Dolphin nose is one of the famous landmarks at Kodaikanal and is around 8 Kms from the main city. Dolphin nose provides a bird’s eye view of the surrounding mountainous landscape and is a flat rock projecting from the face of the mountain.

On the second day of our trip to Kodaikanal, we planned to visit the Dolphin nose. We are staying at “Hotel Villa Retreat” which is very close to Coaker’s walk (Read my blog to know more about Coaker’s walk)

How to get to Dolphin’s point:

I have been to Dolphin’s nose couple of times. There are couple of options to reach this point.

  • One, you can drive for around 5 Kms from Coaker’s walk along the Golf Link Road (Kokaikanal Wax Museum would be on this road, and is a good landmark to confirm that you are on the right road) and park your car some 1 km from the point.
  • The other option is to trek to this point which is a 4 Km walk from Coaker’s walk. It is a decent trek and will take you around an hour to reach Dolphin nose. The trek would be a downhill walk and you would be advised to wear comfortable shoes as you would be walking through forest areas. You will find loads of small stall all along this trail selling snacks and hot beverages  that will keep you refreshed.

Route to Dolphin nose

Unlike last time when I had trekked to reach this point, this time around I chose to drive down to the nearest point and take it from there. Weather in Kodiakanal is unpredictable and you can expect the fog and clouds rolling up at any time of the day. Usually this time of the day, the visibility at Dolphin nose if pretty bad and we were preparing ourselves for the worse. We reached Dolphin nose at around 10:00 AM and it was a relief to see that the point was not covered with Fog.

Dolphin Nose 1
Dolphin nose from a distance. My wife took this photo while we were driving towards Dolphin nose. Notice that the sky is pretty clear and the entire landscape if bathing in the early morning sunshine.

The shape of the rock resembles the nose of a Dolphin and thus is called as the “Dolphin’s nose”. This point is at an elevations of around 6600 feet and is one of the central destinations for tourists visiting Kodaikanal. The summit offers an uninterrupted panoramic view of the valley and if you are lucky enough, on a clear day you might be able to see the Periyakulam Town and the Vaigai reservoir.

The weather at “Dolphin nose” can change dramatically within a matter of minutes. As we parked our car and started the walk downhill towards the point, the clouds started rolling in and the entire place became foggy and visibility became very low. My wife and I did not want to take any chances (our mistake, as we were not wearing the right footwear)  and returned to the point where we had parked the car.

The photos below will highlight how quickly the weather changes here 🙂

Dolphin Nose 2

The cliff that was basking in the morning sunshine now wore a gloomy look as the clouds started to roll

Dolphin Nose 3
Another shot of the clouds that were rolling in
Dolphin Nose 4
The clouds slowly covering the entire cliff
Dolphin Nose 5
The sun goes into the background
Dolphin Nose 6
Clouds covering the entire valley and rolling over “Dolphin nose”. This is the last photo where I could see the cliff
Dolphin Nose 7
You can hardly see “Dolphin nose” in this photo
Dolphin Nose 8
Dolphin nose no longer visible 🙂

Dolphin nose is best explored if you take the 4 Km trek and reach the edge of the cliff. It is a hair raising experience as you walk closer to the edge of the cliff and what keeps you going are the clouds that roll over you and the fresh air that your lungs is treated to 🙂

 

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