A picturesque
green valley, surrounded by tea
plantations, Devala
/ Gudalur is the meeting
point of Eastern Ghats with the Western
Ghats. It is at a lower
altitude than Udagamandalam
(Ooty) , and is a
gateway to three states - Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
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More about
Devala / Gudalur
Climate
Pleasant most of the
year, hot only during a couple of summer months (average
temperatures 19-30 deg. celsius) and in winter
the average temperature is
7-20 deg. celsius. The important point to remember about
Tamilnadu is the northeast monsoon
bringing rain in spurts between
Oct-Dec.
Language
Tamil, Malayalam and
Kannada are the prevalent languages but basic
English is spoken in tourist
places.
Connectivity
Devala is
often called 'the second Cherrapunji' for the
amount of rainfall it gets in a year. The word Gudalur meaning
'a place that is not easy to
find', used to be a hideout for
eloped couples and petty thieves who used to hide from the law
of the land. But history
says that people migrated in from different parts
of India to Gudalur, worked hard, fought off wild animals
and disease and
reaped gold from the land; the present generation being the
sons and daughters of those heroes of the
land
.
Some
places worth visiting are Needle Rock View
Point (with
views of Gudalur, Mudumalai wildlife
sanctuary, Bandipur, parts of Mysuru (Mysore) and
parts of Kerala ),
Frog Hill View, Mudumalai Wild Life Sanctuary,
Nambalakkotta (a shrine of Battarayaswamy, Lord of the
Hunts), Nelliyalam (ruins of
historical Ummatur dynasty), Ponnani
Vishnu Temple, Singara and Moyar
(underground power houses where water flows through tunnels),
Cherangode Velankanni Mata shrine,
Ammankavu (for the
annual tribal festival),
Nellakotta, Hanging Bridges, Genepool Garden
and Kariyasholai.
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