Courtallam — locally "the Spa of the South" — is a cluster of nine waterfalls 60 km northwest of Tirunelveli, dropping out of the Western Ghats onto the plain. The Main Falls, where the water plunges 60 metres in a single sheet, is the most popular and the most crowded, with concrete bathing platforms below and changing rooms cut into the rocks.
The smaller falls in the surrounding hills — Five Falls, Honey Falls, Tiger Falls, Old Falls, Shenbagadevi — are accessible by short walks or jeep rides and tend to be less hectic. The whole valley is associated with Siddha medicine, and Tamil tradition treats a monsoon-season visit as therapeutic. Go in July or August for full flow; in the dry months the falls are reduced to trickles.