{mosimage}Yercaud - normally known as poor man's "Ooty" but I find this epithet insulting. Even though Yercaud resembles like a miniature Ooty, it has its own charm. I was in Salem for 4 years during my Engg College days, yet I had visited that place only twice. After 11 years, I visited Yercaud last Sunday. Technically this is my third trip, but literally my first trip. Once I went with my cousin's colleague trip, once with Mohanasundaram summing up two trips. Since Mohan, who was found as LM & LMS in by blogs, was my object of obsession in my Engg College days, the idea of sharing his pavilion for a long drive gave me a kick rather than visiting Yercaud at that time. Unfortunately within 2-3 months after that trip the frictions surfaced and subsequently I chose to break off after an year and half, Yercaud remained as bitter sweet memory that I didn't feel like visiting anymore. But there can never be a best healer than time. After 7 years I met LMS on this February, also I had marked the year 2008 for extensive travelling and by this time the inhibitions had waned that I desperately wanted to enjoy the natural beauty of Yercaud.
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08th June 2008, My sister lives in the foothills of Yercaud, so I chose to travel by her two wheeler this time. I believe that any place can be enjoyed provided you stay there for long or have your own conveyance for sightseeing. The Yercaud hill is not so steep like Nilgiris, so a Kinetic Honda or even a good condition TVS-50 is enough to climb on. Once you cross the Gorimedu area, you can start getting the feel of the sizzling hill station. In the foot of the Yercaud, there is a famous "Arupadai Veedu" Murugar Temple. From that point the travel starts upwards. The toll gate in the way charges Rs. 5/- for two wheeler, Rs. 15/- for Car and etc. After that point you can start enjoying the trip very much.
We will be greeted by the hosts on hoardes - monkeys. Almost for half of the way they give you a good company by smirking, waving and sometimes intimidating you.
If we are travelling during rainy season we can see lot of seasonal brooks throughout the way which gets dry in the summers. These brooks serve as a refreshing point for drivers and tourists so littered with plastic papers, human feces and unmentionables. So it is better to enjoy the beauty of these brooks from a distance.
{mosimage}As the distance pass by, you are rising above the sea levels, a chillness and comfort shrouds you. The Salem city is reduced to miniatures that you can see the entire layout and various plants like Steel Plant, Burn Standard Co etc in a bird's view. While we are moving up, lets see the details of Yercaud briefly. I started by 7 a.m and it was hot previous day. So I chose to travel in track pant and a T-Shirt without a jerkin. While moving up the cold wind started penetrating me and I could feel a slight shiver due to cold, yet in manageable levels.
The tourist spots of Yercaud are:-
1. Lake Boat House
2. Anna Park
3. Lake Park
4. Botanical Garden
5. Shervaroyan Temple
6. Raja Rajeswari temple
7. Pagoda Point
8. Ladies Seat
9. Gents Seat
10. Kiliyur Falls
Even though the list reads a long 10 places, most of them are adjascent to each other. Eg. Lake Boat House, Anna Park, Botanical Garden and Lake Park are in the same compound. The temples lie in the same road and so do the view points. Only the Kiliyur falls lie opposite side of the lake, 3.5 kms beneath the jungle. This falls is very good experience for youngsters as it provides a trekking sort of experience.
Once you reach Yercaud in 1:30 hr with stoppages for photographs & teasing the monkeys, the presence of plantations, Hotels and Resorts signal your arrival into town limits. Also the Eucalyptus trees are found nearer to the town only. Once you reach the Yercaud town, you are greeted with the lake at your left. You cannot escape the lake by any means. If you pass the lake you are encountered with a bifurcated path. The left side takes you to the Shervaroyan Temple and Rajarajeswari temple whereas the right path goes to Pagoda Point, Ladies Seat, Gents seat. I chose the left road first.
{mosimage}Raja Rajeswari temple comes first in that road. It was built by Tirukovilur Thapovanam Srila Sri Gnanananda Giri Swamigals Parampara Disciple HH Swami Poornananda Giri in 1983. It is a single shrined small temple and they sell Rudrakshasa beads, Spatika chains and other stuffs. There is a small 1 feet high Lord Shiva statue, which is so life like. I couldn't take my eyes off for minutes together. You can feel that life, calmness in the closed eyes and a well proportionate body anatomy. He has 3 snakes on his body and they seemed like real ones. You can catch up it's photograph in the article. Fortunately the timings I chose to visit will be off peak so that there won't be much people around. Thats the only way I enjoy the nature.
