Oneday Yercaud Trip from Neyveli

 Oneday Yercaud Trip from Neyveli

Yercaud is on the Shervarayan Hill ( Shervaray Range ) in Salem District.It is a quite pleasant Hill Resort in Tamil Nadu.The name is derived from the picturesque Yeri (Lake) once surroundered by Kadu( forest).The Shervarayan Hills as a whole provide beautifull and panoramic view.Yercaud is a pretty hill station with a pleasant cool climate.It is at an altitude of 1,500 metres (4,920 feet) from mean sea level.Yercaud can be visited round the year .It is 32 KM from Salem.

We have started at 4am from Neyveli by car.We went through Vridhachalam, Authur and Selam. We reached Yercaud bus stand at 8.30am.We had breakfast at a hotel near Bus stand.The food is average quality only.After tiffin we set out to explore this beautiful place. Yercaud is known as 'Poor Man's Ooty' as it is considered cheaper and lesser known than the star hill stations Ooty and Kodaikkanal of Tamil Nadu. It was also less crowded and less commercialized.

First we visited the Anna Park.The is a lovely garden near the lake maintained by Horticultural Department.The entrance fee is Rs 2 per head and Camera Rs 10.There is a Children's park and Japanese park inside the Anna park.Then we visited Lake View park opposite to Anna Park.we have very good view of the Yercaud lake from here.

Then we visited the lake called Emerald Lake.It is picturesque pool surrounded by gardens and well wooded slopes.boating in the cold water of the lake is an enchanting as well as refreshing experience. Boat house located on the opposite side of the lake view park .For Rs 95 we have enjoyed 15 mts of boat ride in the lake in a five seater boat with guide.

Then we went to Shevaroyan temple also called Kaveri amman Temple. It is located in a narrow and dark cave on the tallest peak(5,342 ft)Its a cave temple and claustrophobic people will certainly not get in. we could stand straight only in front of the idols and only 3-4 people could stand there. So we had to wait for people inside to come out. The priestess told us the cave extends all the way till talakaveri in Karnataka. The cave or tunnel beyond the idols looked scary and very low. She said its dark and there are a lot of snakes there.

We had lunch in a hotel Shevroy's. There is a good super market inside this hotel and we have some purchases in this mart.Then we visited 'the seats' of Yercaud, the Gents seat and ladies seat. Ladies seat was at a lower elevation than Gents seat. It had a telescope point, tiny shops lined along the way selling chilli bajjis, raw mangoes, Jack fruits etc., Ladies seat was fenced with barbed wires and there were impatient monkey tribe scaring everyone there.

Gents seat,ladies seat and Children's seat. This is a cluster of Rocks on the South West of the Yercaud hills over looking the ghat road and the town of Salem to the South. There is a natural rock formation in the form of a seat where reportedly a white English Lady of yester years spent her evenings viewing the magnificent panorama before ones eyes. There is a sheer drop of about 200 feet at this point into a private estate in the valley below. There is a man made viewing tower with Telescopes. One can see the magnesite deposits on the plains and on clear days a view of Mettur Dam. One should not miss the night view of the Salem town with millions of twinkling lights.

On the right of Ladys Seat are Sterling Resorts, Gents Seat and Childrens Seat. There is a mini park and it is a breath taking spot for a picnic. 2 km from town.We walked up the hill for gents seat. The view from here was better and it was peaceful place without any monkeys or humans to bother us. We could see the hill, houses and fields in the valley, forests adorning the hills and far away towns from here.

We then went to Pagoda point another tourist point. This is on the eastern side of the Yercaud hills. The name comes from four piles of random stones in a pagoda or pyramid formation, made by the hill tribes. Today there is a Rama temple situated between these pagodas.The view from here was better and we sat for sometime and soaked ourselves in the beauty of the place.We could not visit the Botanical garden as it was a holiday.

Then we started back to Neyveli. We drove back along the same route, stopped at the same reliance. It was cloudy and raining in some places. On the way we had evening tiffin at a hotel in Authur and then drove back to Neyveli and reached house at 9 pm