A Visit to Courtrallam:

Courtrallm Falls - Whatever is left of it. This is what you get to see if you visit in Summer.

(For more information on the place look up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtallam)

Background:



My family was reuniting for mom's eldest brother's 80th birthday. So the various splinters of the vast family reunited for the occasion (That's another Story). A trip to Ayikudi via Tenkasi ensued and we got to meet up with Cousins, uncles and aunts; refreshed memories and generally caught up on the family gossip.

On the last day at Ayikudi, I rounded up a couple of nephews and made a plan to visit Courtrallam Falls. So we set off on the "Chirundu" as the mini buses here are called. Despite their small size, these buses were big enough to scrape sunshades and awnings on the old houses that lined the streets.

Upstream to the falls in the middle of the Jungle so to speak

Courtrallam is 6 km from Tenkasi, 58km from Tirunelveli, 64 km from Rajapalayam and 160 km from Madurai. The nearest Airport is Tuticorin 86 km away. Rail : Nearest railhead is Tenkasi, 6km from Courtallam. From here one can take a private auto, bus or share van to Courtallam. Tirunelveli junction has many trains coming in from Chennai, and Shengottai is another railhead on the Kollam- Madurai route.

A good 45 minutes later, we got off at the Courtrallam Falls. We had plenty of warnings about the time of the year being off season - meaning there would be no water. But chances are that we may not return to this place for a long timhe e to come, so we set forth anyways and despite the lack of water at the falls, the trip was worth it as a trek. We went up the hills behind the falls into the woods to see if we could find anything interesting and we were not disappointed. The place has plenty to offer an interested traveller in terms of the Flora and Fauna. Unfortunately we had only a couple of hours to spare and hence had to hurry. I sure hope to be back when there is plenty of water around!!!

A Garden Lizard (Above the Courtrallam Falls)

Golden Oriole

A Dragon Fly "Fly on the Rocks"

The stream that feeds the Fall - Above Courtrallam Falls.

One of the many Mini falls prior to the Giant Leap.