Kodiveri Dam

Kodiveri Dam is a masonry dam across the Bhavani River in Erode district's Gobichettipalayam taluk, beside State Highway 15 roughly 15 km out of Gobichettipalayam on the Sathyamangalam side. The name is thought to come from kodivari, a Tamil word for tiger, perhaps because tigers once roamed the forest here. It was built in 1125 CE by Jayankonda Chola Kongalvan, ruler of Vadakarai Nadu under Kulothunga Chola I, with rock quarried near Sathyamangalam and hauled in by elephants; the blocks were stacked and bound with iron and lead.

Tradition says floods swept the dam away twice just as the king was preparing to open it, and the structure standing today, 151 metres long, is the third. Two channels leave the dam and water about 24,504 acres, mostly sugarcane and paddy. It is a popular outing, with a park, a play area and coracle rides.