Oak Country - Yercaud

Easter weekend, April 2007

Yercaud (pronounced 'yer' like a Malyali and 'cad'), also known as the ‘poor man’s Ooty’ is a small hill station in the Shevaroy Hills in Tamil Nadu.

We took a train from Bangalore at 9 AM and reached Salem town at 12 noon. An hour’s drive up the winding hill road with its 20 hairpin bends and we were at the quaint little hill town with its usual lakes and botanical gardens, look-out points and temples.


At an altitude of 1500 meters, Yercaud was a huge respite from the Bangalore heat. It’s a great weekend getaway from Bangalore. The salubrious climate, the beautiful oaks, glassy lakes, quaint homes and most importantly, the unhurried pace.


Yercaud, like other hill stations, is wonderful for long walks. I loved the oaks that surrounded us everywhere.



What we loved most at the hotel was this bathroom! The cottage at Hotel Shevaroys had an open-to-the-sky bathroom.

The cottage was in the middle of an oak forest.

As regards the ‘sightseeing’ - there’s a Lady’s Seat and a Gent’s Seat (?), a big lake and a small lake!! Pagoda Point offers some good views of the surroundings. At the Botanical Park, one can see the rare Ladies Slipper, an insect-eating Orchid. Didn’t get to see this :(

We didn’t quite take to the food. The restaurants at the hotel seemed a little dingy so we survived on idli/dosa from a nearby restaurant. Be sure to carry some cup-o-noodles!

Sangam of Rivers - Cauvery-Arkavati

November 25, 2007

90 km south of Bangalore, in rural Karnataka is Sangama – the confluence of the rivers Cauvery and Arkavati. The scenery en route is picturesque – verdant valleys rolling into misty blue mountains.

We reached Sangama at around 12 in the afternoon. The place was already crowded. People were cooking/selling fish (constantly being supplied from the river) on open fires. The sizzling black pieces on the huge griddles looked like charcoal to me.

People were frolicking in the knee-deep water – splashing, falling, carrying gas cylinders and water cans across. We crossed the shallow stretch - about 300 feet barefoot. The stones provided good acupressure.

The plan was to trek 5 km through the forest, along the flowing rivers to the falls.

At the falls the rivers squeeze through the rocks - the distance between the rocks is said to be so little that a goat could jump across – so the name Mekedatu – meaning a ‘goat’s leap’.

Chulbul was a little unwell we got onto a rattle box. We had earlier thought these buses were caravans – they looked as if they’d grown roots there. But they moved – and how.

Most people preferred to travel on the roof – must have been fun. We were chicken.

The falls were breathtaking (sorry, no photo!). We sat on the rocks overlooking the deep gorge through which the river roared ferociously. Had puri-aloo-pickle-salad-chocolate with most people ogling unabashedly all the time. Dinesh sulked because the drinking water we were carrying got over and he gave us a lecture on how drinking water has to be shared equally :( Fortunately, we could buy more soon (only after another session of acupressure though :) ). We were back home by evening.