[Satshan]

We needed a breakout from our daily routine & chores. Moreover, there were scorching summers in Bangalore (Especially this year, temperatures in April-May increased upto 35 Degrees Celsius). A pleasant nearby getaway for a couple of days was what we badly needed.

I thought of Wayanad and Munnar, but they were quite far and spending 2 days would have a hasty schedule.

Wifey suggested Yercaud, which is a nice hill station few hours from Bangalore. Also, I heard from many of my friends about the nice weather. Researched further on Team-bhp and found some useful travelogues on Yercaud. Finally, decided a two day trip to Yercaud.

Preparation

Googled through some travel websites which provided nice rates with discount, pictures and comparison.

We booked a deluxe room in VSV resort from 7th June to 9th June. Booking was done 2 weeks prior on goibibo.com and got a nice deal.

Also researched for some places of attraction in Yercaud and listed down few.
From Google Maps, searched for the route from Bangalore to Yercaud and took a printout to carry along.

Ensured the fuel tank was full, the previous day with correct tyre pressure. Checked all car papers were in place.

Packed our bags the previous day (thanks to wifey, she is very organized about small things). She even prepared home-made breakfast (Omlet sandwich) and hot tea to carry along for the trip.

Driving Day:

Next day, woke up early at 5.30 am, had a fresh bath and got ready. We left Bangalore by 6.30 am. There is an internal road (SH35) connecting Hosur, which was all clear in the morning time.

Around 8.30 am, we stopped at Gollapali (before Krishnagiri) and had a heavy brunch with tea. After 20 minutes of halt, continued our journey ahead.

Reached Salem by 12 pm and took a small lavatory break. We reached Yercaud (VSV resorts) at 1.15 pm.

Had lunch at Saravana Bhavan restaurant. Food was hygienic, fresh and tasty, well within budget.

Arrived at the hotel and took some rest. Got up at 4 pm and wanted to visit few nearby points.

Since we were visiting this place at the beginning of monsoon season, the rain Gods were already showering by evening time. Unfortunately, our sightseeing plans failed for the day.

Good Restaurants: Hotel Saravana Bhavan Elite (Typical Tamilian dishes, tasty food), Hotel Waterfront (Nice but bit costly)

Driving experience:

Most of the road stretches are highways, so cruising at 100-120 kmph is a breeze. Since, it’s a four lane highway, no traffic congestion except few road junctions.

Toll booths are present at every stretch. Drive at lower speeds on these junctions since local bikers and mopeds appear from nowhere. No Handsignal.

The Ghat section from Salem to Yercaud is 30 kms which has 20 Hair-pin bends. Driving through these twisty roads was quite thrilling and enjoyable. Overtaking heavy vehicles in the ghats has to be carefully planned and avoided on blind turns.

Stopping in ghats is prohibited and the local police keeps patrolling every now and then. We stopped on few hairpin bends for photo clicks, but ensured we moved quickly.

The roads are pretty narrow at some curves, making you actually dead-stop the vehicle to let the opposite vehicle pass by. Found State Transport bus drivers cooperative enough in anticipating and giving way for upcoming vehicles.

As we moved above, temperatures dropped with nice cool breeze. We noted one of the milestone read 1350 meters above sea level.

Here are some key facts about the drive:

Route: Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri-Salem-Yercaud

Total Distance covered: 537 kms (Return journey with sight-seeing)

Highways:

• State Highway 35 to reach Hosur.

• National Highway 7/Asian Highway 43: From Hosur to Salem. This is the longest national highway in India. It stretches all the way till Kanyakumari.

• State Highway 188: From Salem to Yercaud.

Road conditions: Excellent Highways (4 lane/6 lane). Ghat road from Salem to Yercaud and internal roads within Yercaud are very well maintained by TN Govt.

Total Toll: Rs. 464/- (return journey included)

Mileage: 18 kmpl on the highway while 14 kmpl in Ghats section.

Hotel experience:

Stay: VSV Resorts (Note: This is a decent hotel only, not a resort). Rooms are neat, clean and basic. 24 hours water supply and power backup.

The hotel staff was very courteous and polite. We spoke to the Hotel manager (Mr. Kannan) who was very cooperative. We wanted to know more about this small town and the points to visit nearby. Out of curiosity, wifey asked the meaning of the word Yercaud, He described, the town gets its name from the lake located at its center. ‘Yeri’ means lake and ‘Kaadu’ means forest (In Tamil language). Hence the name, Yercaud.

