Since we are bang in the middle of summer holidays, am sure many of you are planning international, national and weekend getaways. So here is a place I visited recently and thoroughly enjoyed my two days.
Yercaud – A very humble southern hill station, at an altitude of 1515 metres (4970 ft) above sea level. Salem is the nearest town and reaching it would be the first thing to get to Yercaud. It is approximately an hour’s drive from foot of the hills to the hilltop, with 20 hairpin bends but the roads are very good. Hordes of monkeys keep you company as you drive along. As you drive up a series of hairpin bends take you to the hilltop
It is a very picturesque place that does not have too many sightseeing spots, but has a quaint beauty of its own. The Yercaud Lake is where most of the tourists converge and is quite a busy spot with cars honking, peanut sellers clanking, rose candy eyeing you, lovers clicking away, children running helter skelter. (And oh! Oily bajjis sizzling away of course). This is pretty much the scene there.
A view of the Yercaud Lake
That apart, the usuals you may want to visit are:
- Gents seat
- Ladies seat
- Childrens’ seat
- Pagoda Point
all of them promise great views, period.
- Kiliyur falls,
- a sprawling Montford School,
- Shevarayan and Raja Rajeshwari temples
are quite nice places to visit as well.
- Namakkal Anjaneyar: There were many more places we were told, but we just wanted to check out the key ones and relax. But people who visit Salem, Yercaud do not miss a visit to Namakkal, which is famous for a life-size Hanuman (Anjaneynar) Statue carved out of a single stone in the Anjeneyar Temple. The idol of Hanuman is approx. 18 feet in height, and stands under open sky. Opposite to the Hanuman is a temple of Narasimha.
One of the best part of the trip was our amazing stay at GRT Yercaud Nature Trails. I was told that the Lake Forest Indeco was equally smashing but decided to stay GRT and I am glad I made the decision.
Rooms: The rooms were super-duper clean, tastefully done and very roomy. In fact three of us stayed in one room and we were comfortable.
Food: But trust me, I have never had such delicious food anywhere in recent times. Breakfast is part of the package + 1 lunch or dinner free, so it turned out to be a very good deal. They had also organized for a sight seeing trip which was awesome. Please make sure you opt for the weekend getaway package, as it costed around Rs.23000 and odd.
Service: All the staff members behaved so well and were extremely courteous.
A huge balcony offers you a great view
A penthouse room that was extremely comfortable
Useful Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yercaud
http://wikitravel.org/en/Yercaud
http://www.grthotels.com/yercaud
http://www.indecohotels.com/lakeforest-hotel.html
http://aalayamkanden.blogspot.in/2012/06/worlds-largest-sri-chakra-mahameru.html
BT Discovery: Located in Nagalore 7 kms from the Yercaud lake, there is a Lalitha Tripurasundari Temple houses the world’s largest Sri Chakra Maha Meru. This is spotlessly clean and peaceful temple in white marble, with paved pathways. The main sanctum sanctorum has a semicircular pit filled with water in which the reflection of the Sri Chakra Maha Meru which forms the vimanam of the sanctum sanctorum can be seen.
BT Bottom Line: We had a beautiful time and our recommendation for Yercaud and GRT Nature Trails is SUPER STRONG!
