Yercaud travelogue. Review on Yeracaud

This summer, we are planning a quick holiday and were planning a hillstation visit to cool ourselves in the hot summer. On our list were Ooty and Kodai, but we dropped it as it would be overcongested in the peak period. After doing some research on the net, including MS, decided to go to Yercaud. The main reason for choosing Yercaud - it is relatively less congested, nearer to Bangalore and is the ideal place to relax.

Yercaud is a hill station, located on the Shevaroys range of hills very close by to Salem in Tamil Nadu. The place is easily accessible through road and rail. If you are driving down, the highway roads are fantastic and the ghat road is not too tough - lots of people go to Yercaud in two wheelers. We decided to go by train, the 2677 Intercity Express leaves Bangalore at 6:15am and reaches Salem at 10:15. Our hotel had organised a car to pick us up from Salem and it took an hour to reach Yercaud. The month of May is terribly hot in Salem (40 degrees) and as we climbed the ghat roads to Yercaud, the weather turned pleasant. You can get breathtaking views as you traverse the curves and the hair pin bends (20 of them) on your way to Yercaud.

Yercaud has pleasant weather throughout the year and the temperature ranges from 10-28 degrees. Even when the sun was beating down hard, the weather was still pleasant. I had read blogs and reviews which said that there is not much to see in Yercaud, but I don't agree. There is plenty to see and you need 2 days to see everything. We spent the first day relaxing in our hotel and as a result, the second day was too hectic.

If you have your own vehicle, travel is easy, all places are within 2-4 kms. We were depending on the hotel car, which let us down at the last minute. We then met an auto driver and decided to use his services. If you visit Yercaud, and are looking for local transport, don't waste your time with taxis, use the services of Mr. Antony (Mobile number : 9942485805). Not only does he take you safely to all places in his well-maintained little auto, he also acts as guide. He seems to know everyone in Yercaud and did a splendid job as guide. (His charges for a day of sightseeing - just Rs.300/-). While taxis will only take you to the destination, Antony showed us around the places and really made our Yercaud experiuence memorable.

Now to the sightseeing locales :

1. Rajarajeshwari temple :This is one of the temples in Yercaud, the other being Shevaroyan temple (which we had to skip because of time constraint). You can buy spices and perfumes here that are grown in the various plantations of Yercaud.

2. Botanical gardens :This is a treat for those who like plants. There are hundreds of varieties of plants and flowers here, including orchids and a rare insectivorous plant. The campus is quite huge and you can spend good time here. Entry fee Rs.2/- per person, camera fee Rs.10/-

3. Ladies seat :There are various view points, one of them being Ladies seat. There is a view point from where you can look all around the Yercaud hills. But the place is very poorly maintained and infested with aggresive monkeys, one of which grabbed a Frooti from my daughter! The only thing worth seeing here is a telescope room, from where you can see far away factories in Salem (Rs.5/- only)

4. Childrens seat: After seeing the dirtily maintained ladies seat, we decided to skip Gents seat and went to Childrens seat, which offers the best view. Entry charges is Rs.2/- per person and Rs.10/- camera. This entry fee allows access to the rose garden below. The view here is really good and no monkeys around!

5. Rose garden: is below the childrens seat, you can drive down and enter the garden from below (if you want to avoid the walk). This is a well-maintained park with variety of roses, a pleasant place to spend relaxing time.

6. Montfort School: is the highlight of any visit to Yercaud. This boarding school is built on a huge campus and very well maintained. As it was vacation time, we could enter the school even on a weekday and visit places usually not allowed for visitors (thanks to our guide). You can see the fantastic facilities at the school, the well-maintained park - lots of flowering plants, horses, and a mini zoo which has emus, peacocks and some other birds.

7. Lake :The lake is of course the heart of Yercaud. This well-maintained lake is a natural lake. Surrounding the lake is the Anna park with a deer park and some other animals) having play areas for children. There is also a Japanese garden close-by. But boating is what you should not miss. A row boat ride for 2 would cost Rs.70/-. You can try the pedal boats (Rs.70/- charge for 2 with 70 as caution deposit). You will spend an enjoyable half hour on the lake. It started drizzling, making the weather even more pleasant.

There were other places like Pagoda point which we had to skip due to paucity of time. If you visit during or after the monsoons, you can visit the Kiliyur falls (only for trekkers though). For food, you could visit Malar restaurant for South Indian vegetarian fare and Shevaroys for non-veg. If you like to splurge, visit GRT's Salem Heights for a expansive and filling buffet (Rs.275 per head).

Our 2 day visit came to an end and we took a taxi (arranged by our good guide Antony). Taxis would charge you around Rs.550/- for a one way trip (if you use the same services from the hotels, they would charge you 200 extra). Back from the cool environs of Yercaud to the sweltering heat of Salem, where we boarded the 2678 train (4:10pm) back to Bangalore and reaches Bangalore by 8:15pm ending a memorable trip.

So, for those of you looking for a weekend trip or a 2 days holiday, Yercaud is the place for you. I guarantee that you will reall enjoy every minute of your stay in this wonderful hill-station.