The Kodaikanal–Munnar Road (old SH-18) was located in Dindigul District and Theni District of Tamil Nadu and Idukki district of Kerala in South India. It covers 81 km 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 2480 m just south of Vandaravu Peak, it was among the highest roads in India, south of the Himalayas, prior to its closure in 1990.

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. "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 35 km road runs down the valley of the Kundale River. The road was built 4.6 m wide of which 3.7 m was metaled. The sharpest curve was 20 m and the steepest gradient was 1 in 30. There were 22 timber bridges between 7.6 m and 20 m 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 257 km. 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. 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. 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

[[File:AMS-Dindigul, Kodai-Munnar Escape road 1955.jpg|thumb|900px|left|Kodaikanal-Munnar road, 1959, (legend: green= forest, tan= grassland) Central location: 10.14889°N, 77.28556°W (view coordinates in this article on Wikimapia / Satellite / Street for more details)]] The road begins as Club Road at 2100 m 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 2310 m 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 40 mi 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. 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 2180 m 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 230 km 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 12 km down to Kavunji village at 1975 m 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 2320 m hill at km 31, then northwest around 2517 m Ibex peak and through a shallow 2390 m 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 2480 m 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 1930 m at km 60. Here the road becomes Kerala SH-18 and is well maintained, passing by extensive tea plantations 31 km 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), 21 km southwest of Kodaikanal Lake. There were two roads from Berijam, one to Munnar town, about 40 km west and another to Kavunji village, 9 km 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.

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.

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: 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:

Intersections

There are several well established side roads and other intersecting minor trails which branch off from the Kodaikanal–Munnar Road. Most of these show as "other trails" on the 1959 Army map. These intersections either go north to Upper Palani Hills villages or go south, dropping sharply down the south facing escarpment to hill villages en route and towns on the plains up to 1800 m below. The Ciff Trail provides an alternate east–west route between Berijam Lake and the Kerala Forest Bungalow. There are over 40 recognized hiking routes from Kodaikanal using the Munnar road and these other trails. Excluding Kodaikanal Municipal roads, going from east to west, the intersections are: Berijam Lake and the Kerala Forest Bungalow below Vandaravu Peak on the Munnar Road. This trail closely follows the southernmost edge of the Palani plateau along the top of the rugged escarpment dropping down to the plains. Beginning at the head of the Berijam-Bodi trail, after 4.3 km, the trail reaches the cliffs and forks off to the west. The trail proceeds 4.9 km precariously along the edge of a precipice to a small hill. It then proceeds 1.3 km over the hill to Marion Shola bungalow.

Roadside forests

The upper Palani Hills route of the Kodaikanal Munnar road is part of the Western Ghats of India. Some of the very rare and endangered plants and animals of India are found here. including intact relics of primary indigenous vegetation and a large number of non-native plants. The area is one of the 25 biodiversity hotspots of the world. The road originally passed through an area of frost-tolerant shola/montane grassland mosaic interspersed with pockets of stunted shola forests in the valleys. In 1900, 75% of the 385 km2 area of the Upper Palni Hills,was grassland. This shola/grasslands ecosystem was effective in conserving monsoon rainfall and letting it soak in to replenish the watertable for year-round release into the streams. From 1948 through the 1960s the Tamil Nadu Forest Department planted large areas of indigenous grasslands along the road with black wattle for producing tanning agents for use in the leather industry. blue gum (eucalyptus) and Mexican weeping pine were planted in order to provide a reliable alternative firewood supply to protect the native shola forests from cutting for firewood. The 1973 vegetation map shows these imported tree species already taking over the grasslands around the road. A detailed dynamic map of 2002 vegetation shows distribution of various plantation species that have replaced most of the grasslands and native evergreen forests. Another 2002 map of Palni Hills, showing distribution of wattle plantations, also shows wattle dominating the route of the Kodaikanal Munnar Road. Exotic forests now cover over 80% of the area which was previously covered by Grasslands. These non-native species now dominate thousands of acres once dominated by native grasses. These extensive wattle plantations are sometimes blamed as the major cause of reduced soil moisture and stream flows across upper Palni catchments, though it is likely that reduced rainfall during the Southwest monsoon period, combined with a pattern of heavy downpours and longer dry spells between rain events in the non-monsoon months is also responsible. Wattle plantations in the upper Palanis seem to help regrowth of indigenous shola species and associated wildlife, and also reduce cutting of shola forests by providing superior fuel wood. It is probable that these old, non-productive plantations, that are slow-growing or partially invaded with native woody species, are similar to native forest in terms of water use.

[Kodai-Munnar Road Vegetation Map

21: tree savanna 25: shrub-savanna/reforested 26: reforested: Acacia, Eucylyptus | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/K-M///Road///Vegetation///Map.jpg]

New route

Though the old evacuation route is now impassable for vehicles, there remains a desire and need among farmers and tourists for a direct road link between Kodaikanal and Munnar. The Kadavari – Kilavarai road is a horse trail used by farmers of Kadavari to take their products to Kodaikanal, via Kilavarai. It is possible but not practical to pass here by off-road vehicle. Straight-line distance from Kadavari to Kilavarai is 5.9 km. The new route is 14.6 km. This is the least improved section of a new Munnar–Kodaikanal Highway proposed by the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Ltd. This highway would provide a direct road link between the two popular hill stations of Munnar and Kodaikanal. The proposed road connects Vattavada (near Munnar) and Kadavari at the Kerala–Tamil Nadu border. Length of the proposed Vattavada - Kadavari Road is 22.37 km A 4.5 km extension of the above road from Kadavari to Kilavarai in Tamil Nadu is also proposed. The proposed road would reduce the travel distance between the two hill stations 41% from 198 km (via Kodaikanal – Perumal Malai – Mayiladum Parai – Mooliyaru – Oothu – Falls View – Ganguvarpatti – Kodai Ghat Road – Periyakulam – Theni – Bodinayakkanur – Bodimettu – Devikulam – Munnar) to 116 km, saving a driving distance of 82 km. It would provide a reliable link between the unimproved and unconnected rural communities of Vattavada and Kilavarai, improving the living standards of the people. Estimated cost of the project is Rs. 942 Million (2003 estimate). M/s Mecon Limited has completed the feasibility study and submitted the final report.

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