Yercaud , rightly called as the Jewel of south , is truly a memorable place to visit! Situated in the Shevaroys Hills of the Eastern Ghats, at a distance of around 230km from Bangalore is a perfect weekend getaway!

Yercaud, located in the Salem district of Tamil Nadu, gets its name from the abundance of leaves present near the lake, called by locals as Yeri caud and finally over the years pronounced as Yercaud. Yercaud being just a 4 hours drive from Bangalore has become one of the ideal weekend getaways apart from Ooty, Mysuru ,etc. This weekend getaway boasts of various places of interests for tourist . 

This trip dates back to sometime last to last  year, around the months of Oct-Dec.  It was a really unplanned one and we just decided to go as we had a car booked for 2 days.  One fine Friday evening, after the usual office routine, we friends decided to have a small trip. Not sure of the destination, we just had our car booking done. Finally after some searching on net, we found this place to be more suitable as it was around winter and moreover this was just 4-5 hours drive from Bangalore. So, the next day we set off from Bangalore. We set off quite early and managed to reach by around 12 in the noon. We visited quite many places in our 2 days trip . Some of them are :

Yercaud lake

It is one of the most famous point of visit in Yercaud. Situated in the heart of the town, it attracts all the visitors. This is a huge lake with lush green surroundings providing boating along with retreat to eyes. Also with boating facility, its a relaxing place to rest and enjoy the nice surroundings.

Panaromic view of Yercaud Lake

Anna park 

It is situated just besides the lake. The park is a good place to spend time and boasts of variety of flower and some small games for your little ones to enjoy. This is one of the place to awaken the creativity in you. There are varieties of flower here that youll not stop clicking pictures of them. Also, the park has some small games for children where in your little ones can enjoy.

Welcome carving at the entrance of Anna Park

Rose Flowers inside Anna Park

Pagoda point

Located a bit away from the city, this place has a awesome view. Basically it's just a point in open located at a higher altitude but the view it provides is just mesmerizing. People usually drive here for the serene view it provides. This is one more calm composed place of this city.

View around Pagoda point

32 km loop road

The 32km Loop Road

This is one of the best part of Yercaud. Not many are aware of this but one must not miss this as there is no particular markings for this road. It starts near the lake and comes back to lake after covering whopping 32kms. Throughout the journey one sees different landscapes. The loop road covers stretches thru different variety of nature and natural vegetation. It passes thru the bamboo cover, paddy fields, dense thick forest, narrow curvy road, hill view points. Though the road is quite narrow at many points, but the journey is equally awesome.

Sunset View en-route along the loop route

Ladys Seat

This is one more favourite tourist attractions of Yercaud offering a splendid view of the valley and surrounding areas. But the time we went in, the place was covered with clouds making it not so visible. However, off winters, the place will be fully filled with tourists, enjoying the view.

The view-tower in Lady's seat

Shevaroy Hills

This is one more outstationed-place, located quite away from main Yercaud town. This place is named after the famous Shevaroy temple. On top the hill, theres a small temple, located inside a cave. Though the temple isnt that big, the view it surrounds attracts many. Also, one can have amazing tea here in the nearby tea stalls and shacks.

View from somewhere around Shevaroy hills

Kiliyur Falls

This is one of the best waterfals in Yercaud. Though located quite down the hill, there are steps provided. People have to walk down the stairs for around 300-500 mtrs to reach the base of the waterfall. The waterfall is really nice but is usually crowded during weekends. The waterfall here is friendly, allowing people to get into it. If you want to enjoy getting down into the water, its advisable to go on a weekday. 

Kiliyur Waterfalls

Kiliyur water falls

Overall Yercaud is a perfect weekend getaway to be spent with your family or your friends and would be highly recommended as its quite close to Bangalore.

Yercaud truly a Jewel !

Kiran K 0

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Just a week before I had landed into Bangalore in the pursuit of doing my Internship. The usual company life had got into me already in a week and this time I really wanted to do something new! Few days back I had met my friend who was talking about solo trips! She had been telling about Solo trips in such a passionate way that after listening to her, I decided on the spot that even I should have one solo trip! What more can I ask for?

