Photography by Neville

Living on the edge

Kodaikanal, located in Tamil Nadu is also known as the Princess of Hill Stations. A very popular destination for tourists and locals from the plains especially when the summer months come along.

Silver Cascade through town

The tourism industry is the most important part of Kodaikanal’s economy. Most people have their own tea and snacks joints, taxis or cottages which they rent out to tourists.

A view of Kodai's houses

Kodaikanal is situated around 2,100 odd meters (6,998 feet) above sea level. It is surrounded by mountains which crop up all around you no matter where you go.

Kodai's Lake and Sky

A very popular tourist attraction is Kodai lake. You can take a ride in the pedal boats if you are the energetic type or have some row the boat for a price.

The view from Kodai Lake

Robby's Farm in the plains

There are many organic farms in the plains which grow a variety of vegetables and fruits.

Flowers in Bloom

Bryant’s park has an annual flower show thats worth taking a look at for the variety on display and also for the fair that occurs at the same time.

The looming trees of Kodai

The hill station is covered all over with meadows and Shola forests. A variety of trees like Pine, Eucalyptus can be found here.

Diving into the mountains

Dolphin’s nose is a little cliff that juts out from a mountain and gives the feeling of being on a diving board which is about 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) above sea level.

Over the edge

The view from Dolphin’s nose is one of the best and gives one  a real feel for the beauty of Kodaikanal.

Shrouded in clouds

Dolphin's Nose

Clarity at 6600 Feet

Over the edge of the falls

Vattakanal falls isn’t very far from dolphin’s nose but is a little harder to find and you’ll probably need a local to guide you all the way to it. If you afraid of heights I’d suggest you stay far away from the edge.

Creeping Darkness

Clouded Mountain Vista

Jewels of the Night

Croaker’s walk has great views of the valley below during the day but the view at night is just out of this world. The villages and town below sparkle at night and the name “Jewels of the night” is perfect.

Shining through

More images from my trip to Mysore and Ranganathittu. This time around its the Open Billed Storks that are commonly found at the bird sanctuary.

Open Billed Stork Poses

King of the Tree

Ponder

The Itch

Strike a pose

In Bloom

As always your comments and thoughts are always appreciated! Looking forward to putting up some more of the images that I have of the birds at the sanctuary.

Ok before anything else let me say that I have shot wildlife images only a couple of times in places like Mysore, Mangalore and Mandya. I’ve been able to shoot images of Mugger crocodiles at Ranganthittu bird sanctuary (Yes, the lake that you can row across is filled with them), Karanji lake also plays host to a lot of birds because of its calm and serene lake while they have a small aviary inside it too. So with this limited amount of experience let me share what I have learnt:

1.) Patience: This is the most important and the most annoying (at least for me). The image below of the butterfly took me nearly half an hour of hunting because the little butterfly just wouldn’t settle down. So being able to wait for things to calm down and settle is very important.

Fly away

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Lonely

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By the bay

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