Courtallam is a

panchayat town A nagar panchayat (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 12,000 ...

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 dis ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is 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 India ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. 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 and is considered a ...

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 ser ...

is a major tourist attraction.

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, 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 ( kn, ಅಗಸ್ತ್ಯ, ta, அகத்தியர், sa, अगस्त्य, te, అగస్త్యుడు, ml, അഗസ്ത്യൻ, hi, अगस्त्य) was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the I ...

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. Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural places in South Tamilnadu,Tenkasi houses The Kutraleeshwarar temple (Chitra Sabha), one of the ...

at . The closest airports are

Tuticorin Airport Tuticorin Airport is a domestic airport located from Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, serving the districts of Thoothukkudi, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, and Kanniyakumari in southern Tamil Nadu. It is west of the city centre on Thoothukkudi-Tirunelveli N ...

and

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

. The nearest railway station is at

, away.

Climate

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 (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

where he performed the Cosmic Dance

Tandava Tandava (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 various as ...

. 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: சம்பந்தர்), also referred to as Tirugnana Sambandar (lit. ''Holy Sage Sambandar''), Tirujnanasambanda, Campantar or Jñāṉacampantar, was a Shaiva poet-saint of Tamil Nadu who lived sometime in the 7th cen ...

. It is one of the shrines of the 275

Paadal Petra Sthalams The Paadal Petra Sthalam, also known as Thevara Sthalam, are 276 temples that are revered in the verses of Saiva Nayanars in the 6th-9th century CE and are amongst the greatest Shiva temples of the continent. The Divya Desams by comparison ar ...

In popular culture

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

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

* Poova Thalaya (1969) *

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

(2012) *

Vettai ''Vettai'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film co produced, written and directed by N. Linguswamy. The film stars Arya, Madhavan, Sameera Reddy, and Amala Paul while Ashutosh Rana, Thambi Ramaiah and Nassar played supporting ...

(2012) *

Mirchi (film) ''Mirchi'' () is a 2013 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by debutante Koratala Siva, and produced by UV Creations. The film stars Prabhas, Anushka Shetty and Richa Gangopadhyay with Sathyaraj, Nadhiya, Sampath Raj, ...

(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 V ...

(2013) * Suvadugal (2013) * Anjala (film) (2014) *Dharma Durai (2016) *

Etharkkum Thunindhavan ''Etharkkum Thunindhavan'' (), also known under 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, Priyanka Arul Mohan, and Vinay R ...

(2022)

References

{{Reflist Cities and towns in Tenkasi district Waterfalls of Tamil Nadu Tourism in Tamil Nadu Populated places in the Western Ghats