I could take a couple of days off last week and had a holiday voucher from Club Mahindra that I had to use. We had two options - Madikeri or Yercaud given the time constraint. Since we had visited Madikeri couple of times we decided to visit Yercaud this time round.
Using the holiday voucher we booked ourselves into Lake Forest in Yercaud for a couple of days. Having booked ourselves in, we started off from Bangalore on an early Wednesday morning.
Day 1 - Bangalore -> Yercaud
It was an early Wednesday morning in Bangalore and since we stay in South Bangalore, we had to start early to beat the office traffic. Typically south bangalore roads get busy, especially Bannerghatta Road and beyond. All the traffic towards ITPL and Electronics City passes through roads in and around this area. We had planned to start by 7 AM, but got delayed by an hour and started by 8 AM. We avoided driving through Udupi Garden and Silk Board junction as it ouwld be very crowded. We took Bannerghatta Road, where the traffic was sparse and very soon we hit NICE road junction.
Having paid a toll of Rs.35 we headed towards Electronics City. Soon we hit NH7 or Hosur Road as it is popularly called. There was some traffic from here till the Huskur Gate signal. Once we crossed this signal there was barely any traffic and we breezed through Bommasandra, Chandapura and were soon at the Attibele Toll. Here the toll is Rs.25
We crossed over into Tamil Nadu soon after and started seeing some traffic. This was mostly towards the factories in Hosur, although most of the vehicles were Karnataka ones. Its a common practice to work in Hosur and live in South Bangalore for sometime now. I know people who do the commute daily and for a long time now. Hosur seems like a never ending town, the industries just don't stop. Only after a 10-15 min drive and after crossing Ashok Leyland Unit-II did the road start freeing up. We soon hit the famous McDonald's / HP petrol pump near Shoolagiri which was our breakfast stop. The time was 9:05 AM. A journey of just over an hour from Bangalore.
After a quick breakfast at Krishna Veg restaurant and a bio-break we headed out towards Salem. The ride was nice with very little traffic through out. We passed three more toll gates at Krishnagiri bypass, just after Dharmapuri and the last one was Omalur on the outskirts of Salem. The tolls were Rs.33, Rs.79 and Rs.63 respectively. Some pictures of NH7 are below
Once at Salem bypass , at the clock tower junction we took a left turn towards the "Five Road Junction" . We took the Sarada College Road at the junction and travelled for about 2.5km, when we reached Hastimpatti Junction. At this junction, we took a left turn towards Salem District Court/ Central Jail, passed in front of the Collector's Bungalow heading towards Gorimedu Junction. We took the right at the fork here and after another couple of kilometers we reached the fork where the left road in the fork is the Yercaud ghat road. After about a kilometer you will hit a check post where one has to pay Rs.20 as toll. After this is a winding climb towards Yercaud. The first of the 20 hairpin curves right at the beginning (even before the checkpost) and the hairpins again start after 8-9km from the checkpost. The 19 hairpins can be easily negotiated, but be aware of trucks/ buses descending because some of them are badly driven.
We reached Yercaud and easily found our hotel by 12.45 PM. As soon as we checked in it started raining cats and dogs. We had lunch, rested for the afternoon. In the evening we ventured out and found the town literally deserted by about 7 PM, very few people moving around. Instead of walking around, we decided to move around in the car. Just took a ride to check out a few restaurants for dinner. We visited GRT Nature Trails' Salem Heights Restaurant and also The Orange at the Grand Palace, but found the prices to be expensive. Someone recommended Saravana Bhavan and we found the place, its a stone's throw away from the Lake Circle. They serve very good food, we had hot dosas, mini idly's and piping hot coffee.
We retired for the day
Day 2 - Yercaud - Yercaud (Loop Road)
We had a relaxed start to the second day, got up late and started from the hotel by 10.30AM. We had liked Sarvana Bhavan so much that, we decided to eat there for the rest of the trip. So we went there for breakfast, after having some nice dosas and idly's we headed for the loop road.
The loop road starts from Lake Circle and ends at the Lake Circle going through coffee and pepper plantations via a few sleepy villages. We headed out on the Shevarayon temple road, which is the beginning of the loop road. After 4kms on the loop road there is a right turn towards Shevarayon temple. It's a 3 km climb up from there and a beautiful one.
The cheetah at doing the climb,
A part of the route,
There is a watch tower near the Shevarayon temple and some of the views from the top
A view of Yercaud town from Shevarayon temple,
After enjoying these views we came back joined the loop road and headed towards Nagaloor. Nagaloor is a small settlement on the loop road with coffee and pepper plantations At this town there is a T-junction where one has to take a right turn to continue on the loop road. There is a board at this junction for the Maha Meru temple on the right, this is the loop road. About 100 meters from that junction is the Maha Meru temple. It's a nice place to spend some time, however its optional to visit.
After visiting the temple, we started out on the loop road and passed through a few sleepy villages and enjoyed a calm and pleasant drive. The views were breathtaking to say the least. Some views were like this,
We took a good 2.5 hrs to cover the loop road for all of 40km. Its best enjoyed driving slow. The roads are excellent through out. We had lunch at Saravana Bhavan and retired to our rooms for rest.
In the evening we visited the famous Bhavani Singh perfumery, where there is array of herbal oil collections for various ailments or in general to maintain good health. There is a good selection of natural perfumes as well. Black Panther Oil for cold, cough and respiratory ailments is the most famous one here. After having bought a few oils and perfumes here we decided to visit Pagoda Point. Someone recommended us to visit the place in the night to see the city lights of Salem. We went there around 7.15 PM. It was pitch dark and the views were breathtaking. I could not take pictures as I could not get a steady shot. But the real point is, there are no lights here and after dark looked a pretty "shady" place with no one around. Obviously my family did not let me hang around there to take pictures. If one wants to visit Pagoda Point its best to visit in the night, if possible in a big group so that one feels safe.
After a visit to Pagoda Point, we had dinner at Saravana Bhavan and retired for the day.
Day 3 tobe continued....