Kukkal

Kookal is a Panchayat village of terrace farmers at the far western end of the Palani Hills in Kodaikanal block of Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu state, South India.

Kookal sits at the head of the 126 square kilometres (49 sq mi) Kudiraiyar River basin.

[2] Out of 392 households reporting income, the means of livelihood are: casual labour 149, subsistence cultivation 183, artisan 32, salary 14. other 14.

The Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History has a field research station here.

[9] Evergreen rain forest once extended down the valleys and slopes of the Palani Hills almost to the plains.

One relatively large patch of evergreen forest survives on the north-west edge of the Palani plateau west of the settlement of Kookal.

Beyond the forest is the most extensive remaining montane grassland wilderness of the Palani Hills, merging with Manjampatti Valley in the Indira Gandhi National Park.

[11] The Sholas are shrinking and wildlife population are threatened due to monoculture plantations of the Introduced species pine, eucalyptus and wattle.

Along with the encroaching trees, ground ferns are also eating into the grasslands, affecting both the flora and the fauna of the area.

The Kookal sholas are noted for 165 species of butterflies, and a number of relatively uncommon birds such as the wood pigeon, Nilgiri pipit and 15 types of dabchicks.

[15] Bison Wells Lodge has a panoramic view of the eastern slopes of Kookal ridge.