See Adventure Hear History

This place has gone down in the history as a mysterious pillar, deep south east in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve around 5 km from Kil Kotagiri lies this unusual rock formation, what is called The Rangaswami Pillar, how it got this name is still sketchy - it is said that one Mr Ragaswami had his estate below this Pillar hence the name, So be it, but it is a real visual treat to sit there and admire this unique rock column jutting out from a thick green cover resembling like a green cauliflowers staked on the mountain flanks. Now the history part of it, in the year 1950 a Chennai to Trivandrum bound Air-India flight deviated from its due landing course of Coimbatore and crashed on this pillar ! All 20 passengers and crew on board were found dead.

What used to be our regular trek and exploration trip on weekends - this being one such sojourn myself Dinesh and Purushoth decided to look around Rangaswami Pillar on the way we roped in Giri of kotagiri Hari mess a wildlife enthusiast with lotta energy and passion for Nilgiris, he guided us to to Rangaswami Pillar a moderate one hour trek from Kil Kotagiri through tea estates, shola forests and grass lands ( it was surprising to come across grass lands in the eastern side of Nilgiris). Done with the trek and back in Kotagiri we were discussing about the trek when Giri told us that he was in possession the new paper article published in 1953 carrying the news of the above mentioned plane crash which got us excited and as we read through the article which deliberated the sequence, the search undertaken and the details of the persons on board so on. It was heartening to hear and at the same time it gave us an inquisitive historical angle to our exploration. Read the full text reproduced here

Another perspective of the Pillar from Kallampalayam in the Segur Ghats