Destinations India > Hill Stations in South India

Yerakud

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.

Places to Visit

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 .

History

Yercaud got its name from the Tamil words, yeri and kaadu, meaning lake and forest respectively. The British discovered it in the early 19th century. There are accounts of coffee plantations being introduced by a British officer in the area in the second decade of the 19th century. Though first house was built in 1840, the first metalled roads were laid only in the early 20th century. The cool climate attracted Christian missionaries and they established the Sacred Heart Convent for girls and Montfort School for boys. Schools like the Holy Cross Novitiate House, started by the Brothers of Don Bosco, followed these.

Climate

Yercaud experiences salubrious climate and is pleasant to be visited any time of the year.

How to get there

Air: The airport at Tiruchirapalli is the nearest to Yercaud. Though the other options are the airports at Coimbatore and Bangalore. Train: 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.