Yercaud
Situated
1,515 metres high in the
Shevaroy Hills, in the state
of Tamil Nadu, Yercaud is
quiet little hill station on
the Eastern ghats is the
only one of its kind in
northern Tamil Nadu. While
the rest of this region is
generally dry, Yercaud
presents a welcome contrast
with its cool climate where
temperature never rises
above 30 º C and dip below
13 º C . It is also a less
expensive place than either
Udhagamandalam or
Kodaikkanal the peaceful
hill station of Yercaud
nestles among coffee
plantations and thickly
forested slopes and is a
good place for trekking and
boating.
Some people believe that
these hills were part of the
ancient megalith-builders'
domain which stretched from
Cornwall through Brittany
and Iberia to India. Clearly
visitors have been streaming
into Yercaud from well
before recorded history
Sightseeing
(Yercaud)
Before
getting into this
coffee-plantation hamlet, you
have to drive through the
textile town of Salem. If you
browse around the shops, you
might pick up bright handloom
fabrics at half the price you
would pay elsewhere.
Just before the road begins to
climb up the mountains to
Yercaud, do look out for an
interesting group of brightly
coloured idols to the left of
the road. These guardian
deities, found only in Tamil
Nadu, are worshipped as
protectors of villages and are
often known as Aiyanars.
On the way up the winding hill
road with its 20 hairpin
bends, stop at a thatched
wayside stall selling 'Fresh
Garden Produce': packets of
cloves and pepper. Then come
the coffee plantations before
entering cottage-dotted
Yercaud.
You can amble around
leisurely, or do a tandem tour
of the lake in a pedal boat,
or hire a taxi to 'do' the
sights. 3 km away is the rocky
escarpment overlooking the
plains. It is known as Lady's
Seat and some wag has named
another viewpoint as Gent's
Seat.
Pyramid point, 3 km away, has
cairns of stones and was once
a Stone Age fortress shrine
before the new temple was
built. 7 km from the lake is
the Servaroyan Temple with a
modern, striped, facade
leading to an old cave temple.
Once you get into this
soothing, lake-centred, quiet
and undisturbed green place,
you don't have to do anything
but unwind .
Weather
Yercaud experiences salubrious
climate and is pleasant to be
visited any time of the year.
Travel Information
By Air:
The
airport at Tiruchirapalli is
the nearest to Yercaud. Though
the other options are the
airports at Coimbatore and
Bangalore.
Rail:
The
closest railway stations are
those of the Salem junction
and the Salem town.
Road:
Frequent bus services and taxi
services link Yercaud with
Salem that is thirty km away.
Other important places linked
with Yercaud are Madras,
Trichy, Madurai, Chennai,
Bangalore and Coimbatore.
General
Information
Area :- 38.3
sq. km.
Altitude :-
1515 mt.
Population :-
36,863
Climate:-Summer-Pleasant
whether;Winter-Mild Cold
Clothing :-
Summer - Cotton ; Winter -
Light Woolen
Languages Spoken :-
Tamil, Hindi and English
STD Code :-04281 |
