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Dial 'Y' for Yercaud

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Post by vsuprak Sun Dec 13, 2009 12:37 am

Yercaud
by vsuprak on Sat Dec 12, 2009 21:17 pm

Travelogue #
Posted by : Surya

Where : Yercaud, Salem, Tamil Nadu
When : 14/15th Nov '09
How : Road Tripping
Who : Rao (D), PC (D), Rahul, Tushar, Surya (D)
Nearest City : Salem (34 kms)
Best Time to Visit : Any time of the year
For : Weekend getaway, Sight Seeing, Relaxation, Fun, Peace (Photographers delight)
Against : Nothing

After some hectic discussions in office regarding planning a trip to Kabini River Lodge, we managed to get almost 14 people to join us for a 2 day trip. But with people dropping out and the numbers falling low, we were heading

nowhere and the frustration was building up quite fast. In the midst of all this, it chanced upon us that we could actually just escape to Yercaud for a change and do ourselves some good.

The head count came to down to 5 in the end and soon 14th was nearing and our spirits were soaring.
After a small discussion on whose car was to be taken for the trip (preferably a sedan), we finally decided Rao to have the final word and agreed to drive down in his Verna.

DAY1:

Come 14th morning 3am and I was up and getting ready. 4am on the clock and i was waiting for Rao to honk at my door. But I got a call at 4.10 that he had just woken up and would take about 30 minutes to reach my place Mad
He finally arrived at 4.30 and in no time we were zooming off to PC's place and from there to Rahul's place.

With Rahul, Tushar and PC in the back seat, by 5.30am we had hit the highway.
While Rao and me were having a gala time, Tushar in the back was all swears for us for having woken him up so early in the morning.
With all the morning traffic chaos of cabbies and buses coming out of depots, accompanying us it took us a while to get on the freeway.

At about 6.30am we stopped for our first sip of hot piping tea. It was pretty cold and boy! did we enjoy the tea? we almost burnt our mouths.

From there on it was just drive, drive and more drive on some of the best roads we could lay our tyres on.

We stopped at Thoppur (after Krishnagiri) for Breakfast at an A2B (Adyar Anandha Bhavan) run by Bharat Petroleum. The place was so buzzing with people even before the day's service had begun that we actually had to wait for

about half an hour before we got to eat our menu. But, all that wait was worth considering the taste that we got to feast on.

We drove off from there decidedly that hte next stop would only be Yercaud. With speeds exceeding 150 kmph and the fresh air and music hitting us right down to the marrow, we entered the city of Salem.

With a few enquiries here and there, we were soon on the road to Yercaud. In no time, the ghat sections began and we were driving through the clouds. It had started to rain intermittently and the weather was in its best possible

form for us to savour it all. We rolled our windows down and couldnt resist the smiles that were now stretching on our faces.

A good half an hour later, we were almost there at Yercaud. The hotel we had booked for our stay was placed just by the famour Yercaud lake, which is the central point in Yercaud.
We quickly checked into our tiny cottages which provided a clear and magnificient view of the lake just from the other side. We decided to get fresh and immediately proceed to Killiyur Falls.

Killiyur Falls was just about 7 kms from where we had pitched our tents. we reached there through narrow 1 vehicle pass roads in about 20 minutes and soon began our descent by foot.

Killiyur falls is not a place where you could take your entire family with you. The 2 km descent is not an easy one as it basically does not have any defined path to walk upon. In fact the climb down can be termed as treacherous

on some sections. If you are visiting the place just after or in between the rains, you got to be damn careful when getting down.
It is preferable to wear denim or dark coloured clothing as they are bound to get spoilt anyway.

Once down, we climbed the last few rocks and were right under the water. The place was completely empty with not a single soul visible and we had it all for ourselves. It had just started raining and was probably one of the best

symphony of the flowing water and the rain, cascading down on those rocks we had ever seen. Going down to that placewas definitely worth the effort. After a good 1 hour spend at the falls, we decided to start our climb back to

the car, before we ran out of breath.

We finally climbed back the way up and took some time getting our breath back to normal. We then moved directly for a buffet lunch at GRT Sky Rocca. The place is awesomely done up with skywalks and breathtaking views all

around the place.

Buffet lunch was Rs. 300 per head and was delicious and well spread considering the few people we could see there. After that sumptuous meal we moved to teh lake and decided to go boating in the rain itself.

