Courtallam, natively spelt Kutrālam or Kuttālam, is a

panchayat town A nagar panchayat () or town panchayat or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,00 ...

situated at a mean elevation of in the foothills of the Western Ghats in

Tenkasi district Tenkasi () is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu, India, separated from Tirunelveli district on 22 November 2019. The Government of Tamil Nadu announced its creation on 18 July 2019. The district headquarters is at Tenkasi. Geography The ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The

Coutrallam Falls Coutrallam Falls (also called Kutralam/Kuttalam Falls) is located in Tenkasi district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu bordering Kollam district, Kerala. The falls is located on the Western Ghats on the river Chittar River, Chittar and is ...

on the

Chittar River Chittar River and its five tributaries and numerous other contributing streams originate in the Courtallam hills of Tenkasi district in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. Together with its tributaries and streams, the Chittar River se ...

is a major tourist attraction.

Climate

Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Courtallam had a population of 2,368. Males constitute 41% of the population and females 59%. Courtallam has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78% and, female literacy is 74%. 7% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Location

Located in the Western Ghats, Courtallam is part of the Agasthiamalai range, the mountain bearing the name of sage

Agastya Agastya was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the Indian tradition, he is a noted recluse and an influential scholar in diverse languages of the Indian subcontinent. He is regarded in some traditions to be a Chiranjivi. He and his wife ...

who is believed to have lived in the area.The cascades of Courtallam
Frontline Magazine, pg 60, 15-28 September 1990 The closest town to Courtallam is

Tenkasi Tenkasi () is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu.Tenkasi is the third largest city in tenkasi district after Kadayanallur and Sankarankovil. Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural ...

at . The closest airports are

Tuticorin Airport Tuticorin Airport is a domestic airport serving Thoothukudi and its adjoining districts of Thoothukkudi, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located at Vagaikulam, west of the city centre, on National Hig ...

(91 km away )and

Trivandrum International Airport Thiruvananthapuram International Airport is an international airport that serves Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. Established in 1932, it is the first airport in the state of Kerala and the fifth international airport of ...

(122 km away)

Madurai International Airport Madurai Airport is a customs airport serving Madurai and its adjoining districts in Tamil Nadu, India. It is the 40th-busiest airport in India, both in terms of passengers handled and aircraft movement. The airport is located near State Highw ...

(162 km). The nearest railway station is at

, away.

Places of interest

Courtallam Falls is located near the town. The Kutralanatha swamy temple is the location of Chitra Sabha, one of the five sabhas of Nataraja, a form of Lord Shiva. Pancha Sabhai Sthalangal refers to the temples of Nataraja, a form of the Hindu god

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

where he performed the Cosmic Dance

Tandava Tandavam (also spelled as ), also known as , is a divine dance performed by Hindu god Shiva. Shiva is depicted as dancing the Tandava in his form of Nataraja. The ''Natya Shastra'', a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts, describes variou ...

. The temple at the foot of the hill is conch-shaped which has special significance in Hindu tradition. Tamil poet Thirukudarasappa Kavirayar sang about the beauty of this place in his "Kutraala Kuravanji". Kurumpalaveesar, sung in Tevaram was done by

Sambandar Sambandar (Tamil language, Tamil: சம்பந்தர், Romanization, romanized: ''Campantar''), also referred to as Thirugnana Sambandar (Tamil language, Tamil: திருஞானசம்பந்தர், Romanization, romanized: ...

. It is one of the shrines of the 275

Paadal Petra Sthalams The Paadal Petra Sthalams (), also known as Devara Sthalams, are 276 temples that are revered in the verses of Shaiva Nayanars in the 6th-9th century CE. The Divya Desams by comparison are the 108 Vishnu temples glorified in the poems of the ...

In popular culture

Owing to its natural setting, Courtallam has featured in many films. * Papanasam (2015) by

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

* Poova Thalaya (1969) *

Aravaan ''Aravaan'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil language epic historical film directed by Vasanthabalan, based on S. Venkatesan's novel ''Kaaval Kottam''. It stars Aadhi, Dhansika, Archana Kavi and Pasupathy. Kabir Bedi has a prominent role and Bhara ...

(2012) *

Vettai ''Vettai'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language action comedy film co-produced, written and directed by N. Linguswamy. The film stars Arya (actor), Arya and R. Madhavan in the lead roles, while Sameera Reddy, Amala Paul, Ashutosh R ...

(2012) *

Mirchi (film) ''Mirchi'' () is a 2013 Indian Telugu-language romantic action film written and directed by debutant Koratala Siva, and produced by UV Creations. The film stars Prabhas, Anushka, and Richa Gangopadhyay in the lead roles with Sathyaraj, Sampath ...

(2013) *

Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu ''Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu'' (), also known by the initialism ''SVSC'', is a 2013 Indian Telugu-language family drama film written and directed by Srikanth Addala. It was produced by Dil Raju's Sri Venkateswara Creations, and stars ...

(2013) * Suvadugal (2013) *

Anjala (film) ''Anjala'' is a 2016 Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by Thangam Saravanan and produced by Dhilip Subbarayan. Vimal and Nandita star, while Gopi Sunder composes the film's music. Cast * Vimal as Gavaskar "Gavas" * Nandita as Uthra ...

(2014) *Dharma Durai (2016) *

Etharkkum Thunindhavan ''Etharkkum Thunindhavan'' (), also known by the initialism ''ET'', is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film, written and directed by Pandiraj, and produced by Sun Pictures. The film stars Suriya, Vinay Rai and Priyanka Mohan. D. ...

(2022)

References