Weekend @ Yercaud

Yercaud needs no introduction, but for the benefit of all, here’s a small intro. Yercaud is a quaint little hill station in the district of Salem in Tamil Nadu.This is often referred to as the “Poor man’s OOTY”. I cannot quite see the logic for this. Yercaud is not as crowded as Ooty, and at the same time, it offers all that is expected out of a hill station.

Facts
Yercaud is aprrox 235 kms from the city of Bangalore. The distance can be covered in 4.5 to 5 hrs. The route is Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri-Salem-Yercaud. The last stretch (Salem to Yercaud) is 30 kms out of which 25 kms are climbing the hill. This 25kms has 20 Hairpin bends , most of which(19) are near the top.

The scenery is appealing as you travel along the winding roads.

After a 10 day long planning , the D-day came when we set off towards our destination. By the time we cud leave the traffic of the city behind it was well over 1.5 hrs since the time we had started. At the first chance where we could find a place to eat, we stopped. This place is just after leaving Hosur. A reliance petrol station that has a restaurant attached to it. With Reliance planning to shutdown all its petro outlets, am not sure how long the restaurant will last.
Having spent close to an hour at this place, we resumed the journey towards our destination. By the time we reached Salem it was 12 (midnight). Most of us had fallen asleep. After a refreshing cup of “chaai”, we set off for the last leg of the journey, the hill journey. As we climbed into the darkness, the first whiff of cold wind blew across as if welcoming us to the place. A steady climb of 50 mins brought us to Yercaud at 1 AM. All one could think of was a good-night’s sleep. A word about the accommodation. There are quite a few options up in Yercaud.

Hotel Grand Palace (this is where we camped)

Hotel Tamilnadu

Hotel Shervaroy (this has a multi-cuisine restaurant and a chinese restaurant). It’s a good idea to book in advance especially if you are targeting the summer hols.

Yercaud is a place where one can have a perfectly relaxed weekend..If you manage to get up early in the morning, take a walk around. Its refreshing to absorb the quietness of the place. The only sound that can be heard is of the birds and the gentle breeze.
If you are a kind of person who likes to go visiting places, there are a few places and things-to-do.

Here are some of the things-to-do
One of the major attraction is the boating in the lake. One can enjoy a half hour ride on a row boat, taking in the nature’s beauty. Or if you want to have some fun on your own, Pedal boat is a good option. If you rent out a 4-seater pedal boat, be sure of who’s gonna pedal out since you will not have the option of changing places once you set out. ”Lady’s seat”, is a viewpoint from where the winding roads that lead up to Yercaud can be seen. On a early morning, one can hear the honking of the vehicles far below. Also there is a “telescope view”, a guided visual through a telescope (Ticket : Rs 5 per head)

Killiyur falls is the name of the water fall that is famous here. We could not find any water here, but the trek to half the way down was adventurous.

This seemed a way for the water to flow rather than a path for trekkers.

An interesting place to visit would be the old (85 yr old I think) school called Montford school, for the architecture. This is open to public only on Sundays and upon permission from the school authorities.
Suggestion
Yercaud is a nice place to go around cycling. If you can carry a bicycle along, I would recommend that. Frisbee and playing cards are a nice way to enhance the relaxing time. Thats it from me for now. See ya after.