Kochi to Kodaikanal in a Tempo Traveller: Crossing the State Line, and the Hairpins You Have to Pick

Kodaikanal is the hill trip where you cross a state line and climb a road with more bends than you want to count.

266 km from Aluva, and the last stretch is the part that decides whether the day goes well. There are two roads up the Palani Hills and they are not the same drive at all.

The road

Out of Kochi and north-east on NH 544 towards Thrissur and Palakkad, then across the state line and down towards the Kodaikanal range. Routing calls it 4 hours 5 to the town.

That figure is measured on a good day. Add a group, a lunch stop and the climb, and five hours is realistic.

Then comes the choice that matters.

The Palani road — climbing up from the Palani side through the Batlagundu approach — is the classic Kodaikanal ghat. It has the hairpins, the steep sections and the views that people photograph. It is also the road that turns a queasy passenger green.

The Theni road comes up from the south-east. It is longer in distance, gentler in gradient, and considerably easier on anyone prone to carsickness.

Ask your driver which they plan to use. If your group includes children or anyone who suffers in the hills, say so and ask for Theni.

The permit

Kodaikanal is in Tamil Nadu. Your tempo traveller is a Kerala-registered tourist vehicle, and that means an interstate RTO permit applies to the trip.

The permit is charged in addition to the package rate. We arrange it as part of the booking; you do not need to do anything except know that it is a separate line and not an error on your invoice.

This applies to our Kodaikanal, Madurai, Kanyakumari and Rameswaram trips. Anywhere that stays inside Kerala does not need one.

What it costs

A 12 seater tempo traveller:

• 3 Nights / 4 Days — ₹12,000, 400 km included
• 4 Nights / 5 Days — ₹15,000, 500 km included

Driver allowance is ₹700 per day extra, so ₹2,800 on the four-day trip. Extra km is ₹23, plus the interstate permit.

The round trip is roughly 532 km, billed garage to garage. Against 400 included km that is around 132 km over — about ₹3,000 at ₹23 on top of the permit. Kodaikanal is a long way out of Kerala, and this is why the allowance is worth discussing when we quote rather than at the end.

What there is to do

Kodai Lake is the centre of the town — star-shaped, with a walking path around it and boats. Go early, before the crowds.

Coaker’s Walk is a paved path along the edge of a ridge with a long view down to the plains. On a clear morning the view is worth the small ticket. On a misty one you will see grey.

Pillar Rocks and Bryant Park fill out a day. Bear Shola Falls is a short trek and seasonal.

Dolphin’s Nose is the one for a group that wants a real walk — it is a proper hike to a viewpoint over the plains, and it is not for anyone in sandals.

The cold

Nobody expects this in a Kerala trip, so here it is plainly: Kodaikanal gets cold. December and January nights drop close to 8°C, sometimes lower, and the town is at about 2,100 m. Bring layers. A group that packs for Kerala’s coast and arrives here spends the evening buying shawls.

The town centre is small and the roads around the lake get congested by mid-morning. Telling your driver to drop you at one end and walk is usually faster than driving the loop, and it saves arguing about parking.

When to come

October to March is the season, and the cold is the trade-off for the clear views.

April and May are the warm months up here, which is when the town is busiest with Indian holidaymakers.

June to August is monsoon with heavy mist; September is green and quiet.

Booking the trip

Tell us your dates, your group size and whether anyone is prone to carsickness, and we will confirm the van and the rate against the actual plan — including the interstate permit and what 266 km each way means for your kilometre allowance.

Call +91 70343 01815, or book online and we will come back to you with the confirmed quote.