We thought of hiring a guide with us for sightseeing. But the manager said that is not required and further helped us by preparing a complete map of the nearby points.

Tariff: Rs. 1500/- for 2 days stay. (Got Rs.400/- discount since the booking was done from goibibo.com)

Hotel Facilities: Parking, TV, generator power backup, Small restaurant, 24 hours water (Hot water in the morning for 3 hrs.), Hot drinking water on request.

Few concerns:

• No extra plug point provided for mobile/camera charging anywhere in the room. We had to use the TV point for charging our mobiles.

• Bell for Room service was not working. We had to walk to the reception to order any stuff.

Weather conditions: (June month)

• Cloudy skies, Very windy. Occasionally raining.

• Day temperature max around 28 Degrees while min drips to 18-19 Degrees. (Even lesser if it rains)

• Climate is very Refreshing, cool and pleasant. (Perfect for a hill-station)

Sight-seeing: 8th June 2013

• Karadiyur View point: This point lies 12 kms from the centre of the Yercaud town. Karadiyur is a small hamlet where you need to park the vehicle and walk in the forest for 0.5 kms to reach this point.

Once reached, there’s a magnificent view of the mountain ranges along with beautiful landscape of the valley below. Wind currents were quite strong here.

• Sri Lalitha Tirupurasundari Temple: This temple lies 8.5 kms from the centre of the Yercaud town. We visited here while coming back from the Karadiyur View point.

It is also called Sri Chakra Mahameru Temple as it has the world’s largest Sri Chakra Mahameru. Built in white marble, with paved pathways, the main sanctum sanctorum has a semicircular pit filled with water.

This temple though only about a couple of years old, attracts a lot of people due to its serenity and tranquility.

• Sheverayan temple (Shevaroy temple): This is located 6 kms from Yercaud town. The location of the temple is the highest point in Yercaud at 5,326 feet (1,623 m).

The temple, which has a narrow and dark cave is devoted to Goddess Kaveri and Lord Servarayan. Goddess Kaveri represents the river Cauvery while Lord Servarayan stands for the Servarayan hill itself.

Devotees have to bend low due to the Rocky structure in the cave and make way to take darshan of the deity. The view from the hills is picturesque making a visitor’s delight.

Further, we wanted to visit Killiyur falls, which is one of the famous spots here.

However the hotel manager had told us that since it has been a long summer, water is dried up and only bare rocks can be seen. Hence, it is best to visit after rainy season. So we skipped it.

Stopped for lunch at a decent restaurant (Sarvana Bhavan Elite) and came back to the hotel for a short nap.

Left again at 4 pm to cover some more points:

• Pagoda Point: It is 4 kms from Yercaud town. The point got its name from the four piles of stones that are arranged randomly in order to form a pyramid shape. It is said that it was formed by the local tribes living here. It is basically a viewpoint from where the visitors can view the extensive scenes of the valley.

• ATV Quad-biking: This is an off-roading biking experience provided by Grange resorts. This is quite adventurous and is under supervision of the instructors. We enjoyed a short ride through the dirt track. It costs Rs. 100/- per person.

• Rose Garden: This is located 2 kms from the town. Several varieties of beautiful Roses can be found here. Roses are maintained very well along with lots of other flowers. We can also buy flower plants from the nursery in the garden.

We wanted to visit Lady’s seat in the evening time since the hotel manager had told us to check out the evening sunset view. However since it was cloudy in the evening time, could not see much.

We waited for some more time and for the night view of the Salem town. There is a mesmerizing view of millions of twinkling lights. This spectacular view definitely shouldn't be missed.

Halted for dinner at the Waterfront restaurant at 8:30 pm. Food was tasty but costly. Returned back to the hotel at 10 pm and dozed off.

Sight-seeing: 9th June 2013

Next day, did breakfast and started from hotel at 9 am to checkout some more points.

• Emerald Lake & Garden: The Yercaud lake is the main attraction of tourists. It is situated right in the middle of the town with superb surrounding of tall trees. Besides the lake, there is a garden with variety of flowers and small trees well maintained. It’s provides a landscape view with a backdrop of small hills behind the lake. We hired a row boat, (a separate person rowing the boat) and enjoyed the boat ride for 15 minutes time.

• Deer Park: This park is close to the lake and has some nice collection of birds species. (Peacocks, Peahens, Ducks, geese, Fancy pigeons, Guinea pigs) and 3 spotted deer (1 male & 2 females). Clicked few snaps and roamed around the park.