Strapped with life saving jackets, boating had never been so much fun and it will probably take a while again before we get to do something similar to that again.

After a good 30 minute boating in the chill weather and rain, we headed back to our small cottages with the car parked between them like a fairy tale.

We had plans of visiting more places in the day, but the boys were really not budging and soon everyone dozed off. I would have woken up after about half an hour at around 4pm. The others were still asleep and it was a while

before they wole up at around 6pm. By now, the lake which we saw in the morning from our balconies, was completely masked in clouds with visibility dropping to just a few meters. We decided to stay back in the rooms, chatting

and having fun in the warmth inside.
We took a small stroll down to a local tea stall at around 7pm and a walk around the lake, and took some really good pictures in that misty light.

At 8pm, we drove to Hotel Shevaroys (on my recommendation) for dinner. Shevaroys was known to me since my childhood days when I used to frequent Yeracud. it used to be a 3* hotel. Somehow now, it seems more crowded and

has lost its earlier charm. The food was just about ok as we had very limited options to choose dinner from.

We returned back to the hotel by 10pm and decided to end the day by watching our own carried movie and enjoy the rainy foggy weather. After a good movie and some chat later, we finally closed the day at 00.15 am.

DAY2:

We woke up early in the morning at about 6.30 am and the weather was brilliant. The rain had stopped and there was a dense fog and mist all over the place. The lake was still not visible though. After quick bath and packing our

belongings, we checked out of the cottages at about 8.30am. The hotel provided complimentary breakfast which included Idli, Masala Dosa, Upma, Pongal & Vada (also purhcaseable for Rs.50/-).

All-in-all after breakfast and coffee, we drove off and proceeded to Pagoda Point, which is the highest point in Yercaud. The place is good to enjoy breathtaking views of around the hill station. A perfect spot for photographers too.

The place consists of 4 pillar like structures built of stones. It is said that the 4 piallrs for the support for a Pagoda (typical temple structure). However, there is not much left of it in this place.

From here we moved to Shevaroyan Temple. This is a pretty old temple here whivh has been formed inside a cave (reminds of Vaishno Devi Temple). The temple is basically of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi. There about a hundred idols

inside that small cave, where photography is not permitted. We however managed to take one photo from the outside which gives an idea bout the interior of the cave.
Immediately after covering the temple, we moved a little upwards on the hillock. The weather was really awesome with fog, clouds and drizzle. A perfect weather to roll windows up and turn on the heater in the car. We however,

decided to roll down the windos and lets the breeze chill our spines. There were remains of some fair and we had the chance tpo play around in those remains.

From here, our next stop was to be Ladies Seat. Ladies seat is at the other end of Yercaud from Shevaroyan Temple. On the way to Ladies Seat, we tried covering the Montford School also, but the place was under some renovation,

so we had to be content with just the outside of the building. Just about 15 minutes drive and we reached Ladies Seat. We had some really fresh and hot chilli & onion bajji's here before going sight seeing. The place was completely cloudy. Otherwise, on a normal day, you would see the end of a mountain, shaped like a lady sitting in a chair, which is from where the place gets its name. They alos have a tiny telescope observatory where you can see the road from Salem to Yercaud through a telescope, by paying a small fee of Rs. 5/-.

Ahead of Ladies Seat are two more similar places called Gents Seat and children's Seat, but we decided to skip these and continue with our journey. The time now was just about 11 am and we arrived near the lake again. We took a casual stroll in the park adjoining the lake where we found some animals maintianed like a small zoo. There were birds of various kinds, Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Peacock, Deer and Ducks. We finally decided to leave Yercaud and started our drive back to Salem. At 12noon sharp we had lunch at Adyar Anandha Bhavan in Salem. We all ordered different stuff to eat and it was almost like a riot of colours with the food on the table.

They say its difficult to drive after a really heavy meal, but thats not the case when it comes to us. We drove, drove, drove and in 2 hours flat, reached the outskirts bangalore. Once back in the city, it was the same old pain in the traffic and meaningless chaos. 4pm and I was back home, with my mind full of vivid images of Yercaud. These I am sure are going to stay for quite a while now.

It is exactly 1 month since we've been there, that I write this article. But every little thing that we said or did in that trip is still lingering in my mind clear as it was then. And I for sure am longing to be there again. Soon.
vsuprak
vsuprak
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