at on the north slope of Vandaravu Peak, as shown on the 1959 Army Map. ==Intersections==

There are several well established side roads and other intersecting minor trails which branch off from the Kodaikanal–Munnar Road. Most of these show as "other trails" on the 1959 Army map. Excluding Kodaikanal Municipal roads, going from east to west, the intersections are: • Kodai-Vellagavi footpath begins at at Pambar bridge near head of the Pambar river. Pambar Falls are nearby. Path descends steeply to Dolphins Nose, a dramatic perch over the Pambar valley below. A bridle path leads through Cardamom plantations, sholas and meadows leading to Vellagavi, an isolated old village with paved streets and a Muruga Temple. Footpath proceeds down west side of Vellagaviar River valley. The path becomes a dirt road along the river Vannathi odai. Kumbakarai Falls are at the bottom. Trekking distance is . Trekking time is 5 hours. ==Roadside forests==

The upper Palani Hills route of the Kodaikanal Munnar road is part of the Western Ghats of India. Some of the very rare and endangered plants and animals of India are found here. including intact relics of primary indigenous vegetation and a large number of non-native plants. The area is one of the 25 biodiversity hotspots of the world. The road originally passed through an area of frost-tolerant shola/montane grassland mosaic interspersed with pockets of stunted shola forests in the valleys. In 1900, 75% of the area of the Upper Palni Hills, was grassland. This shola/grasslands ecosystem was effective in conserving monsoon rainfall and letting it soak in to replenish the watertable for year-round release into the streams. From 1948 through the 1960s the Tamil Nadu Forest Department planted large areas of indigenous grasslands along the road with black wattle for producing tanning agents for use in the leather industry. blue gum (eucalyptus) and Mexican weeping pine were planted in order to provide a reliable alternative firewood supply to protect the native shola forests from cutting for firewood. The 1973 vegetation map shows these imported tree species already taking over the grasslands around the road. A detailed dynamic map of 2002 vegetation shows distribution of various plantation species that have replaced most of the grasslands and native evergreen forests. Another 2002 map of Palni Hills, showing distribution of wattle plantations, also shows wattle dominating the route of the Kodaikanal Munnar Road. These non-native species now dominate thousands of acres once dominated by native grasses. These extensive wattle plantations are sometimes blamed as the major cause of reduced soil moisture and stream flows across upper Palni catchments, though it is likely that reduced rainfall during the Southwest monsoon period, combined with a pattern of heavy downpours and longer dry spells between rain events in the non-monsoon months is also responsible. Wattle plantations in the upper Palanis seem to help regrowth of indigenous shola species and associated wildlife, and also reduce cutting of shola forests by providing superior fuel wood. It is probable that these old, non-productive plantations, that are slow-growing or partially invaded with native woody species, are similar to native forest in terms of water use. ==New route==

Though the old evacuation route is now impassable for vehicles, there remains a desire and need among farmers and tourists for a direct road link between Kodaikanal and Munnar. Straight-line distance from Kadavari to Kilavarai is . The new route is . This is the least improved section of a new Munnar–Kodaikanal Highway proposed by the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Ltd. This highway would provide a direct road link between the two popular hill stations of Munnar and Kodaikanal. The proposed road connects Vattavada (near Munnar) and Kadavari at the Kerala–Tamil Nadu border. Length of the proposed Vattavada - Kadavari Road is A extension of the above road from Kadavari to Kilavarai in Tamil Nadu is also proposed. The proposed road would reduce the travel distance between the two hill stations 41% from (via Kodaikanal – Perumal Malai – Mayiladum Parai – Mooliyaru – Oothu – Falls View – Ganguvarpatti – Kodai Ghat Road – Periyakulam – Theni – Bodinayakkanur – Bodimettu – Devikulam – Munnar) to , saving a driving distance of . It would provide a reliable link between the unimproved and unconnected rural communities of Vattavada and Kilavarai, improving the living standards of the people. Estimated cost of the project is Rs. 942 Million (2003 estimate). M/s Mecon Limited has completed the feasibility study and submitted the final report. ==Gallery==