Courtallam Falls

Courtallam sits below a gap in the Western Ghats through which southwest monsoon air spills across to the Tamil side, so this stretch gets rain in a season when the rest of Tamil Nadu is dry, and the falls run from around June to September. There are several: Main Falls, Five Falls, Old Courtallam, Tiger Falls and others, and the point of them is bathing, not viewing. People stand under the water in numbers, and the season is treated as therapeutic, with the water said to carry medicinal properties from the herbs on the slopes above. Massage and herbal oil businesses run through the season.

What you actually see

• The bathing falls - crowds standing under the water rather than watching it.
• The several cascades - Main, Five Falls, Old Courtallam and others.
• The season - a monsoon window when the rest of Tamil Nadu is dry.
• The herbal trade - oils and massage sold through the bathing months.

When to go

June to September, the saral season when the falls run; outside it they can be dry entirely. Falls close without warning when flash flooding is expected upstream.

Honest expectations

Falls are closed at short notice on flood warnings and deaths have occurred when people ignored them. Bathing areas are extremely crowded and separated by gender at some falls. Facilities are basic.

Nearby

Tenkasi lies east; Madurai is northeast.