Tall trees, majestic hills, deep woods and enchantment: A sojourn in Yercaud

[Lukeskywalker]

This Travelogue is written by my better half who goes by the nick Carburettor Cauvery (CC) on Tbhp (she's still not a member though)

CC :Its been sometime since my husband has been on this forum and courtesy this, there is some glitzy vocabulary I have picked up imping up rides err isnt a dirty thing;ice isnt what you mix in your drink;mod isnt for modern but for constructive surgery done to your vehicle, Handle is a nick.. is a name...sigh! So pardon me if I break into Luke-BHP lingo in between this travelogue

Headline in Luke BHP lingo :3 black rides and a red marvel on wheels

CC :One of the greatest perks on joining the team BHP family is some great friends we have made courtesy the Forum.One such bunch agreed to gang up and drive out to Yercaud last weekend.

In Luke BHP Lingo :3 GM cars: An SX4 with 16" wheels (Oops that isnt a GM car);A red optra with 15"alloys ;a bombatt Sparky with great turning radius and a Palio with amazing eyes oops ICE started off after meeting outside Dakshin Honda.We also managed a peek at the new Jazz parked there and here is a little review......

CC :Hey we thought this was a travelogue!!!

CC :We met on Hosur road and started off at 6.30am stopping enroute at Krishnagiri for breakfast at a restaurant called Spicy Spoon.After a sumptuous snack of steaming hot idlis,dosa and pongal off we went via Dharmapuri and Salem.A brief stop in Salem around eleven to pick up a birthday cake for Mrs Bombatt,(her birthday was on sunday and the trip was also an excuse to bring it in together), we drove off again and started the climb onto the hills.The drive was extremely picturesque, so totally green,hills replete with Silver oaks.and temperatures beginning to drop after the Salem sun.

In Luke BHP lingo :The cars took off at a steady 60km and once on the GQ, the speeds rose to 80 upward, there was engine noise at high RPMs and brakepads on the optra needed replacement after 20000kms blah blah blah

At Spicy Spoon near Krishnagiri


CC : The climb uphill consists of 20 hairpin bends but the road is extremely narrow making it difficult to manouever especially with larger vehicles coming from the opposite side at breakneck speeds.As we climbed up however all thoughts of a misty hill holiday vanished like vapour when we saw a small sunny town called Yercaud with a little lake. Is this it? Looked very disappointing and voices of friends who had ditched saying "Yercaud? Whats there to do? it is sad" came rushing back.

Yercaud lake

However we were told that our destination was half an hour away and people from the group who had been there earlier hastened to reassure us that there was paradise ahead just waiting for us.
We drove on further uphill and habitation grew sparser and sparser.There was more of the hilly countryside in view:trees, trees and more trees.We crossed several colourful butterflies just rushing past and saw beautiful wild flowers line both sides of the narrow road.And then we went through a valley, more tall trees and flowers till we reached our destination:A resort called Enchanted Woods or eWoods for short:run by a couple from Chennai :Yusuf and Shireen:it is indeed enchanting.We reached there around 12noon.

Luke : The GQ drive till Salem was on awsome roads but we encountered our first pothole enroute the hills.Roads to Yercaud are narrow but after acquiring some rubbernecking skills we managed to drive in fourth gear and Michelin tyres did not skid and unidirectional treads on the yokos...
CC :errr who Yoko Ono?
Luke :no no Yokohama you dud!
CC :Sob:( err What about the scenery
Luke: what scenery ? I was driving and checking if the Sparky was following.

CC :The 12 acre resort is nestled deep in the hills giving it a feeling of complete isolation.Though of course its surrounded by other large coffee estates, there are few people moving about and so you feel that you have the whole place to yourself. If you are looking for a peaceful holiday far from the maddening crowd, this is the place to be.
Yusuf and Shireen have taken great care to maintain the rustic feeling .You need to pass through steps made of natural rock with fruit trees surrounding you, pass a geese pond and some curious and noisy turkeys and firebirds to get to the cottages.

