Kodaikanal

A narrow paved path running along the edge of a steep cliff, Coaker's Walk gives you open views of the valleys and hills dropping away below Kodaikanal on one side and the town on the other. On clear days you can see all the way down to the plains. On foggy days the clouds roll in across the path and you can barely see ten feet ahead, which is its own kind of experience. The whole walk takes about 20 minutes but most people linger far longer than that.

A star-shaped lake sitting at 2,285 metres, Kodaikanal Lake is the town's centrepiece and the place everyone ends up sooner or later. You can walk the 5 kilometre path around it, rent a pedal boat or rowboat, or just sit on the banks and watch the mist come and go. It is not a dramatic or overwhelming sight, just a genuinely lovely one, and the pine trees around the edges make it feel like nowhere else in South India.