Kodaikanal, 'Switzerland of the East', Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu

Berijam lake, 21 kms away from Kodaikanal is a beautiful picturesque popular picnic spot that provides a serene ambience. The lake water is clean & pure and is used for the water requirements of Periakalam town and the surrounding regions. Considered to be one of the most beautiful lakes in South India, the lake covers an area of 24 hectares. The lake is star shaped and is known for its pure water. The scenery around here is delightful.

Originally discovered by the British & Spanish people, this place was a swamp 80-100 years ago. It has been converted to a lake with catchment areas around the lake. The lake itself is situated in a very high altitude, just a couple of hundred feet below kodai. Besides this, there are fantastic pine forests around the lake.

You only get permission to stay in Berijam during day time, but if with prior permissions you can stay overnight in Berijam at the dormitory. It serves as a base for trekking. There is a canteen too with a friendly cook who'll cook anything for you, provided you brought the vegetables, egg, bread and stuff before getting there. Prakash, the cook will whip up anything you want to eat without any complaints. The worth of the pain involved in getting the permission from the Forest Office is clearly realized once you reach the Berijam Lake View - a spectacular view of a serene valley of shola forests with its diverse medicinal and aromatic plants and the lake resting like a pool of panacea in its bosom. There?s also a forest watch tower which provides an enthralling view of the same from an elevated point. Just 3 kilometers from this point is a shola called the Mathikettan Shola (people are sure to get mad on entering this shola because of the diverse variety of medicinal and aromatic plants it. Also the name came from a Britsher who quite often used to get lost here!). This is preserved as one of the many endangered shola forests in Kodiakanal. There is also a possibility that you may catch glimpses of some fauna like Bisons, Nilgiri Lemurs, flying squirrels and deers.

Though boating is not allowed in this lake, it still remains as the most favoured picnic spot not only for the tourists but also for the locals. Don?t miss Berijam if you are visiting Kodai. From Berijam Lake, the road leads to Munnar (another paradise on earth) and is closed (unmaintained) for the tourists. This road is another masterpiece left to us by the British. The road was operative till 1990 but was ignored both by the Forest Department and Highways Department on a dispute over its inter-state ownership. Though the road is completey damaged till the Tamilnadu border, you can see that it is superbly maintained once you enter the Kerala border.]