The Kodaikanal–Munnar Road (old SH-18) was located in Dindigul District of Tamil Nadu and Idukki district of Kerala in South India. It covers from Kodaikanal to Munnar. The road was improved by the British in 1942 as an evacuation route in preparation for a possible Japanese invasion of South India. With a maximum elevation of just south of Vandaravu Peak, it was among the highest roads in India, south of the Himalayas, prior to its closure in 1990.Doddabetta, the highest mountain in the Nilgiri Hills, at , has road access to the summit.
History
In 1864 Douglas Hamilton submitted a report stating that the Berijam Swamp area was the best site in the Palani Hills for a military cantonment or sanatorium. p. 155 "Let but the lake be reconstructed and a road made to it, and this magnificent sheet of water . . . will of itself attract residents to its vicinity. "The Fort Hamilton military outpost, later built there, was named for him.
In 1900 the Kundale Road and Tramway between Munnar and Top Station was completed by the Kanan Devan Hills Produce Company. The road runs down the valley of the Kundale River. The road was built wide of which was metaled. The sharpest curve was and the steepest gradient was 1 in 30. There were 22 timber bridges between and span. By 1905 the timber bridges were being replaced by steel and concrete structures.
In 1915, Law's Ghat road, opened Kodaikanal to cars, trucks, and buses coming from Batlagundu. In 1925, a second ghat road was started from Berijam Lake to Top Station, connecting with Munner, Kerala and eventually Cochin, a total distance of . This was an extraordinarily slow dirt road, taking about eleven hours to reach Cochin. The road was impassable during and after heavy rains.
In 1942, during World War II, Madras City was bombed by the Japanese but the physical damage was negligible, though the public response was major and the city was evacuated because of fears of subsequent Japanese bombing and invasion. Many rich families from Madras moved permanently to the hill stations in fear, while poor people were evacuated to both nearby and far-flung villages that lay along the railways.Memories of Madras--the Summer of 1942 In 1942 in preparation for a possible Japanese invasion of India, the British began improvements to the road to facilitate its use as an evacuation route from Berijam Lake (Fort Hamilton) near Kodaikanal along the southern crest of the Palani Hills to Top Station. It was then called "The Escape Road". Existing roads then continued to Munnar and down to Cochin where ships would be available for evacuation out of India. G.Venkataraman, Radio Sai, Volume 4 - Issue 07, Kodai, Some History And Geography (July 2006)
A far more probable reason for building this road was to secure the "top station" of a Munnar tea exporting rope-way (at Top Station, then in Madras Presidency) by providing a motorable route from Madras Presidency.
The road was operative till 1990 but was ignored by both the Tamil Nadu Forest Department and the Kerala Highways Department in a dispute over its inter-state ownership. The old road is now in disrepair and overgrown with vegetation in some places. It is used as a logging trail and as a walking trail by local villagers and trekkers. Encounters with wild animals including bison, elephants, Leeches and leopards sometimes occur on the trail.
Old route
The road begins as Club Road at elevation on the bund at Kodaikanal Lake, climbing west as Upper Shola road and forking left as Pillar Rocks road. It has very good dream Nelly the Green Valley View, (formerly called Suicide Point) at km 5.5, Kodaikanal Golf Club at km 6, Pillar Rocks Viewpoint at km 6.5
and Moir Point at km 9.3. At this point of elevation the road forks, with the left fork going towards Berijam, and Munnar. The right fork is the "Goschen Road" to the villages of Poombarai and Kukkal northwest of this place. Extensions to Mannavanur (junction), and Kavunji, together with a connecting road to Berijam Lake from near Kavunji, create a loop of about length, the "Forty Mile Round". In 1929, Sir Thomas Moir "turned the first sod", beginning construction of the "Goschen Road" which was completed in 1932. This event is memorialised with a monument at "Moir Point", located near to the junction of the roads to Berijam Lake, Poomparai and Kodaikanal.
Just past this junction is a Forest Department checkpost, which controls entry into the Allinagaram Reserve forest through which the road passes west to Berijam Lake and beyond. This area is part of the proposed Palani Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park. Beyond km marker 13 on the Berijam road there is a firewatching tower from where one may have a fine view of the secluded Berijam Lake and the surrounding forest. At km 21 at elevation, Berijam has a Forest Department Camp including an Eco-Education Center for visitors. Nature areas to be visited here include: swamp ecosystem, fresh water ecosystem, nature trail, bridge, medicinal demonstration garden, museum, nature walk, grassland and shola. This camp also is the site of an old two-story brick building, partly damaged and blackened over the years, with a bright yellow painted name reading "Britisher's Transit Camp". This is one of several transit camps built during World War II for British soldiers to rest along the British "Escape Route" from Kodaikanal via Top Station and Munnar to Cochin. While most of the transit camps are now either dilapidated or demolished, the one at Berijam is still used as a Forest Rest house. At this point an old road, now just a trail, forks off to the north for down to Kavunji village at elevation.
West of Berijam Lake, the road is closed for public vehicles and not maintained. Though the road is heavily damaged and overgrown till the Kerala border, it is well maintained within Kerala past Top Station.
