Jun 01, 2009 10:17 AM
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Inspite of quite a few reviews and warnings that Yelagiri would be pretty hot during summer, I decided to take my family on a 2 day trip.
I started on 29th May at 6.00 AM from Chennai and in 4 hours(including a break in between for breakfast) I was in Yelagiri. Needless to say, the highway from Chennai till Vaniyambadi was superb.
Let me make it very clear - DO NOT GO TO YELAGIRI THINKING IT AS A HILL STATION. NEITHER YOU WOULD GO THERE FOR SIGHT SEEING. IT IS PLACE TO RELAX WITH FAMILY, HAVE SOME FUN PLAYING INDOOR AND OUT DOOR GAMES, DO SOME TREKKING, BREATHE UNPOLLUTED NATURAL AIR AND JUST LAZE AROUND.
*Place:
*Yelagiri hills is a cluster of 14 small villages. When you climb the hills, the first village is Punganoor which has many major resorts, . The next is the biggest village called Athvanur which has cheaper lodges. Apart from these two, there are other villages, Mangalam and Nilavur to name a couple.
*Weather:
*Early mornings were pleasant. From 9.00 AM till 4.00 PM it was pretty hot but at about 4.00 PM, the weather turns for the better and it becomes pleasant.
*Activity:
*There is a lake which is small and not clean. There is a park near the lake which is also not well maintaned. There is one more park called Nature Park which is clean and good. But try avoiding the musical fountain show in the evening. It was crass. Couple of trekking spots which I would recommend - from Mangalam to Swamimalai and from near Athvanur bus stand to the sunset point in the evenings. If you love boating, I would suggest self peddling in a much smaller lake(or best called a pond) in Nilavur. This lake is less crowded.
If you go in a car, you can drive through winding roads to the nearby villages and do some exploration. During my drive to Nilavur, I did find a small perumal koil. The perumal was housed in a thatched roof but the idol was really charming and excellent. I also landed a bargain with a local villager for a basket full of fresh mangoes(not ripe ones) for a clean Rs.20 and a big jack fruit for just Rs.80. Similarly, during my drive to Mangalam, I found a huge Siva and Parvathi idols, in open air, slighly away from the road on the left.
*Accommodation
*There are quite a few good places in Punganoor - The Hills, Sterling, Mathura, Taj Zeenat to name a few. Other places which are good are Le Auroville(situated amidst grand greenery), Rhythms, Landmark, ) and O Nila. Most of these resorts have facilities for games like Table Tennis, Carrom, Volleyball, Badminton and cricket. You can verify with the hotel before making the booking. I stayed in The Hill, and it had all facility and also a open air theatre. They show a movie during week ends.
*Food
*Do not expect any pure vegetarian restuarents. All the food joints offer both Veg and non-Veg stuff. I tried food in The Hills and Landmark and it was good, thoough expensive in both the places.
*Shopping
* Nothing really, other than jack fruits in season and fresh honey, if you land with the right guy selling those
After two days of relaxation, I started back on 31st May 09 at 10.30 AM in the morning and 4 hours flat I was back in Chennai.
My family has decided that twice a year we would make it to Yelagiri just to relax and laze and simply do nothing. We are clear that YELAGIR IS NOT A HILL STATION and hence our expectations are certainly fulfilled.