After a stay of 10-15 minutes, I proceded to the Shervaroyan Temple at the highest point of Yercaud. Shervarayan is basically a Lord Vishnu form and this cave temple is with a low ceiling that you have to bend and go inside to pray. There is a saying that the cave travels all through the length of the hill and reaches the Cauvery river at the bottom. Also goes the rumours that Tippu Sultan used this as a hideout.
{mosimage}Outside the Shervaroyan temple is the wide meadow which was so beautiful when I visited last time. At that time, there was no human modifications, lush green and the fog used the shroud you more often giving that feeling of flying in the sky. But now the commercialisation had creeped in that some construction work is going on affecting the pristine beauty of the place. Also the place is completely littered with broken Kingfisher glassbottles and crowns. To be really frank you can't expect a decency with Salem people. Insensitive herds.
We will be greeted by the hosts on hoardes - monkeys. Almost for half of the way they give you a good company by smirking, waving and sometimes intimidating you.
If we are travelling during rainy season we can see lot of seasonal brooks throughout the way which gets dry in the summers. These brooks serve as a refreshing point for drivers and tourists so littered with plastic papers, human feces and unmentionables. So it is better to enjoy the beauty of these brooks from a distance.
{mosimage}As the distance pass by, you are rising above the sea levels, a chillness and comfort shrouds you. The Salem city is reduced to miniatures that you can see the entire layout and various plants like Steel Plant, Burn Standard Co etc in a bird's view. While we are moving up, lets see the details of Yercaud briefly. I started by 7 a.m and it was hot previous day. So I chose to travel in track pant and a T-Shirt without a jerkin. While moving up the cold wind started penetrating me and I could feel a slight shiver due to cold, yet in manageable levels.
The tourist spots of Yercaud are:-
1. Lake Boat House
2. Anna Park
3. Lake Park
4. Botanical Garden
5. Shervaroyan Temple
6. Raja Rajeswari temple
7. Pagoda Point
8. Ladies Seat
9. Gents Seat
10. Kiliyur Falls
Even though the list reads a long 10 places, most of them are adjascent to each other. Eg. Lake Boat House, Anna Park, Botanical Garden and Lake Park are in the same compound. The temples lie in the same road and so do the view points. Only the Kiliyur falls lie opposite side of the lake, 3.5 kms beneath the jungle. This falls is very good experience for youngsters as it provides a trekking sort of experience.
Once you reach Yercaud in 1:30 hr with stoppages for photographs & teasing the monkeys, the presence of plantations, Hotels and Resorts signal your arrival into town limits. Also the Eucalyptus trees are found nearer to the town only. Once you reach the Yercaud town, you are greeted with the lake at your left. You cannot escape the lake by any means. If you pass the lake you are encountered with a bifurcated path. The left side takes you to the Shervaroyan Temple and Rajarajeswari temple whereas the right path goes to Pagoda Point, Ladies Seat, Gents seat. I chose the left road first.
{mosimage}Raja Rajeswari temple comes first in that road. It was built by Tirukovilur Thapovanam Srila Sri Gnanananda Giri Swamigals Parampara Disciple HH Swami Poornananda Giri in 1983. It is a single shrined small temple and they sell Rudrakshasa beads, Spatika chains and other stuffs. There is a small 1 feet high Lord Shiva statue, which is so life like. I couldn't take my eyes off for minutes together. You can feel that life, calmness in the closed eyes and a well proportionate body anatomy. He has 3 snakes on his body and they seemed like real ones. You can catch up it's photograph in the article. Fortunately the timings I chose to visit will be off peak so that there won't be much people around. Thats the only way I enjoy the nature.
After a stay of 10-15 minutes, I proceded to the Shervaroyan Temple at the highest point of Yercaud. Shervarayan is basically a Lord Vishnu form and this cave temple is with a low ceiling that you have to bend and go inside to pray. There is a saying that the cave travels all through the length of the hill and reaches the Cauvery river at the bottom. Also goes the rumours that Tippu Sultan used this as a hideout.
{mosimage}Outside the Shervaroyan temple is the wide meadow which was so beautiful when I visited last time. At that time, there was no human modifications, lush green and the fog used the shroud you more often giving that feeling of flying in the sky. But now the commercialisation had creeped in that some construction work is going on affecting the pristine beauty of the place. Also the place is completely littered with broken Kingfisher glassbottles and crowns. To be really frank you can't expect a decency with Salem people. Insensitive herds.
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{mosimage}I walked lonely towards the uncrowded part of the meadow and stood in a rock. A strong breeze blew making me feel like pierced with thousand cold needles at a time because I was wearing just a cotton T-Shirt. I stood steadily with eyes closed and enjoyed that cold. A divine feeling. Later I noticed that many people starting coming towards where I was standing and moved away form that place.
