Saturday, March 12, 2016

Kamarajar Sagar Dam, Athoor, Dindigul

Kamarajar Sagar Dam, Athoor, Dindigul
The Kamarajar Sagar Dam at Kamarajar Lake is a 400-acre (1.6 km2) monsoon - fed water body 6 km (3.7 mi) from Athoor village in Dindigul DistrictTamilnadu. This lake is a beautiful location with the hills of the Western Ghats overlooking it. Fishermen in their coracles, coconut and banana plantations and cardamom estates are the common sights. Swimming is allowed.



Some eco-friendly resorts are available along the northern border of the lake for tourists. Coconut Trees and mango trees are plenty in the area, making a tropical atmosphere prevalent here.



This monsoon fed dam provides water for cultivating the agricultural lands around Athoor. Farmers are cultivating paddy, banana, coconut, mango, etc using water from this dam. Cardamom estates are also commonly seen here. Fishermen use their coracles to fish in this lake.



Geographic Position
Kamarajar Sagar Dam in Athoor is located at 10°17'35.7"N 77°48'58.7"E or 10.293259, 77.816314.
Location
Athoor is one of the Towns in Athoor Taluk in Dindigul District in Tamilnadu State. Athoor is 14.2 km far from its District Main City Dindigul. It is 403 km from its State Main City Chennai.




Nearest towns are;
·        Dindigul (12.1 km)
·        Nilakottai (14.5 km)
·        Reddiyarchatiram (17.9 km)
·        Vattalkundu (18.5 km).
Akkaraipatti, Alamarathupatti, Athoor, Bodikamanvadi, Chettiapatti, Gandhigram are the villages along with this village in the same Athoor Taluk.
Activities
Walking trails are laid on the lake’s border. Visitors are walking in these trails and they can enjoy the natural scenery, birds belonging to about 160 species such as herons, cranes, sun birds, peacocks, kingfishers and storks. Trekking is also another nearby attraction. The lake is surrounded by the Western Ghat hills. The Sadayandi Hill Temple or Sadayandi Cave temple is located near this dam.



Taking walks through the countryside in the area is one of the most popular activities in this area. Several walking trails are present around Kamarajar Lake. Most places worth seeing near Kamarajar can be walked to in a reasonable amount of time using these walking trails.



Many birds can be sighted along the trails. Birds such as peacocks, storks, kingfisherscranesherons and sunbirds are all known to frequent the area. In fact, one bird watching group from Great Britain was even able to document seeing 160 different species of birds in a short span of four days. Trekking is another popular tourist activity in the area.



Although tigers are not seen in this area, other types of wildlife do flourish in this region. It is common to see leopardsmongoosesmonkeysbarking deerIndian bison and wild boar throughout the area.