Kodaikanal (Tamil: ) is a city in the hills of the taluk division of the Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name in the Tamil language means "The Gift of the Forest". Kodaikanal is referred to as the "Princess of Hill stations" and has a long history as a retreat and popular tourist destination. It's a lot cooler in temperature than lower elevation cities such as Chennai and Bengaluru. Kodaikanal was established in 1845 as a refuge from the high temperatures and tropical diseases of the plains. Much of the local economy is based on the hospitality industry serving tourism. It is not known who first used this name or what they intended it to mean. However the following explanation makes some sense. By pronouncing with long Tamil 'O' as ko...dai means the summer and kanal means to see, which means a place to see in Summer. Kodaikanal is actually a summer forest. The other interesting explanations are, the Tamil language, has four versions are defined to...
