It did feel a bit odd to be planning a family trip to
Yercaud in November, bang in the midst of torrential rains. But one of the
brothers was landing only then and the rest of my family thought of swinging it
and face the consequences.
The consequences, I am happy to report, were of the joyous kind; it is Yercaud we are talking about after all. The very Yercaud which had pulled my heart and locked it somewhere in its lush, green wild mountains when I had first visited it about 7 -8 years ago. I didn’t realise how much I would miss the sound of silence, which when punctuated by the chirping or tweeting of birds only seemed to augment the immense, humbling, wholeness of that silence. I fell in love with this small town nestled in the Shevaroyan hill range with its tiny roads that surprisingly could accommodate a good car and which had myriad trekking trails. This time I felt like I was coming home. Any doubts I had of it having changed in the interim were firmed up as we made our way through the winding, ghat road to Sterling Rock Perch. The town was the same, people same but everything else seemed to have been reinforced and spruced up. The ghat road seemed new in places with more work being done on it, there were more bikes and cars moving about the sleepy town, sometimes blaring their horns, and Sterling seemed to have added more rooms and to have moved up a few inches in putting its posh foot forward. Sterling had changed a lot in these years, and I have written about their property in Kodaikanal in Trip Advisor. Their vast, green property in Yercaud which hugged a vantage point on one of the hills had definitely changed to the better over the years.
The consequences, I am happy to report, were of the joyous kind; it is Yercaud we are talking about after all. The very Yercaud which had pulled my heart and locked it somewhere in its lush, green wild mountains when I had first visited it about 7 -8 years ago. I didn’t realise how much I would miss the sound of silence, which when punctuated by the chirping or tweeting of birds only seemed to augment the immense, humbling, wholeness of that silence. I fell in love with this small town nestled in the Shevaroyan hill range with its tiny roads that surprisingly could accommodate a good car and which had myriad trekking trails. This time I felt like I was coming home. Any doubts I had of it having changed in the interim were firmed up as we made our way through the winding, ghat road to Sterling Rock Perch. The town was the same, people same but everything else seemed to have been reinforced and spruced up. The ghat road seemed new in places with more work being done on it, there were more bikes and cars moving about the sleepy town, sometimes blaring their horns, and Sterling seemed to have added more rooms and to have moved up a few inches in putting its posh foot forward. Sterling had changed a lot in these years, and I have written about their property in Kodaikanal in Trip Advisor. Their vast, green property in Yercaud which hugged a vantage point on one of the hills had definitely changed to the better over the years.
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| The view from Sterling Rock Perch |
About Yercaud:
Yercaud is a small hill station in the Shevaroyan hill range
in Salem district, situated about 5000ft above sea level, just above Yelagiri. At
this height, Yercaud enjoys a salubrious climate with temperatures touching 35
degrees in summer and up to 12 degrees in winter which is up to January. In
other words, people visiting from tropical climes will enjoy the weather. The name
Yercaud, people say, comes from the Tamil translation – Yeri-kad (yeri – lake,
kad – forest). That explains the lush forests surrounding the area and the
vivid shades of green draping the place. It is soon becoming a tourist haven
with plenty descending from neighbouring plains for weekend jaunts. There are
so many trails for trekking enthusiasts, a good lake for boating and children’s
park to keep the little ones happy.
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| Above the Clouds |
What to do:
If you could just chuck out your agenda outside the air
conditioned window of your car and settle down to enjoy a holiday in blissful
inertia, with occasional outings to tea or coffee estates or even a trek or
two, I think Yercaud is the place. The places to see here are nothing great and
mildly disappointing when compared to Ooty, Kodaikanal and other hill stations.
But this place has a charm that can be best enjoyed if you check into a hotel
with a view and with a flexible plan.
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| A view to remember - Yercaud |
Places to visit:
Gent’s Seat, Ladies Seat and Childrens Seat: A general haunt
of tourists, these three are view points and are placed close to each other. A
file picture of these spots would reveal a panoramic verdant view, unsullied by
man-made stuff. Now however, it is dirty and poorly maintained and has no
special view point to offer other than what can be seen from any good resort in
Yercaud. The bajji stalls lining the Ladies seat however, is worth paying a
visit for.
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| The ubiquitous bajji stall at the Ladies Seat, Yercaud |
Yercaud Lake: This is another popular tourist place here.
There are row boats, pedal boats, motor boats waiting to pick up people. We
enjoyed the cool weather and the chill water which the rower obligingly
splashed with his oar. In summer I think having a hat/ cap on would be a good
idea as the afternoon sun can be a bit harsh. Our outing in November, however,
was beautiful and cool. There is a deer park close to the lake which we did not
visit. The usual horse riding, corn-on-cob, bajji stalls vying for attention.
Take your pick.
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| Fruit market near the lake |
Anna Park: This is opposite the lake and is a large, verdant
park with swings, slides and see-saws for children to play in and benches on
the side for adults to check their photographs and work out the day’s
sightseeing. Since it is so close to the lake, one can tick this off their list
of places to visit, but there is nothing much here to write home about.
