Chittar Dam and Lake

சிற்றாறு அணை

A quiet earthen dam and lake in the hills

Move across the photo, or drag it on a phone, to look around.

You arrive

You drive inland from Nagercoil, about 40 km by Tamil Nadu Tourism's reckoning, and the road climbs among the hills. Chittar is an earthen dam, so the first thing you notice is that it does not look like concrete engineering at all. A grassy bank holds the water, and behind it lies a calm lake with green slopes around it. There is little to do here but look, and you came for that.

Chittar dam reservoir · Photo: Goutham ps · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Beside the lake

You stand at the edge and take in the water, which is usually still. This is one of the earthen dams the district lists among its places to see. Without the concrete, the lake feels like a natural part of the hills. Walk slowly and listen. The only movement is likely to be birds and wind across the surface.

Chittar dam reservoir · Photo: Goutham ps · CC BY-SA 4.0

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A slow return

You turn back along the bank for a different angle on the hills. Published information on this lake is limited, so what you are getting here is mostly the setting itself: water and green slopes and not much else. Take a little longer than you planned before you go back to the car. There is nothing here that hurries you.

Being here

You see

Calm water ringed by green hills.

You hear

Birds and a light wind.

You smell

Grass and fresh water.

You feel

The stillness of an uncrowded place.

The story

Published detail about Chittar is limited. The district administration lists it among local attractions as one of the earthen dams in the area, and Tamil Nadu Tourism describes Chittar Lake as a serene lake in the hills about 40 km from Nagercoil. No reliable history or construction date was found for this guide, so none is given. It is included as one of the quieter reservoirs in the Western Ghats section of the district, of interest mainly for its setting.

Sources: Kanniyakumari district: Tourist Spots · Tamil Nadu Tourism: Kanyakumari district

Photo: Hellowikidoc · CC BY-SA 4.0

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