09/05/2022
YERCAUD……WHERE THE HILLS ARE ALIVE!!
Imagine walking through mist…..meeting a Bison face to face……sipping Arabica over the hills….stopping & staring at the wild flowers, pepper creepers and coffee beans…..when all at once you come face to face with a Bison who has a quizzed look on his face that says, “I’ve been sitting here all along”.
Nobody I spoke to had heard of Yercaud and yet it is only a 7 hour drive from Chennai and 3 hour drive from Bangalore! Honestly, I am not surprised why no one knows of this beautiful, unexploited hill station because that’s how it is – verdant & fallow!
Yercaud, a beautiful hill town nestled in the Shevaroy hills, at a distance of 30 kilometres from the city of Salem in Tamil Nadu, is often chosen by travellers for budget-friendly road trips. This place is fairly lesser-known when compared to the Nilgiris, and that’s what makes this place less crowded with tourists, thereby, qualifying for a perfect detox getaway.
From Chennai, if you take the National Highways 48, you can easily reach Yercaud in approximately eight hours. Throughout your journey, you’ll be crossing eight toll gates, costing a total of INR 450 for a single trip. For a road trip full of scenic views, you can take the Chennai – Vellore – Krishnagiri – Salem – Yercaud route.
In this 367 kilometres-long highway drive, there are two places where you can take a pit stop in — Ambur, a city just 188 kilometres from Chennai; it has amazing eateries that serve the famous Arcot-style biryani. If you are a sucker for non-vegetarian delicacies, we suggest you stop at Ambur Star Biryani.
From Salem, when you reach the Ghat road to Yercaud, you can enjoy the picturesque view of teak forests. Moist air, lush green trees and a strong scent of citrus will welcome you to the uphill journey. You need to be careful throughout the terrific Ghat road as it has 20 hairpin bends. The well-maintained curvy roads make it a perfect adventure road trip.
Yercaud, it is also called "Ooty of the Poor" is nestled in the Shevaroy range of the Eastern Ghats around 1,500 metres above sea level, is still blanketed in late winter mist. Even the wild monkeys, relentless watchers of the highway traffic from the plains to the top, seem to be in a pensive mood, as motorists switch off the air-conditioning and open their windows to let the eucalyptus-scented breeze in.
As we drove up to the Shevaroy Hills, we were welcomed by a cool nip in the air and were soon enveloped in the pleasant environs of endless White Oak trees, Coffee estates and Spice plantations where peppercorns, avocado and fruit bearing plants like oranges and jackfruits grow. We were glad The Lake Forest Hotel was going to be our home for the next 2 days because it truly felt like home and we were warmly welcomed by their Manager, Prince Philip (no not Queen Elizabeth’s husband!) of Club Mahindra since its an associate hotel. Lake Forest Hotel has 75 villas and is set in the Eastlynne Farm Estate, a live coffee plantation on the banks of the Yercaud Lake, created by Ms Henrietta Charlotte Rosario during the 1800s. The hotel has evolved around ‘Rosar’. Once called AVIEMORE, ‘The Rosar’ has been carefully restored to its original glory and is a reflection of the pride of the past centuries. Most of the rooms have been raised on the ruins in the estate, maintaining the regal Anglo-Indian architectural style of the late 1800’s.
We quickly settled into our little cottage and after a warm cup of tea, put on our walking shoes for a nice long walk on the windy roads of Yercaud. With temperatures as pleasant as 17 deg C, no amount of walking is too long and soon we discovered the home and estate of the Singhs who specialize in making essential oils and fragrances. A long natter with them and we discovered they were Rajputs but now settled in Tamil Nadu for as long as they could remember. We picked up some peppercorns and aromatic essential oils and were on our way back to the hotel in time for dinner where we met up Aditya and Sahana Mathai, the proud owners of Lake Forest. A hard look at an old British Club photograph on the walls of the restaurant got us engaged. Always the one to avoid touristy beaten paths, I was so glad he insisted that if we wanted to seep into the real Yercaud we should visit the old British Colonial Homes, the Montfort Schools, the old Anglican Church and definitely do a Night Off-roading Safari at the Tipperary Estate where the Anglican Club still exist.
