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!
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.
Most people preferred to travel on the roof – must have been fun. We were chicken.
After lunch we queued up for the ferry to take us to memorials (not a great experience with people jostling and fighting). The first stop was the Kanyakumari footprint inside this temple where Goddess Parvati is believed to have stood on penance waiting for Lord Shiva.
Swami Vivekanand swam upto this rock and meditated presumably for three days here. The memorial is beautiful. And this is land's end. For 15,000 km after here there's only water!
The other landmark is the 133 feet statue of Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar.
View of the town from across the sea.
At the temple of Kanyakumari, our next stop, the pujaris put us off big time by asking us to pay them ‘whatever’ to bypass the queue. We stood in the queue. Did not feel upto visiting any other temple. Reaffirmed that our God was in the temple of our heart :)
Now Chulbul’s been holding a grudge. We had not been able to take her to the Wax Museum in Surfers’ Paradise and there was no way she’d let us do it this time. We were bone tired and reluctant but accompanied her. But to our surprise it turned out to be quite a marvel – there was SRK and Big B and Jayalalitha and Saddam Hussein. Also, Benazir Bhutto and Gandhiji. Only the clothes and accessories needed to be more authentic.
When we asked for the sunrise vantage point – the hotel staff told us it was our room. Here, the golden orb rising out of the Bay of Bengal right outside out window!
Soon the weather turned cloudy.
And when the late afternoon rain thundered down – we felt very secluded. By evening we had shifted to a room in the main building.
The beach was beautiful but not comparable to Alleppey. Didn’t see much else.
The cottages on the other side.
An invitation to make coir – gladly accepted.
People smiled and greeted from every house. Children came running out and shook hands and asked our names.
A boat ride on the backwaters in the late afternoon.
Children waving from the banks. 
People living along the river.
Dinesh doing a Titanic. We had better luck.
