5 Best Mountain Treks in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu, well known for its ancient temples and beaches, is also a great place for trekking enthusiasts, with both the eastern and western ghats stretching right into the state to converge at a point. The forests, rich with flora and fauna, have many mountain peaks jutting out that invite trekkers all around the year. The stunning western ghats and the scenic eastern ghats make Tamil Nadu a great place for mountain trekking. Here, we look at the five mountain trails that are most visited.
Kolli Hills Trek: Located in the Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu, the Kolli Hills mountain range offers one of the best and most challenging hiking trails in the state. The trek starts from a place called Semmedu and winds through scenic trails, dense forests and some beautiful waterfalls. The mesmerising Agaya Ganga waterfall enroute is the highlight of this wonderful trek route. Apart from the trekking trail, the road leading to the Kolli Hills town is known to offer great thrill with 70 hairpin curves in high altitude terrain.
Yelagiri Trek: It is a small hill station located in the Vellore district. The trek into the Yelagiri range of mountains starts from the Punganur lake and passes through picturesque trails, lush green valleys and some viewpoints. The Swamimalai hill, which often is the destination of many hikers, is the highlight of the trek route, offering some of the finest views of the ghats and the forests.
Kodaikanal Trek: Located in the Dindigul district of the state, Kodaikanal also known as Kodai, is a popular hill station. It offers some of the best hill trekking options and a large number of people visit the place for exclusive hiking activities. Kodaikanal lake is the starting point of the hike and the trail goes through scenic landscapes, meadows, dense forests and viewpoints offering stunning views of nature. The Dolphin’s Nose Viewpoint offering breathtaking views of surrounding forests and valleys is the highlight of this trekking trail.
Ooty Trek: Ooty, also known as Udagamandalam is a popular hill station destination in the state. The place is the headquarters of the Nilgiri district and is situated at over 6500 feet ASL. The trekking path to the mountains begins from the lake in the centre of the city and makes its way through tea plantations, forests, valleys and viewpoints. The Doddabetta peak which is the highest peak in the Nilgiri range is where the trek is headed to and it is the highlight of the entire trek with some of the stunning views around.
Vattakanal Trek: Vattakanal is located in the Dindigul district of the state and is near to the popular hill station Kodaikanal. Popularly known among trekkers as Vatta, it is also known as Little Israel due to the p[presence of a large number of Israeli tourists. The trekking trail passes through some of the most beautiful landscapes of the Kodai forests with the Vattakanal waterfall being the highlight. The cascading waters over the rocks make the location a great place to spend some quality time amidst nature.
