YERCAUD :- A nice place for a short Break…

Long weekend. Friday adding value to your Saturday and Sunday. Waste no time, pack a light bag with a pair of track shoes, 2 jeans, a light woolen and a few cents…

Where are we planning to spend this weekend? Ooty, Simla or Nanital? How about Yercaud? YERCAUD?? Never heard about it. Where is it? Sounds like a small village to me! If that is what you are thinking about this untouched hill station, than its time you make your imagination go places!!

Commonly called “ Poor Man’s Ooty”, Yercaud is placed in the heart of Tamil Nadu and you can cover the distance from Bangalore in 4-5 hours by road. 1515 meters above sea level is Yercaurd, 333 sq. km in extent. The maximum temperature is 29 Celsius. The population is 32,746 and most of the people are tribal. It takes an hour of negotiating 20 adventurous hair-pin bends to reach the peak.

There one enters Yercaud and you get to see bright smiles on the faces of localities and a spark in their eyes to see tourists, (and if you happen to be turbaned Sikhs, it makes it worth watching their expressions.)

One of the important places is the Pagoda point. The Pagoda Point is so known because a number of pyramid-like structures abound here. The locals believe in Anjaneya temple’s powers and people’s devotion in it. One can get a full view of Salem from here. One can go boating for Rs.20. The one kilometer lake is surrounded by trees all round. To make it more attractive, they have made a small amusement park as well. Yercaud is less expensive than other tourist destinations and is preferred by people who want to spend less and relax more. By car, the expense is Rs.400 only, for a full tour of Yercaud. Tamilnadu Hotel offers rooms at very economical rates,” And if you enjoy taking long walks, than all you need to do is wake up at 5:00 am and with your sports shoes on, just let yourself go for a quite walk. All that you need to keep in mind is, the name of your resort. (I lost my way back to the resort and managed it back with the help of locals there).

What if Yercaud is called “ Poor man’s Ooty”, if one is able to enjoy a lovely weekend and pay less for it, are we going to call it a bad Bargain??