The road meanders southwest and passes south of Konalar Dam and reservoir at km 25. It then continues southwest and around the south side of a hill at km 31, then northwest around Ibex peak and through a shallow pass at km 34. 1.5 km over a hill past a rest house, it passes down across a bridge over Kathirikkai Odei (the Second Trout Stream). There is a path from there up along the stream to a waterfall on the stream. The road then proceeds northwest, bridges the Pulavachiar river at km 39, makes a loop north and then passes south along the east side of Vandaravu Peak. The road crosses its highest point of just south of Vandaravu Peak at km 50 where it crosses the Kerala state boundary and enters Pampadum Shola National Park.
The road then proceeds sharply down to the southwest through 17 hairpin turns to Top Station (Again Tamil Nadu) at elevation at km 60. Here the road becomes Kerala SH-18 and is well maintained, passing by extensive tea plantations to Munnar. There is public bus service between kodaikanal to kilavarai, vattavada to munnar, the distance between kilavarai and vattavada is 17 km no bus service
Access
Berijam is located at the end of Pillar Rocks Road (old SH-18), southwest of Kodaikanal Lake. There were two roads from Berijam, one to Munnar town, about west and another to Kavunji village, north. The old roads are now overgrown with vegetation and are used only as walking trails by local villagers and trekkers. Encounters with wild animals including bison, leopards, elephants, tigers sometimes occur on these trails.
The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has restricted entry into the Berijam Lake area to between 9.30 a.m. and 3 p.m. for the general public. An entry permit (free) is required and can be obtained in person at the Forestry Department Office in Kodaikanal. Only ten permits are given each day, so early application the previous day is advised for timely access to the road west of Muir Point.
Tourists contact: (before 11:30 a.m.) Government of Tamil Nadu, Tourist Office, Annasalai, Kodaikanal 624 101, Tamil Nadu, India. Phone: 04542-241675.
Trekking Trekkers and researchers must get advance permission from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department and the Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department to travel along the route of the old road. A pamphlet, "Sholas For Survival", available from the District Forest Office, Kodaikanal describes 17 local treks ranging from leisurely walks to challenging day-long treks. This booklet provides a trekking map of the Palani Hills and details the degree of difficulty for each trek.District Collectorate, Dindigul, National Informatics Centre, Description of Trekking Routes
Rivers The Kodaikanal–Munnar Road crosses several rivers between Berijam and Top Station. There are no river crossings between Moir point and Berijam. Rivers that are crossed, traveling east to west include:
Berijam River is crossed at , immediately before Berijam Camp. Konalur River is crossed at , just south of Konalur Reservoir. Konalur River II (for lack of correct name) is crossed at , just west of Konalur River. Road recrosses Pulakachar at , SW of 1st crossing. Sebastian Odai is crossed at . This stream originates south, near Marian Shola Bungalow. First Trout Stream (proper name =?) is crossed at , just before the Forest Department Hut and other Forest Department buildings.
Kathirikkai Odei (the Second Trout Stream) is crossed at , after the Forest Dept Hut. It has small pool above a waterfall just south of the road crossing. This stream flows northeast where it is joined by the First Trout Stream, then north to join the Sebastian Odai which in joins the Poondi Stream. Unnamed tributary is crossed at , just before Pulavachiar Forest Quarters. This stream originates SW, just above a waterfall, in the farthest SW corner of the Palani Hills. Pulavachiar River crosses the road at , past the Pulavachiar Forest Quarters, near milestone: "Top Station 12". This is below the final climb up to Vunderavu hut. The river flows north, is joined by several tributaries, including the Poondi/Kavunji? stream and flows down the valley between Polur and Kilavarai. Just west of Kumbur, it becomes the major tributary of the Kumbur River which drops into Manjampatti Valley, passing Mungulpalum village and joining the Ten Ar river at Manjampatti Village. The road crosses small unnamed tributaries 4 times, north of Pulavachiar crossing. The road crosses only one small unnamed stream at , during its descent from Vandaravu to Top Station.
Most of these stream crossings still have stone and/or concrete bridges.
Shelters There are several structures on or near the road which may be available for overnight use by trekkers. Proceeding east to west, they are: The Forest Dept. checkpost at near Muir Point after Km 9 is not for overnight use but may offer temporary daytime shelter during a rain shower. Green Hut is an old Forest Dept. bungalow at near km 14, which has been used for overnight camping since at least 1943. It will be renovated soon. The Fire lookout tower at just past km 13, before Berijam lake, has a roofed hexagon structure not meant for overnight use but can offer short term safety from Gaur and elephants. There is a Forest Rest House at Berijam Lake, first developed as a British Transit Camp, at , at km 23, with limited accommodations, which serves as an overnight base camp for Forestry Department staff, researchers and trekkers. Trekkers must get advance permission to stay overnight there. Visitors must bring their own provisions, but cooking facilities are available.
There are two huts at a place variously called Marian Shola Bungalow and Sebastian Camp on a trail south of the road at . These are shown on the Army map. The bungalow there was fixed up several years ago and equipped with flush toilets and an elephant ditch was built around it. There is a separate kitchen building out back.