Travelogue - Count on Courtallam

We had booked the POTHIGAI EXP (12661) well in advance for the trip. The roads leading to the station and the train wasn't as crowded as we expected. Most of the south trains have got a revamp now so the insides too were bright and spacious. We weren't in a celebratory mood as we couldn't get full attendance. One another relative of mine too had come by the same train.

Day 1 - A houseful day

8/30/2019

As soon as the train reached near Tenkasi, the weather changed drastically. There was cold breeze and drizzle all around, famously called the Kutrala charal. Right from the station, there were hoards and hoards of people with autos busy plying here and there. Good thing is that, everything was with a fixed price. As soon as we reached our place ( Shanti Illam) we could see the area buzzing with activity. There were people everywhere and all of them either fresh from bath or going to take bath. Courtallam is like a family hippie place. It's happening 24 hours and always lively. The vibe caught me immediately.

The place where we stayed was lovely too with lot of space and already some of my family members from my hometown were present there to welcome us. Food was ready and once it's done, we immediately set off to the falls crawl.

First was Pazhaya Courtalla Aruvi (Old Courtallam falls) which we went along with every family member in a fully loaded share auto. There are fixed prices to all the falls so need to haggle. But for this, as we were large in number, we bargained and got a good deal. I was skeptical of Courtallam, thinking there would be lot of crowd but once we saw the falls it hardly mattered. There are a lot of places which has secluded falls and I've been to them as well. But Courtallam is something different. It packs a punch in a different way. The highlight of Old Courtallam is the small road side restaurant next to it which serves delicacies like rabbit, quail, duck etc. but as I was with family and as I didn't know about that before I didn't have. I thought it'd be available near all the falls but I was proved wrong.

En route to Old Courtallam is Puli Aruvi (Tiger Falls). A man-made crappy falls which is small. I noticed it while going so decided to stop there before going to the room. I didn't like the falls much so set off from there immediately.

As we didn't spend much time there, we decided to go to Chitraruvi (Small Falls). For that falls we should walk a few meters up. Here the men and women section are segregated like rooms. All falls have separate male and female section but here its more proper. I didn't have high expectations for it because it looked like just a room but to the other side of the room was the falls and even though small it came with great force. We loved it and spent a lot of time there. Above Chitraruvi is Shenbagadevi Falls but it was not allowed. While checking I got to know that it's allowed only during a fest and has a lot of cameras inside to track people.

We started getting hungry but as there was only two falls left, we decided to complete it too before going back to the room. From there we took auto to Aintharuvi (Five Falls) It started to rain but as we were all wet and it was not our vehicle, we hardly had to bother. We spent good amount of time in Aintharuvi too. Before returning we had snacks in one of the numerous shops nearby.

Finally came to Peraruvi (Main Falls), the most crowded one with many drunk men. So, didn't spend much time there. My folks suggested that it'd get free by the night so decided to skip it to later time.

After completing everything we went back to the room and had hefty lunch. Few slept but I couldn't in spite of being so tired so just relaxed here and there. Took a walk around the streets and sat near a tree. That's the best thing to do in any place. In the evening we went to Thirukutraalanaadhar Temple. The temple was awesome. Relatives said that it used to be shabby before as people used to use it like a changing room. But now people who have just taken bath weren't allowed so it was nice and neat. Spent some quality time there.