Kovai Courtrallam in Coimbatore: A Soul Raising Experience in God's Own Land

Kovai Courtrallam is popularly known as the “Vaidehi Falls”,which is located in the Narsipuram district of Coimbature. This place is situated on the outskirts of the city and is known for its pleasant climate. Kovai Courtrallum is filled up with so much scenic beauty as well as wilderness that it is famously known to be “Poor man's Ooty”.
Coimbatore is said to be the gateway of Kerela and also one of the hottest tourist destinations in the country especially for the Nilgiris. Kovai Courtrallam has a good number of hotels and restaurants therefore recently enough it has been able to tap the eco tourist market. Boating is one of the favourite activities for the tourists in Singanallur lake .

Kovai Courtallum Falls
The Kovai Courtallum Falls has been given a face lift recently with a cost of Rs 16 lakhs which has been thrown open to the public since May 21st 2009.
The District Forest Officer, P. Durairasu, said the department has taken much pain in chiselling the rocks. It was done to ensure a comfortable flow of water through the falls so that the tourists get a comfortable shower at the falls. To make things more lucid a trekking shed has been renovated to make it a resting room. Arrangements have also been made for separate toilets and changing rooms for women, men and children. A small pool has been carved from the falls so to give a safe area to play for the children.

The recent monsoon rains have literally increased the flow of water in the falls therefore iron suspension pillars acting as foot over bridges have been put up for Tourists. One such bridge has been erected on the top, to help the tourists to have a view of the falls from a point of elevation. Similarly a bridge has been erected at a lower level for the benefit of the aged people for their travelling purpose.
Visitors and tourists are allowed to enter the falls only between 10a.m and 3 p.m.

Adventure walkaway
Another good news for the tourists is that Kovai Courtrallam will soon become one of the sought after picnic spots for people. Kudos to the Eco tourism initiatives of the Forest department that they are in the process of bringing out an adventure walkaway near the Kovai Courtrallum falls in Coimbatore. This would be a first of its kinds thereby to tap immense tourism potentials lying unbroached in the scenic sketches of the Western ghats.
This was literally a brainchild of Mr R. Kannan (Conservator of forests) and Mr I. Anwardeen (District Forest Officer) who interposed a proposal for bringing in eco friendly tourist facilities at Kovai Courtrallum. The plan started off last year and is on the verge of completion. The forest Department has announced to open up the facilities in the coming months. Therefore, work is going on in its full sway giving its final touches under the supervision of Range Officer, Pooluvampatti, G. Rajeshwaran.
The outlay facilitated for the initiative is somewhere Rs 79.35 lakh extended over a period of two years. The main objective is to tap Eco Tourism potential but at the same time ensure guided and restricted benefits so that not to cause even an iota of disturbance to the ecological panorama.
The project also envisions to guarantee that the tourists have a feeling of nature's lap as well as a good revenue generation gets into the kitty of the eco Tourism and developmental committees. These initiatives have also helped in the employment generation and livelihood provision of the tribal communities dwelling in and around the forest area.
The tribals are engaged in employment activities like the males are acting as guides and watchers in carrying the project forward and the women as watchers in the women bathing area in the falls. They are also engaged in the cleaning activities keeping the area fully clean and eco friendly.

True view of Flora and Fauna
The Eco Tourism initiatives in Kovai Courtrallam also included an auditoriam hall at the Chadivayal check post where the forest department have made arrangements to display the specimen samples of all the varieties of flora and fauna present in the Siruvani hills. Provisions have also been made for a wildlife show.

Eco friendly Tree Top houses, Elevated walkaway, Ropeway
Tourists would be enthralled to know that the Forest Department is making preparatory measures of four rest houses for the people who are wiling to stay more than a day. Rest houses of two types would come into implementation . The first is two ordinary types rest houses and the second one is two tree top rest houses. An elevated walkway is being made covering a distance of 150 mts where the tourists can well have view of the canopy. A Ropeway for the adventure loving tourists is also on the way to make a mark over the river to provide a feeling of hanging and gliding .

Watch Tower and canteen facilities
A watch tower is also getting constructed for commissioning the visitors to have glorious view of the valley and the upper precinct of the Kovai Coutrallam Falls as it seems a silver line cascading from the Western Ghats. The present rest house at Pooluvampatti has been renovated with a cost of Rs 4 lakh.
In Chadivayal, arrangements are made for the coming up of a canteen hall for the tourists staying there and also for the day tourists who are accompanied with their own food items. This measure has been enacted and is to be followed to avoid the littering of the Reserve Forest Area with plastic and packaging materials thereby making the environment truly Eco Friendly.