Yercaud
Tamil Nadu is known for its humid weather and so getaway to a hill station on a weekend for 2days is much needed. I started from Chennai by 6’o clock morning by car. It took 5 hours to reach Salem and a diversion to a small road lies a big mountain upon which is the hill station ‘Yercaud’. When you climb up the hill, road is good for some distance but reaching near the town, it’s a bad road. It takes 1hour 30minutes to climb up the hill. Save offline map as there is no network coverage while climbing up the hill and you won’t find anyone to guide you too. It is a small town up the hill and all the tourist spots lie close to one another. The weather was pleasant and cool during morning and post sunset during the month of August I visited. The afternoon is sunny but not much hot. You’ll need sweatshirt post evening always.
You can find many decent hotels to stay with family on ‘Yercaud-Kanavaipudur Road’. This is near to the circle of the town and all the spots are close by this location. I booked for the hotel online only while travelling from Chennai to Yercaud as we made a sudden plan. So no worries for a sudden getaway to this place as you’ll find many good hotels in this place.
I checked-in at hotel by afternoon. After getting some rest, went out to explore spots when it rained suddenly. Expect rain any time in Yercaud. Timing for boating was closed and it got dark when I reached the viewpoints too. But I enjoyed the chill weather in drizzle.
I started my second day thinking about boating. Like every hill station, people expect a lake and boat house as we never get bored of it. So I started to boat house to enjoy paddle boat ride. The place is well maintained and they provide life jackets for boating. It’s safe to take kids too as they provide small size life jackets for kids considering safety.
All the three viewpoints are near to one another where we can get scenic view of mountains and plains. The points are very windy and so have care for kids.
Rose Garden is very close to the viewpoint. You can visit this and take some pictures though it has limited for a species. You’ll find some rose plants and other colourful flower plants surrounded by dense trees giving a good shade.
Driving from the last spot, I reached botanical garden. This place is also good for photographs with limited flower and decorative plants. The place has a kids’ play area to entertain kids.
You need to check for rainfall time as this water falls look dry other times. It’s easy and safe to climb down the man-made steel staircase to reach the waterfalls. Even though water is scarce, one can step down to see the scenic view of mountains and forests. This place is well-planned with man-made steel staircase amidst forest making safe trail for visitors.
Next morning 6’o clock, I checked out of hotel and drove to Chennai. On the way back from hotel, this Pagoda viewpoint at 7 km distance is a beautiful mountain view in mist. You can see clouds passing by your eye level. Finally, it's way back home.
Yercaud is famous for many natural products from forest resources like, honey, perfumes, oils, etc. If you go ahead from hotel locality, you’ll find some industries selling these products but check for quality if you can differentiate between natural and artificial products.