Pagoda Point: This is another view point, possibly better
than Ladies and Gents seat. The wind whipped our hair and clothes alike and it
was quite chill. We had steaming hot tea at one of the ubiquitous stalls there,
clicked a few pictures against the backdrop of a steep valley and were on our
way. I think the view and the place would have a different feel in summer.
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| At Pagoda Point |
Servaroyan temple: Situated close to the Pagoda point, this
temple is the abode of Lord Muruga. It is a quaint place, seemingly leading
into the mountain. The place where the deity is kept has a rocky ceiling and
was quite dark and claustrophobic. It was not a bad visit at all.
Bear cave: Haven’t been to it, but is said to be a must-see.
This cave is seen in a private property and is often open for visitors to see.
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| National Orchidarium - a green osais |
National Orchidarium and Botanical Garden: In November there is not much to see here as the flowers were not in bloom. In summer I am hoping there would be a riot of colours. Even otherwise it is a nice, picnic spot. The ticket is only Rs. 10 and the people there don’t disturb anyone. It was an oasis of solitude and lush greenery. I simply took lungful of oxygen into my body at that time. I wish I had planned to spend more time there by getting something to snack on.
Kiliyur Falls: I have trekked down to this falls a couple of
times in the past and have thoroughly enjoyed the slight challenge it posed.
This time I could not visit as there were older people and little ones in the
group. I have heard that this place has taken the brunt of heavy tourist foot
fall. But it is worth a visit especially after the rains.
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| Above are pics from Rose Garden, Yercaud |
Rose Garden: A very nice landscaped garden close to Ladies
seat. This place meanders upwards to a beautiful view point. There are slides
and swings to keep the little ones busy and space for the older ones to take a
breather. Again a good picnic place, but take care not to litter!
Places to eat:
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| A sample lunch thali in Yercaud |
There are lots and lots of places to eat catering to all
kinds of budget. There are so many stalls and fast food eateries dotting the
hill station. A few that I thought was conducive for a comfortable eating
experience for families are noted below:
1.
Shevaroys Hotel – Shevaroys is an old hand in
the hospitality industry in Yercaud. Their restaurants Silver Oak and Red Dragon serve Multi cuisine and Chinese respectively. We have tried their thali and can vouch for the fact
that it was filling and homely. Their Chinese fried rice and North Indian
gravies were good too.
2.
Sterling Resorts’ Zing – This is a multi cuisine
restaurant with buffet packages. During our say here, we had dinner almost every
day in Zing. Except for a pasta dish which they messed up but very sweetly
wanted to replace, I have had a good experience here. It has a beautiful view
of the shimmering valley and the service is good.
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| At Salem Height Restaurant - GRT Nature Trails, Yercaud |
3.
GRT Nature Trails Salem Heights – This is their multi
cuisine restaurant, which could be reached through a verdant canopy and an
glass walk-a-way. After days of eating thali and meals and playing it safe at
Sterling’s Zing, S and I were happy to order continental and Chinese here. I
wanted to go again, but we just didn’t get around to it.
How to get there:
Car: Our favoured mode of transport. We took the Chennai
to Salem highway NH46, NH7 which is dotted with good restaurants (Ananda
Bhavan (not the popular namesake A2B), Woodlands (not New Woodland in Chennai)
and plenty others. The ghat road from Salem is only 45 minutes long after 20
hair pin bends and is nicely maintained. To reach from Bangalore, you could
check this link
Train: One of the preferred modes of getting to Salem from
Chennai. There are many many trains from Chennai to Salem and we sometimes take
the Yercaud Express from Chennai at 10:40pm which reaches Salem at 4:30 am the
next morning. From the station there are taxis that ply to Yercaud for Rs.
1200-1500 or even regular buses with ticket prices of perhaps 10/20 rs.
Bus: Never tried it from Chennai. But there are again plenty
of A/c sleeper and semi sleeper options.
Activities to try:
Trekking – there are lovely, small trails and a big one that
goes up to Gundur village which I have tried a couple of times. Yercaud is a novice
trekker’s haven.
ATV rides: Grange Resorts have a dirt bikes and ATVs for
adventure sport enthusiasts. I loved the ATV ride that took across a wooded muddy
terrain. It was not easy, but totally worth the money adn at the end of it we
had huge grins plastered on our faces. I hadn't tried this in my recent trip, and I am hoping nothing much has changed in the quality of their service.
Safaris: Some resorts offer night and day safaris to see
some wild animals. I have not tried it this time.
All in all it was a good trip altogether. Though I had wanted to check out many places because I wanted to blog about it, my real agenda otherwise would have been just chilling out amidst the misty clouds.
All in all it was a good trip altogether. Though I had wanted to check out many places because I wanted to blog about it, my real agenda otherwise would have been just chilling out amidst the misty clouds.
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