Yercaud Trip

It was the year end. Christmas weekend was long so we planned to go to Yercaud hills which is two hundrthed and twenty five kilometers only from Bangalore. Early morning we started in Ertiga car which was good enough for six people and four small kids though there was a space crunch for luggage. In one hour we reached to tollgate of Chennai highway. It was a long queue there, probably due to weekend. Journey from there was comfortable as road is very well. Drive was smooth and speed more than hundred and ten is standard here. After one more hour we stopped in between to have our breakfast. Restaurant was crowded and after a wait of fifteen minutes we could get a seat. After breakfast, we started again and soon we reached to Salem city. Passing through the city took half an hour. Once we crossed the city, the road to the hill was not very far. We paid toll at entrance check post. Signboard there shows that there are twenty hairpin bends. Drive from that point was adventurous. The sharp bends, deep valleys, monkeys sitting on roadside walls made the drive eventful. After another half an hour we reached to the small sleepy town Yercaud. We passed besides the lake. Golden Nest resort where we had booking, was not very far. From the lake road it was at five hundred meters only but we had to drive very upward. The first view of resort was great. We did check-in and moved to our rooms. Rooms were great. A hall having kitchen connected to the bedroom and having a balcony from where there was a view of lake. Soon we got ready and went to restaurant. Restaurant was at the top of the hill and road was very steep. It was tiresome effort but view of valley from restaurant was worth rewarding. Food was good and ambiance of restaurant was soothing. After the late lunch there, we went to the lake. 

Yercaud lake is very scenic. One can spend hours there. There we took tickets for boating. We spent one hour in boats in the calm lake. Lake is surrounded by roads from almost all side with a botanical garden on one end. There was a decent crowd at the lake which is the main center of attraction for this hill town. From lake we went to Rose garden which was not very well maintained. Then we went to Lady's seat, which is the famous view point. We could see the deep valleys and hairpin bend roads. There was a Telescope House but was closed as it was late evening. This place is a gem but poorly maintained. There was no proper sitting places and it was mostly occupied by street vendors. It was very cold and having tea was the best thing one can have. After spending some good time, we went back to the resort. In night we came to the lake again. It was eight pm only but town was almost sleeping with few tourists enjoying their dinner in lakeside restaurants. After a short walk around the lake we went back to our resort and had dinner in the restaurant. Food was again awesome.

Next day we woke up early. There was no plan to go anywhere as my son was not well in the night. After the breakfast we spent an hour in the resort and then started back for Bangalore. The return journey started with the sharp bends and few people were feeling uncomfortable. Near one of the bend, a small waterfalls was there. We stopped there to have some good photos. After the hill road we passed Salem town. We took few small breaks before Kriahnagiri. I was driving after that. In next one hour we reached to home.

I found this small hill station very calm and unexplored. Local administration should improve the lake and Lady's seat so tourists should spend more time there. In any case it's one of the cool gateways from Bangalore.