Past the Rock Fort of Dindigul, the Palani Hills rise to the west. Tucked into their folds is one of the six abodes of Tamil Nadu's beloved Murugan. In Palani, Murugan is worshipped as the lord of the Tamil hills. But it is in his first avatar, as the Perennial Child, that he is most loved, for not only is he the lord of the Tamil people, he is also the king of the smile, as one worshipper aptly put it.

On festivals like Surasamharam, Thai?poosam and on every Karthigai, the crowds reach up the staggering 659 steps to the shrine, some of them carrying kavadis or with mouths locked, literally. Many worshippers pierce their cheeks with little metal locks in offering to Murugan. Lesser mortals take one of the three electric winches to the top. But it is not for worship alone that we ask you to visit the Palani Hills, even if this is Tamil Nadu's biggest temple. For the beauty of the Palani Hills is captivating, with the charm of nature untouched, because the crores who've visited the shrine have for long ignored the rest of the area.

The Palani Hills were once covered with evergreen rainforest extending almost to the plains. What remains today is only a large patch on the north-west plateau, which has over 20,000 recorded species of flora, and is home to the mighty Indian Bison and the almost-extinct Nilgiri tahr the only wild mountain goat found in southern India. The Palani Hills are much more charming than their popular cousin, the Nilgiris, due to their densely wooded slopes and the lack of the run-of-the-mill tourist in the area. The impact of commercial tourism is contained within the shrine and in the town of Kodaikanal, leaving Palani for the naturalist, the wilderness enthusiast, the birdwatcher, and for anyone who prefers utter solitude to holiday crowds.

In the midst of the hills sits a camp with the intriguing name of Bison Wells, run by a guy called George Roshan, a wildlife photographer and a genteel man in spite of his huge beard.