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Hill Stations
In India
Yercaud
Introduction
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
HILL STATIONS IN INDIA
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