There are 2 cottages on the banks of a stream.We were told that the best time to go is just after the monsoon as the stream is then gushing with water and the hills around are covered by mist.The cottages while furnished comfortably still exude the feeling of old world charm with antique wooden almirahs, tile roofs;brick walls;red tile floors, fireplaces and an old fashioned sit out.

Yusuf's house is again a place to behold:he has an old gramaphone record with numerous old records: we started off our stay listening to Boney M, ABBA and Queen while the younger generation walked off scornfully when all they saw was retro.A quick tour of the house and we saw a beautifully restored dial up telephone.a treasure chest and an attic with a loft


Hellooo???


Music anyone


Retro
Attachment 151010

The loft


Jacks in the box


This fellow laughed at me every time I crossed him


What I liked best was a huge fig tree covered with luscious large figs and the dining tables set below it in the open by the stream.Again old world :lovely wooden benches and tables with just nature around us.

Lunch under the fig tree






...contd

[StarVegabond]

Hey, Hari, great pictures man, keep them coming

[Lukeskywalker]

In LukeBHP Lingo : We landed up at the Yercaud lake and were wondering what a place..., but then Vaseem led us away from the hustle and bustle into curvy hill roads with blind corners and after twists and turns his SX4 suddenly turned left and dropped out of sight into some bushes with one wheel completely off the road!! I approached the turn and saw that it dropped off into steep descent into the approach road to eWood estate.All cars maintained distance on the OTR track to the resort.

Food is excellent and consists of home cooked meals: fried fish, chicken kebabs, rice, sambar, papads, yam pakodas and curries to name a few.
Post lunch, we walked around the place and some of the enterprising discovered a telescope and a rifle and were excited

Sherel looking into the stars


Arre o Samba


He He this tickles my armpits


This is it is done (or is it?)


CC : The evening saw us get into a game of cricket with both teams having one lady each, surprisingly Priya (Mrs Bombatt) turned out to be quite a cricketer getiing maximum wickets and taking one astounding catch to get the highest scorer in the opponent's team out.

IPL Yercaud ishtyle


This is how Bombatt bowled his 'Maiden' over


The cricket match was followed by a long walk through wild flowers and silver oaks that were on the fringe of the coffee estates.

Yusuf taking us on the plantation walk


Surrounded by nature


...contd.

[Lukeskywalker]

The power mostly goes off more often than not .Initially we were a little apprehensive when we heard that we might have to make do without electricity but soon realised the charm of lanterns and a star lit night.A barbeque fire was lit up with some effort and soon there were sizzling pieces of chicken and cottage cheese waiting to be eaten by starlight.The licking flames, shadows dancing, and the whistling wind with sounds of the noctural creatures made it the perfect setting to exchange ghost stories.And some chilling ones were narrated.

Around the Barbeque


The night ignites..


With Yummy food


We decided to bring up the camp beds into the open and sleep under the trees but a slight drizzle made us change our minds.Instead we sat on Charpoys and listened to some great music on Vaseem's ICE.Is that what you call it?Then the younger ones insisted on plying something called Linkin Park which sounded like a badly written monologue to my untrained ears.Since the oldies outnumbered the young ones, we quickly decided to shut off the music and go for a midnight drive.

Mrs Bombatt was taken to a hilltop that showed off the lights of Salem at a distance and admidst much banter,she was crowned Birthday queen and the cake was cut.

Cake cutting by the kerb


Customary Cake on the face


The night beat


We then decided to call it a night and set off to our cottages.

...contd.

[msbehave]

Wow, this is amazing. Not to mention the very, very entertaining travelogue. There is a direct proportion between the places I want to travel to and the time I spend on TeamBhp! Hope there's more coming this way.