I noticed a miniature giantwheel rotated manually by 3 people. Just wanted to help them, so took a ride on that for 10 minutes. They charged Rs. 20/- for that and it was not bad. Looking the place from the top reminded me of a crane shot. That day so many tourists were from Karnataka, may be I fell in love with Bangalore recently, Kannada sounded music to me.
After enjoying sometime with fog moving caressing over me, I left that place and travelled back to the lake.
From there I went to Pagoda Point from there. That place has some "Pagoda", a rock heap structure made by the tribals to worship God. From there you can get a nice view of adjacent towns of Salem. That place is also crowded, so I made a quick exit.
I was told by the Lake Authorities that they won't give pedal boat for a single person. I was not comfortable with the idea of tagging along with some family and feel isolated. So I skipped the boating part and also the parks adjacent to it. I also gave the Gents Seat, Ladies Seat a skip this time. Will catch up with them next time.
{mosimage}How can the trip of a hydrophile like me will be complete without dipping in a waterbody? The next & last destination is the "Kiliyur Falls". I remember the last time I went to Kiliyur falls with Mohanasundaram and other friends. Since then that place is haunting me. After a long time I am there yesterday, and there had been lot of changes in the path. Many resorts had been built, a park is on the way and the mud road had been enhanced to tar road but the "core" path of the falls in still the same. Steep, slippery and highly dangerous. The roots of trees alone are the steps for the tourists. If you slip there, I can assure that you'll land up in Salem at no time.
Since it is a summer, the water is scarce. Even then the magnificience of the falls is very much there. It is highly dangerous to climb on the rocks as it is very flat, steep and a wrong step will be costly. Fortunately I had an extra set of casuals, so enjoyed a bath there. Since almost there are only boys / men, I didn't feel shy to take off my clothes in public. I loved to lie down in a rock there, have a nap and read the "Da Vinci Code" as this is the way I used to enjoy in Thirumurthy Hills in my frequent trips, but the place is nastily littered with feces. I just vamoosed from that place. While returning only I could notice the magnitude of its steepness. I adviced a couple of young woman with babies not to get to falls as carrying a baby in such path will be fatal.
Returned to Salem straighly from the falls. Except few faint memories of older trips, this trip was virgin fresh. I have decided to catch up with this "Queen of Shervarayan Hills" whenever I come to my sister's house.
I noticed a miniature giantwheel rotated manually by 3 people. Just wanted to help them, so took a ride on that for 10 minutes. They charged Rs. 20/- for that and it was not bad. Looking the place from the top reminded me of a crane shot. That day so many tourists were from Karnataka, may be I fell in love with Bangalore recently, Kannada sounded music to me.
After enjoying sometime with fog moving caressing over me, I left that place and travelled back to the lake.
From there I went to Pagoda Point from there. That place has some "Pagoda", a rock heap structure made by the tribals to worship God. From there you can get a nice view of adjacent towns of Salem. That place is also crowded, so I made a quick exit.
I was told by the Lake Authorities that they won't give pedal boat for a single person. I was not comfortable with the idea of tagging along with some family and feel isolated. So I skipped the boating part and also the parks adjacent to it. I also gave the Gents Seat, Ladies Seat a skip this time. Will catch up with them next time.
{mosimage}How can the trip of a hydrophile like me will be complete without dipping in a waterbody? The next & last destination is the "Kiliyur Falls". I remember the last time I went to Kiliyur falls with Mohanasundaram and other friends. Since then that place is haunting me. After a long time I am there yesterday, and there had been lot of changes in the path. Many resorts had been built, a park is on the way and the mud road had been enhanced to tar road but the "core" path of the falls in still the same. Steep, slippery and highly dangerous. The roots of trees alone are the steps for the tourists. If you slip there, I can assure that you'll land up in Salem at no time.
Since it is a summer, the water is scarce. Even then the magnificience of the falls is very much there. It is highly dangerous to climb on the rocks as it is very flat, steep and a wrong step will be costly. Fortunately I had an extra set of casuals, so enjoyed a bath there. Since almost there are only boys / men, I didn't feel shy to take off my clothes in public. I loved to lie down in a rock there, have a nap and read the "Da Vinci Code" as this is the way I used to enjoy in Thirumurthy Hills in my frequent trips, but the place is nastily littered with feces. I just vamoosed from that place. While returning only I could notice the magnitude of its steepness. I adviced a couple of young woman with babies not to get to falls as carrying a baby in such path will be fatal.
Returned to Salem straighly from the falls. Except few faint memories of older trips, this trip was virgin fresh. I have decided to catch up with this "Queen of Shervarayan Hills" whenever I come to my sister's house.
P.S: {oshits} readers have got the desire to visit Yercaud from this article