The village is fully covered by reserve forest. The final approach to this quiet area is a gently climbing foot-path. Green Valley View (formerly called Suicide Point), from the bus-stand and near the golf course, has a panoramic view of the plains and a sheer drop of overlooking the Vaigai Dam to the south. The stairway leading up to it is highly commercialized and lined with rows of shops to tempt tourists. Pine forests: In 1906, with a view to growing valuable timber, H.D. Bryant started the Kodaikanal pine plantations in the south-west of Kodaikanal. Shembaganur Museum of Natural History, from the bus-stand, founded in 1895, is open to the public (except Tuesdays) for viewing their outstanding taxidermy collection of more than 500 species of animals, birds and insects and a living collection of over 300 exotic orchid species. The museum is affiliated with Loyola College in Chennai and exhibits artifacts of the ancient Palaiyar tribespeople whose descendants still live in these hills. Kodaikanal Solar Observatory, from the bus-stand on Observatory Road, at is the highest location near Kodai. The first observations were commenced here in 1901. Former Director John Evershed discovered the phenomenon of radial motion in sunspots, now known as the Evershed effect. The Kodaikanal Terrestrial Telescope can view a grand panorama including Sothupparai Dam, Vaigai Dam, Periyakulam and Varaha river. This Indian Institute of Astrophysics facility has a comprehensive astronomical science museum with organized public tours, access to the astronomy library, and scheduled night-time telescopic sky viewing. It is open daily to the public during peak season, and a few hours each Friday the rest of the year. Pillar Rocks, from the bus-stand, is a set of three giant rock pillars which stand high. Managed by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, The viewpoint can be crowded but is not commercialized. There is an excellent public garden adjacent to the viewpoint. Bear Shola Falls Silver Cascade is the name given to these seasonal waterfalls. Bears were known to come here in search of drinking water many years ago, hence the name. They're in full swing after the monsoon and make for a fantastic experience, especially if you're fascinated by waterfalls. Guna caves, made popular by the Tamil movie Gunaa, previously called Devil's Kitchen, are deep bat-infested chambers between the three gigantic boulders that are the Pillar Rocks. The deep narrow ravines of the caves are now closed to