[Lukeskywalker]

The morning saw all the enthusiastic cutlets refuse an early morning trek through the hills.Instead the ladies set off on a morning walk while the gents decided to wash the cars.On returning after an hour we still saw them at it, rubbing away.

Luke BHP Lingo :We awoke and decided that the rides needed Tender loving care and so started the soothing exercise of washing our cars. Bombatt was missing his favourite turkish towel.We were getting ready to take pictures for the next post.
CC : Hey why the is favourite line on the forum: great pics, keep them coming?And do you ever take people's pics?

The cottages by the stream


Flora at E-Woods


Bombatt's morning workout


Whew!! All that drawing water was tiresome.


Luke: Post breakfast, I talked Yusuf into letting me check out his MM540 DP, he asked Diwan his manager to tag along and we went looking for some places where only jeeps copuld go, Diwan was most perplexed as to why I wanted to go where there are no roads for checking out a vehicle, my first initiation into OTR and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My first Jeep drive


Diwan asking me are you sure you wanna do this??


After the mini OTR


Mission accomplished


Back to Ewoods


CC : We were loathe to come back home and monday looked too close for comfort.Luke decided to take Yusuf's jeep for a drive to a view point called Pagoda point.All the ladies jumped in and off we went with the wind in our hair and huge smiles on our faces. Midway, while negotiating a curve Luke admitted that it was his first jeep ride and that since there was no handbrake and since the brakes needed some work, downhill wouldnt be so pleasant. All laughter vanished .The only sound was of Luke honking on the 3 different horns hoping people enroute would vanish.

Pagoda point


Luke BHP lingo : Check out ther pics! shall keep a few more of them coming!

[Lukeskywalker]

Soon it was lunchtime and after another delicious meal it was time to say goodbye and headback.We wished as always that some how magically we could stay another day and enjoy the peace and tranquility of ewoods.

The cars at Ewoods


The Bangalore Birthday Bunch


Official group snap


But office beckoned and we had to leave. So we promised to return after the rains and left for Bangalore around 3.30pm. Reached town by 8.30pm.An enchanting holiday came to an end.

Regards
CC

P.S. More pics from others cameras will be uploaded soon.

[StarVegabond]

Hi Hari (& your better half) , great travelogue, very entertaining
it seems you had a great time

can you share some details on the location of this retreat, how to book etc.

[HappyWheels]

Hari,

Wonderful travelogue! Great narration and the pics!

And yes, please share the location / contact details. Will come in handy in the near future.

[Lukeskywalker]

Thanks guys,
Ewoods is located at Yercaud about 5 kms away from the lake on the road to Pagoda Point.
The phone numbers of the retreat are:
04281291786
09381004828 (Mohammed Yusuf)

Distance from Bangalore is roughly 240kms.
The entire stretch consists of good roads.

[akroy]

Hari (oops sorry!! I should say Joe), Wonderful narration. Great Pics. Finally your wish of Yercaud is fulfilled.

Belated Birthday wishes to Priya !!
Was Perez driving on Rajan's car?

Abhi

[muralisk]

Truly awesome narration and very cool pictures. Yercaud is an amazing place. The resort is nice and I think it's time we planned a trip to Ewoods.

[vaseem]

Any signs of the impending monday morning blues on these people ??

[Perez]

Great travelogue cc and luke. i was contemplating on writing the travelogue yesterday during the day(boredom makes you think this way) but was scared..more of cc's pen than luke's light saber; the pen is supposed to be mightier than the sword remember

Anyways, since the travelogue has been posted here are some pics from my end. All in all amazing trip and thanks to waseem, deepak and hari for keeping their right foots lighter than would've liked

This man is obsessed with his trukish towel


This is what some people chose to have for breakfast




Emergency helpline phone on the highway


Please identify the make and model


Flora at EWoods



Rock Crawler


Like father like son


Walk at dusk

[Perez]

@abhi, yes, i had the pleasure of driving the palio since rajan's not in the country and my car's no longer highway worthy