• Gent’s seat, Lady’s seat & Children seat: This is a cluster of Rocks on the South West of the Yercaud hills overlooking the ghat road and the town of Salem to the South. Wind flows tremendously at these points and beware of annoying monkeys.

It was around 12 pm when we completed all these points and returned back to the hotel. Now, it was time to return back to Bangalore. We packed our bags and did checkout from the hotel at 12.30 pm.

We stopped at Salem for lunch break at 1.30 pm at good restaurant.

Mangoes from Salem are very famous, hence stopped at a road-side vendor. Tasted one sample, mangoes were very sweet. So bought a few kilos.

Continued our journey back, took a couple of small pit-stops and reached Bangalore by 7.30 pm.

Overall, I can say, it was a fantastic getaway from the bustling crowd and the two days that we spent were very serene in the beautiful nature of Yercaud. Truly, a must visit for a weekend!

[Eddy]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing.

[silverado]

Superb log Mr SatShan, Silver Ritz looks a beauty with hills as a backdrop

Please get the B pillar colored black and also paint the rims black so that wheel covers look good.

Must have been real fun doing those 20 hair pin bends with that delightful engine.
Photo of the city with night lights is breathtaking.

The car is giving you a very good mileage for a petrol engine.

How long was the Quad bike ride? For Rs100 it sounds cheap and the bikes are in good condition.

We are eagerly looking forward to timely updates on the Ritz on your ownership logs.

[Satshan]

Originally Posted by silverado

Superb log Mr SatShan, Silver Ritz looks a beauty with hills as a backdrop

Please get the B pillar colored black and also paint the rims black so that wheel covers look good.

Must have been real fun doing those 20 hair pin bends with that delightful engine.

How long was the Quad bike ride? For Rs100 it sounds cheap and the bikes are in good condition.

We are eagerly looking forward to timely updates on the Ritz on your ownership logs.

Yes, Thank you Silverado! It was great fun handling the car on those twisty roads, both on inclines and slopes. This engine is a true Gem.

Yes, Quad bike rides are for Rs. 100/- for 250 meters distance. (one small round)

Painting those Rims and B-pillar is a priority on my list. Will keep everyone posted.

[ampere]

Nice weekend log you had. Yercaud is just that. Add in one more day, its starts getting boring, unless you want to just laze in there without going anywhere.

We did just that in Dec end and it was super fun! And the weather was really chill adding to the charm. Food is another thing which one tends to remember from every trip more than anything else!

Needless to say the last "supper" or tea/coffee on the highway before reaching back home is the most depressing !

[hector]

Nice Travelogue. Well formatted with all useful info.
Congrats on the car and also the wonderful trip !

Ritz somehow managed to sneak into the couple's photo in front of the hotel !

[s.prashanth]

I was planning a daytrip. Do you think it is possible. Bought a new car, just want to do a long drive with family

[Satshan]

Originally Posted by s.prashanth

I was planning a daytrip. Do you think it is possible. Bought a new car, just want to do a long drive with family

First of all, Congrats for your new car.

The distance is about 230 kms (one way) from Bangalore. So anywhere around 4-5 hours you will need to reach Yercaud (including all breaks). Lets say, if you leave around 7 am in the morning, you may reach around 12 pm. Post Lunch, it will be 1 pm. From 1 pm to 6 pm, you have 5 hours in which you can cover all the nearby spots. Most of the sight-seeing spots are within 8-10 kms distance while few of them around 15-20 kms. So by 6 pm if you complete all the spots, leaving back and reaching Bangalore will take somewhere around 11 pm at night.

My suggestion would be, take atleast one night halt and come back the next day, so that you can cover each spot slowly and enjoy the weather. There are many good Hotels in Yercaud and few nice restaurants. Hence, doing Yercaud in one day can be a little hectic, considering that you are travelling with your family.

Do let me know if you need any further information.

[Ddrive]

Good one Satshan. Nice photos, I like the the distant shot of multiple hairpin bends, and the night view of Salem.

Originally Posted by s.prashanth

I was planning a daytrip. Do you think it is possible. Bought a new car, just want to do a long drive with family

S.Prashanth, I would recommend you to drive Yercaud through the Kuppanur route once, either while driving up or driving down. It will be change as well as this Kuppanur route is a cute one.