Spread over 45 acres, it was like walking through a forest, with dense Arabica coffee plants and huge white oak trees all along. The coffee plants need a lot of shade which is got from the fast growing huge white oak and its natural for Pepper plant creepers then to grow on them. We noticed the villas have been created only where nature has permitted such developments, within the ecological niche using all traditional practices to protect the land, its heritage and ecology; making it a signature project for reuse & recycling practices. Not an ounce of fresh wood has been acquired from the forests; and other sources have been explored and utilized for the creation of the Lake Forest hotel. Condemned wood and wooden structures from palatial buildings in whatever form, are continuously collected, restored and re-used. “The joy of saving condemned wood & living trees is far more than saving huge sums of money. Including using preserved metal pillars from a Mint and a huge exhaust fan from a deluged ship wreck.” What a privilege to be living in such environs that believes in preserving nature and history! A place that can also boast of having Maharaja Gaj Singh and his family and Vijay Mallya live there on their visit to Yercaud.
We were soon on our way to Tipperary Estate and delighted to know that an invitation to this Charles Dickens family home for coffee was arranged. A welcoming team awaited us at this 70 acre working coffee farm that was built around the 1900. And as we sipped our Arabica coffee, the view of Salem from this highest point was stunning due to the elegance of the woodlands, greenness and steep rocky hills of Yercaud hills – scenic and beautiful! We were told that we would be back that same night for the Night Safari and I was definitely looking forward to that.
The Rahm House, the Fairholme Bungalow were others that reminded us of how the British would seek out these hill stations to get away from the hot and humid plains. Our next stop was the old Anglican Church which was built in 1834. The church is the resting place of Robert Bruce Foote, (1834–1912), the British archaeologist and geologist who is considered the “Father of Indian Prehistory” and a memorial has been laid there for him. The Church also has a memorial plaque for Charles Dickens – which was a pleasant discovery considering he is such a legendary author whose books we have grown up reading. Made me ponder about the steep influence the British had over India and the footprints that they left behind on these hills.
Our next adventure was the Off Roading Safari that night which began at 8pm. This experience was definitely to write home about. After an amazing view of the sea of glittering lights of Salem, and after being told of how only 25 tribal villages out of 65 have road access and that 300 school children walk miles and miles to reach school every day, our driver & guide suddenly swung his torch in different directions as if searching for something. I was intrigued and upon asking him, my eyes widened to know that he was watching out for Bisons (Indian Gaur was more like it). Weighing over a ton, these roaming animals are a common sight on these plantations but ofcourse dangerous if disturbed within their environments since they can charge and injure humans.
When the morning arrived, we fathomed a day of leisure is what we wanted to engage in since the rain showers had dampened our Trekking Trip. So off we went to work our legs out Boat pedaling on the Yercaud lake and then visited Peeku Bird Park, we watched the Rabbits, Parrots & Peacocks at the Park and lingered on our long walks again, as we gobbled some juicy Jackfruits and picked up some aromatic coffee, spices and Avocado to savor. We ended the day with a relaxing time at the Lake Forest Spa with Spa treatments; something one should never miss doing especially on a holiday.
It was soon time to say good bye to the quintessential, breathtaking and mesmerizing Yercaud that had so much to offer during our short time there, surprising us with wow moments and experiences. And if you are staying at the Lake Forest, the hospitality and care extended by Mr Prince Phillip, Aditya and their team is unmatched. There is so much care taken to meet your tiniest request with promptness and warmth which exudes the genuine hospitality that is almost rare to find these days.
Back to the hustle bustle of Kolkata and I often find my mind wandering back to those hills & valleys, yearning to hear the crickets at night or the chirping birds wish me a very good morning! No wonder my heart feels alive with the sights of those hills and the sweet whisper of the rustling trees!!!
Things to do:
Go for boating at Yercaud lake; stroll through the Rose and Botanical Gardens — Neelakurinji, one of the world’s rarest flower blooms here once in 12 years; head to Anna Park, which is just two kilometres away from Yerkaud lake; go on a trek at the White Elephant tooth, a place with rocks made of white quartz; visit the Bear’s Cave, and enjoy birds-eye-view of the city of Salem from Pagoda point and Tipperary Viewpoint. Other places to visit include Kiliyur Falls, Lady’s/Gent’s and Children’s Seat, Shevarayan temple, Lake View Point and Silk Farm.
You can click on the link to watch the video 👇
https://youtu.be/8ExSSa2Y1Wc
✒️ 📷 Samrat Nandy 15-03-2022
