I’m writing this much https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodaikanal later than I expected to. Not because it slipped my mind, but because it stayed put. Some days don’t ask to be processed immediately. So, welcome to “Years Later I Look Back : The Second Day Nose Lake & The Valley”.

Time has thinned out many things from that trip. Enough remains to start from, without filling in what’s missing. I’m placing this after the first day, not because of sequence, but because this is where it belongs now.

To know the deets of us visiting Bryant Park & the Pine Forest, click on Nine Years Later I Open This : First The Park Then The Forest – Wander, Feast & Thrive

The Second Day : Nose Lake & The Valley : Years Later I Look Back

It was our second day of our trip in June 2016, and a sense of excitement filled the air. We quickly refreshed ourselves and stepped out, eager to embrace the day ahead. The atmosphere felt calm and reassuring, as if the hills themselves had come to a silent agreement about how this beautiful day would unfold. With a heartfelt anticipation, we set our sights on the journey to Dolphin’s Nose, ready to create lasting memories together.

The route led us from town into rough terrain. Dolphin’s Nose, named for a rock resembling a dolphin’s nose, sits at a cliff’s edge. The landscape opened up unevenly, with the Palani hills stretching out. It stood lower than the town at about sixty-six hundred feet above sea level, yet felt more exposed. This place demanded walking, not viewing.

We started the trek together. The trail ran for a few kilometres through the Palani hill range. I couldn’t complete the full trek. I stopped partway, while the others went on. I waited, listening to the forest settle around me. When they returned, the excitement in their faces said enough. The view had done what it needed to do.

Dined At Astoria Veg Restaurant : The Second Day Nose Lake & The Valley

We ate at Astoria Veg Restaurant again, finding a sense of comfort in the familiar routine. Afterwards, we drove to Berijam Lake, where the peaceful forest road guided us to a serene reservoir, gently cradled between rolling hills. The lake, calm and embraced by vibrant greenery, filled me with a yearning to linger a little longer, yet I knew our time there was fleeting.

From there, we went to Silent Valley. It sat close by, opening into layered views of the Palani hills and the Western Ghats. The valley stretched outward in folds of green, uninterrupted and heavy with stillness. We walked through it, unhurried. The forest felt alive in a contained way, holding birds, animals, and things unseen without needing to show them.

When we returned, it was time to leave Kodaikanal. We took one last look before starting the descent on the hairpin bends. We drove to Madurai and stayed at Hotel Supreme, visiting the Meenakshi Amman Temple and having dinner on the rooftop. The next day, we started back toward Chennai, carrying the hills with us.

Leaving Kodaikanal felt heavier than arriving. The hills didn’t recede immediately; they stayed close through the bends, visible longer than expected, as if watching us go. I didn’t try to hold on to the day then. I trusted it would settle somewhere quiet and return when it was ready. Years later, that trust feels justified. What remains isn’t the effort, the distance, or the views, but the sense of having been held briefly by a place that asked nothing in return.