So, after the usual party routines of Friday, I was heading back to my home on Saturday morning. Suddenly it occurred to me that instead of wasting a weekend in Bangalore, why not get something out of it! I just had reached my home by somewhat around 12 in the noon. In no time I was out of it with my luggage all set to head for a solo trip! But not knowing where exactly to go, I was wandering the streets of Bangalore till 2p.m.  I was heading on Bannerghatta road that suddenly I happened to see a lorry with TN registration. Seeing the lorry the first thing that came to my mind was Chennai. Without any second thought in my mind, I headed directly to Nice road and then set off to Chennai! 

Just on reaching somewhere near Hosur, I found a sign board  with my desitnation name written on it! Chennai 350km was written. Whoa ! For a moment that 350km seemed so huge that I began counting number of hours I have to sit in the rider seat of my bike! But as the journey began, I almost forgot of that number. The journey was equally awe-full as the destination where I was headed. Rain god had already blessed me and now it was the turn of Sun God to do so. After crossing Vellore I started feeling the blessings of Sun god. It was getting all hot and the climate change was so evident. If its your first bike trip , then I will have to warn you, youll be all fine for the first 200 kms , later on youll be requiring stops every now and then. So was my case. After crossing Kanchipuram I was literally stopping for every 30 mins. The heat wave was so much that I had to take rest in between and cool both bike and myself down .

Finally I happened to reach Chennai only by somewhere around 9 p.m. After checking in at a cheapest hotel I dumped my luggage, kept my bike and decided to go for  a stroll. I knew I couldnt ride any longer that day. Chennai was so beautiful at night. Not much crowd, roads being wide enough, it really is a nice place to roam.

The next day  I woke up quite early and headed to Marina beach to spot sunrise. But unluckily a cloudy weather was spotted and may be ill have to head again to see sunrise! After spending some time in the beach, I headed back to room and checked out. I was in a  confusion to decide where to visit. So had headed to a mall nearby, Skywalk Mall, it was starting to get crowd , the Sunday crowd. Theatres were getting full and people started to flock in large numbers. Next , I decided to visit the St. George  Fort Meusem. This was a cool place located well along the shores of Bay of Bengal and had a collection of variety of weapon's, coins, dresses,paintings and what not! 

From here I headed to Semmozhi Poonga . This was a pretty cool garden, but with couples situated everywhere. I'd say you are more probable to find more couples than trees here. But nevertheless in the scorching heat of Chennai , I definitely needed a place like this to cool off ! Still the cool it provided wasnt enough. As I was searching for a better place to take a nap, I was reminded of Planetarium . What other best place would one find where you would be given an AC room with push back chair and a dark environment to sleep off. 

Without loosing time i headed to Periyar Science Center. The Center had a science exhibition center , a planetarium, a playground, a 3D show all in a fare of just Rs.45.

So after avoiding the scorching mid-noon sun of Chennai , I decided to visit a beach. Initial plan was to visit Kovalam beach on the ECR, but due to time limitations I had to stick to a nearby beach. So, headed to Elliots beach .Spent some time sitting there peacefully.

By now, the time was all up! It was already 7 p.m and I had to leave to Bangalore (ride to Bangalore actually). So, I started after feeding my bike. The weather was getting cloudy and I could feel that i'd be  caught in a really bad rain tonight. But I didnt have a option either. So, I decided to cover the max distance possible. By around 10, I was at Vellore. 

After having dinner at Vellore, the second phase of my journey started. My stomach was full , it was raining heavily, that too in night, and a cool breeze. Everything was making me sleepy. Even though I took pit stops it didnt help. Then at one point I just found a empty bus stop and slept for some time ! Sleeping in this bus stand was no less luxurious than a 5 star hotel for me at that point of time! After a small nap, I started again.But sleep was still behind me. I had to take 2 more stops. Somehow I managed to reach Bangalore that night and it was already 3 by the time i reached ! 

That was it for the trip! My first SOLO TRIP was done and that too on my bike riding all the way covering around 750km in just 36 hours !

Chennai In BIke: A sudden Unexpected Journey

Kiran K 0

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