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

The foremost activity of the residents are to make their living out of tourists. By making a attractive display of items, they make the picnickers to buy things. All the commodities are brought from far away places, cleaned properly and arranged in such way that it invites visitors to purchase. Woolen material, Flowers, Vegetables, handmade articles, hot snacks, children toys, medicinal herbs and oils, almost all can be seen in street side small shops. In a nutshell the daily activities of Kodaikanal people is centered around inflow of tourists. One could see school crowd after school hours and on weekends. In last five years the boom in hotel industry resulted in hike of workers, the owners, managers, receptionists, room boys, waiters, gardeners, cooks whose activities vary according to their profession.

Shopping Spot

The Residents of Kodaikanal grumble since essential household things are always in short supply as everything has to come up in lorries. However the need of tourist viz, Souvenirs, gifts and momentoes can be bought easily and upto fullest satisfaction. Exquisite embroidery, home made chocolates, Kodaikanal Cheese, enough of warm cloths, dried flowers are also available in a wide range of prices. In Anna Salai excellent fresh vegetables available in the town market of the bazaar. Eco-nut in Pt- Road has good whole foods, brown bread, Jams, Peanut, Butter, Cheese, Muffins which will be very tasty. Handicrafts Kashmir Handicrafts center in Anna Salai is famous for shawls, Jewellary, Brass, Leather items, Bone and Walnut wood articles. Cottage Crafts Shop (Anna Salai), run by the voluntary organisation Corsock, (Coordinating Council for Social Concerns in Kodai), sells goods crafted by development groups and uses the commission charged to help the needy.

On PT Rd you'll find Kashmiri shops, as well as the Potter's Shed (Time: 9am - 8pm Thu - Tue, 9am - 5pm Wed) with fine ceramics; proceeds go to help disadvantaged children.

The road leading south to the lake is sometime lined with stalls run by Tibetans selling warm clothing, Shawls and other fabrics - good, cheap stuff to keep you warm on chilly nights.

There is an excellent bazaar where one can buy woollen clothing, flowers, vegetables, fruit, meats, handicrafts, hot snacks, children toys, medicinal herbs and oils. The cosmopolitan nature of Kodaikanal is evident at the market place where it is not uncommon to see Scandinavian backpackers, retired French tourists and people from other parts of India enjoying fresh pastries served by Tibetan refugees Kodaikanal boasts a wide range of Co-operative Stores, shopping centers, government Emporiums. Kodaikanal also has a wide variety of arts and crafts shops. These shops brim with many beautiful art and crafts objects.

Kodaikanal is a hill resort famous for its mesmerizing beauty. Although not particularly a shopping destination, you can talk home some souvenirs and curios from this hill resort. While shopping in Kodaikanal, you will be fascinated by the homemade chocolates, marshmallows and cheese that you find in the bakeshops in the town. If you are interested in aromatherapy, you can also choose from a range of oils and herbs in shops exclusively selling natural products. Eucalyptus oils found here are quite popular. In Kodaikanal, you can also shop for handicrafts and handlooms, which you can buy at Khadi Emporium, Handloom Co-operative Stores and Government Sales Emporium. You can also pick up gifts and curios from the craft shop run by a volunteer group called Corsack. Kodaikanal also has a number of general stores, which stack everything from matchsticks to sweater The famous places to shop in Kodaikanal are the Khadi Emporium, Handloom Co-operative Stores and Travancore Crafts Work, Government Sales Emporium, Kurinji Mini Supermarket, Spencer and Company.