Day 01: We started on a beautiful Saturday morning, at around 6:45 AM from Bangalore. I had fully loaded my Esteems petrol tank Friday itself. So it was a direct drive towards Hosur. I took the route Ecity-Hosur-Krishnagiri-DharmaPuri-Salem-Yercaud (around 230km). Driving on Tamil Nad roads is Heaven. Such a beautifully and scientifically laid, Even, wide and hump free roads. There are flyovers constructed at every village we encounter, so we can just zoom through without bothering that if someone would cross the road with goats and sheep. Toll was collected at two places @ Rs.48 and Rs25.
We stopped at Adiyar Ananda Bhavan (A2b) on the way for breakfast. Had some nice Idly and Dosa and continued. There were some road construction works going in between at couple of places, but nothing to bother about. We reached Salem at around 10:30 AM. We have to take a left at 5 road junction to reach "Hastam Patti" and again a left from there to reach the foot of the Yercaud Hill. First Hair Pin Bend is at the entrance it self. The remaining Curves will appear after 15-20km of drive. It was no problem while driving on Hair Pin Bends as the roads were neat and wide. We took around 1 hour to reach Yercaud. We had booked a resort called "Hotel Grand Palace", which is very near to Yercaud Lake and is on one of the highest peaks in Yercaud. We checked in at 11:45 AM. The hotel was just awesome. But let me tell you one thing here, our experience largely depends upon some of the choices we make. For e.g, the person at the reception told me I can take either ground floor or 1st floor room and again either lake facing or Valley facing. I made the right choice, that’s all made the difference. Actually there is nothing much to see in Yercaud, it is resort that we enjoyed the most. Our room was in the first floor (so could have a Netted swing in the balcony and a candle lit dinner there). Also the view and the cool breeze from the valley was amazing. We might not have enjoyed much if we opted for lake side view, because it is more of a concrete jungle now and also there was no balcony. The rooms, service, food every thing was very good in the Grand palace.
My wife and daughter spent most of their time swinging in the balcony and looking at the valley.
The same day, after lunch, we went to Ladies point, gents point and childrens point. These places are not maintained properly and were very dirty. children seat was somewhat better. We went to rose garden and saw not even a flower (forget rose). We purchased some scrub and perfume on the way back. In the evening we went for boating in Yercaud Lake. It was fun for my daughter and wife. Later in the evening, it was just relaxing in the balcony and a nice dinner too.
The same day, after lunch, we went to Ladies point, gents point and childrens point. These places are not maintained properly and were very dirty. children seat was somewhat better. We went to rose garden and saw not even a flower (forget rose). We purchased some scrub and perfume on the way back. In the evening we went for boating in Yercaud Lake. It was fun for my daughter and wife. Later in the evening, it was just relaxing in the balcony and a nice dinner too.
Day 2: Nothing much planned. I ruled out Kiliyur falls as I heard we had to walk for couple of kilometers, and I thought it was not a good idea with my little daughter. We drove to 'Shevaroy Temple'. This was the most enjoyable ride. It was around 7km, and the roads, view in between were mesmerizing. We parked at the peak, had a nice view from the top. Visited Shevaraya and Kaveri temple which is inside a cave. I heard some one telling that cave was 3 km long. It was a good experience. We reached grand palace for lunch. Took some rest. Went to Pagoda point, again it is the drive which I enjoyed here, else nothing much to see from here (also depends on the weather). My daughter wanted to go for boating again that day. We did some boating in the evening and returned to hotel. Sipped some coffee sitting on the bench facing the valley. It was an unforgettable moment for us.
Day 03: The breakfast was complimentary both the days. There were, bread, cereals, fruits, Idly, Dosa/Pongal/Poori etc.. It was very tasty and we had a stomach full. Again had a cup of coffee on the valley side bench. It was time to say goodbye to Yercaud. My daughter wanted to stay there for some more time (she said "Permanently!!"). We started driving back. Did not stop anywhere and reached Bangalore by lunch time.
Overall it was an unforgettable experience. We enjoyed every bit of it. And as I told earlier, some simple choices will make lot of difference in the overall experiences, so choose carefully...and enjoy Yercaud.
