Kodaikanal
Coaker's Walk is a beautifully maintained 1-km cliff-edge promenade above the Kodaikanal valley that offers dizzying views down 2,000 metres to the plains of Tamil Nadu below on clear days. Built by Lieutenant Coaker in 1872, the walk passes a small solar observatory, a telescope house open to the public, and a series of increasingly dramatic viewpoints. On very clear mornings you can see the coastline near Madurai — a staggering 200-km view.
The walk is most dramatic between November and January when the valley below is completely clear. Avoid it during monsoon (July–August) when visibility is near-zero and the cliffside path becomes slippery.