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
District, Tamilnadu. 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, kingfishers, cranes, herons 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 leopards, mongooses, monkeys, barking
deer, Indian
bison and wild
boar throughout the area.