Raghavan G · File:St Catherine Falls.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Catherine_Falls.jpg
Dolphin’s Nose
A promontory ten kilometres above Coonoor, named for its shape, with ravines falling away on both sides and Catherine Falls dropping down the far wall of the valley.
A rock shaped like a nose
Dolphin’s Nose is a promontory about ten kilometres above Coonoor, at over 1,550 m, at the end of the road that passes Lamb’s Rock. It takes its name from the shape of the rock, which juts out between two ravines. What it is actually visited for is what lies across the valley: Catherine Falls comes down the opposite wall in two stages, and from here the whole of it is visible at once, which is not true from anywhere on the Kotagiri side. Four of the seven Nilgiris itineraries include it and one of them offers it as the way to fill a slow last morning before the drive to the plains.
Explore Dolphin’s Nose on the map
City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.
What you are looking at
Two ravines, a waterfall on the far wall, and the plains beyond.
Catherine Falls
- A double-cascaded fall on the far side of the valley, fed by the upper Kallar
- The entire fall, both tiers, is visible from here in a single view
- It is in Kotagiri rather than Coonoor — this is the viewpoint, not the falls
The ravines
- Ravines fall away to left and right of the promontory
- Tea covers the nearer slopes; forest holds the steeper ground
The rock
- A projecting spur named for its resemblance to a dolphin’s nose
- A built viewing area sits at the tip and gets busy at weekends
Getting there
The end of the road that starts in Coonoor and passes Lamb’s Rock.
From Coonoor
- About 10 km up by road, through tea for most of it
- Lamb’s Rock is on the way, a couple of kilometres short of the end
How itineraries use it
- Usually as the last stop of the Coonoor afternoon
- One itinerary uses it instead as the first hour of a departure morning, before the ghat down to Coimbatore
When to go
Early, and with low expectations about cloud.
For the view
- Mornings are clearest; cloud generally builds through the day and fills the ravines
- The falls carry most water during and just after the monsoon, which is also when cloud is most likely
Crowds
- The viewing area is small and fills at weekends and in the holiday months
- A weekday morning is a different experience from a Sunday afternoon
Worth knowing
What to expect, and what not to.
Planning it
- Forty-five minutes covers the walk out to the point and back
- Pair it with Lamb’s Rock — they are on the same road and neither justifies the drive alone
The falls
- Volume depends entirely on recent rain; in a dry spell the two tiers thin out
- Nobody can promise the falls will be running strongly on a particular day
On the point
- Macaques are present around the viewing area — do not carry open food
- The drop either side is severe, and cloud can arrive within minutes
Close by
The same road, and the town below it.
Frequently asked
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