[fundagenie]

Originally Posted by Satshan

The distance is about 230 kms (one way) from Bangalore. So anywhere around 4-5 hours you will need to reach Yercaud (including all breaks). Lets say, if you leave around 7 am in the morning, you may reach around 12 pm. Post Lunch, it will be 1 pm. From 1 pm to 6 pm, you have 5 hours in which you can cover all the nearby spots. Most of the sight-seeing spots are within 8-10 kms distance while few of them around 15-20 kms. So by 6 pm if you complete all the spots, leaving back and reaching Bangalore will take somewhere around 11 pm at night.

Do let me know if you need any further information.

Satshan, been going through the various bangalore-yercaud travelogues including yours. Posting a question again, which you had already answered.
My plan is to leave bangalore by say 4-5am from bangalore to reach yercaud by 10am. Be there till say 4-5pm in the evening and drive back. Am not looking at seeing everything in yercaud in this short time. But just enjoy some nature being in some plantations, maybe some boating and such. Infact just 2-3 spots with 1-2 hrs stop at each.

What would be your suggestions. I need to return by the same night with no possibility of extending it for another day. I dont mind the 10hr drive as long as there is some good options to relax in Yercaud during the short stay there.

FundaG

[Satshan]

Originally Posted by fundagenie

My plan is to leave bangalore by say 4-5am from bangalore to reach yercaud by 10am. Be there till say 4-5pm in the evening and drive back. Am not looking at seeing everything in yercaud in this short time. But just enjoy some nature being in some plantations, maybe some boating and such. Infact just 2-3 spots with 1-2 hrs stop at each.

What would be your suggestions. I need to return by the same night with no possibility of extending it for another day. I dont mind the 10hr drive as long as there is some good options to relax in Yercaud during the short stay there.

FundaG

Yes, if you are doing 2-3 spots I feel that leaving from Yercaud by 4-5 pm should be good enough. My suggestion is, try to complete the ghat section from Yercaud to Salem before sunset, since there are lots of hairpin bends. Once you hit Salem, its all highway till Bangalore.

[fundagenie]

Originally Posted by Satshan

Yes, if you are doing 2-3 spots I feel that leaving from Yercaud by 4-5 pm should be good enough. My suggestion is, try to complete the ghat section from Yercaud to Salem before sunset, since there are lots of hairpin bends. Once you hit Salem, its all highway till Bangalore.

Thanks Satshan. Had already completed the trip successfully 2-3 weeks back..

FundaG

[Satshan]

Originally Posted by fundagenie

Thanks Satshan. Had already completed the trip successfully 2-3 weeks back..

FundaG

Sorry, I couldn't reply timely, busy nowadays due to work.

Nice to know the trip completed successfully. I believe, you have XUV5OO which was taken for the trip? How were the mileage figures? How was your overall experience in Yercaud?

Pardon me, I haven't been through the travelogues section for a while now, in case you have posted your log.

[fundagenie]

Originally Posted by Satshan

Sorry, I couldn't reply timely, busy nowadays due to work.

Nice to know the trip completed successfully. I believe, you have XUV5OO which was taken for the trip? How were the mileage figures? How was your overall experience in Yercaud?

Pardon me, I haven't been through the travelogues section for a while now, in case you have posted your log.

No issues. The delay in responses I believe worked in my favor. As I started for Yercaud by 5 in the morning expecting to be there by 10. But reached there by 8.30. Giving me ample time to roam around, stop at each place for quite some time and finally start back by 4pm in the evening. So was both relaxing and enjoyable for everyone. A travelogue is something that is still pending. Never been able to jot down any of my trips so far. Maybe something big will make me do it.

Yup, I have an XUV. I usually get the mileage of 10kmpl in the city and highways are usually 12-13kmpl. Again once on the highways and free roads, I just push the beast a little hard. After all one needs to enjoy the beast right.

FundaG

[scorpion_blore]

Hi Satshan,

Glad to see that you enjoyed the trip. I and my wife went to Yercaud couple of months back and we stayed there for 3 days.

Fortunately for us, Kiliyur falls had plenty of water when we visited. But the climb up to the top was too tiring for my wife.

Didn't you visit Raja Rajeswari Temple when you visited Shevaroy's Temple, Sri Chakra maha Meru Temple, and Karadiyur View point? One need to cross Raja Rajeswari Temple and then branch out toward Shevaroy's Temple, or Sri Chakra maha meru Temple and Karadiyur View point.

Did you attempt to enter Montfort School? We were not allowed inside, however I saw that some people were allowed to enter (probably parents?).

Nice to know that you enjoyed the food at Saravana Bhavan Elite. We tried Salem Heights and Shevaroy's Restaurant also, but felt that the food at Saravana bhavan Elite to be much better.