March in Courtallam is the hot-dry contraction. Daytime 30-35C, nights 25-26C, humidity 65 percent, rainfall under 30mm. The Sahyadri-catchment forest above the falls is at year-driest; the Main Falls drops to 15 percent of monsoon peak (a thin curtain rather than the wall-of-water the falls are built around). Five Falls reduces to a single thin stream. Tiger Falls, Shenbaga Falls, Old Courtallam Falls, Honey Falls, Fruit Falls, Orchard Falls and Pazhaya all stop entirely or run at uncountable trickles. The 9-falls circuit — the trip-defining experience — does not exist in March. Oil-massage practitioners (the 2,000-year-old tradition) still operate at ₹500-1,500 per session but as a standalone therapy without the falls-shower context. Dam-release alerts (when the upstream Manjolai-Manimuthar storage releases for downstream irrigation) bring 1-2 days of artificial flow but these are unpredictable and not the herb-infused current the town markets. Hotel rates at year-low: Hotel Vetri Mahal ₹1,000-1,800, homestays ₹500-800. Skip — the proper SW-monsoon June-September window is dramatically better.

Why March scores 4.0/10