Hills of Tamil Nadu - A Road Trip to Yelagiri

A serene hill station of Tamil Nadu that is located amidst the green cover is Yelagiri. With 14 hairpin bends and well-laid roads, this place is perfect for road trips. As you drive to the hilltop, don’t forget to click a few pictures as well as witness the misty mountains and ever beautiful green cover.

A lot of information is available online to help you plan a trip to Yelagiri but after my trip, I realised that most of the information was not up-to-date. So the first thing to do is book a hotel for your stay there, a few days before your trip. The room tariffs differ for weekdays, weekends and holidays based on the demand.

Room Stay Review: We booked a room at Yelagiri Residency for Rs.1500 INR for double occupancy. I didn’t like the room as well as the service; personal verdict - don’t book a room here until you don’t have other options.

It is best enjoyed when you can drive through the curvy roads of Yelagiri. You can also take bus or cab from Vaniyambadi or Jolarpettai. We covered a distance of 260 KM (approx.) from Pondicherry to reach Yelagiri. With starting point as Pondicherry, we traveled via Thindivanam, Cheyyar, Arcot, Vellore, Ambur, Vaniyambadi and Yelagiri. This route has tolls at two places that would cost Rs. 120 INR in total for the one-way trip. You can opt for Gingee-Tirupattur-Jolarpettai route to avoid tolls.

The major tourist attraction places are Nature Park, Yelagiri aka Punganur Lake, Velavan Temple, Jalagamparai Waterfalls, Government Silk Farm and Nilavoor Lake. Except for the waterfalls, all the other places are located within 5-7 KM distance from the Athanoor Bus Stand at Yelagiri. Let me talk a little about every place I visited:

Nilavoor Lake: An artificial lake that is closed and isn’t maintained. So this isn’t a tourist spot and you need not take the pain of going in search of the place.

Government Silk Farm: My bad luck that it is closed (as on August 2017) now for a month. In general, you can visit the place to take a tour to know about silkworm and mulberry plantation.

Velavan Temple: Murugan temple, and not really a must-visit place.

Nature Park: A park with a pathway to walk amidst the flowers and grass. Again, this place didn't excite me much. As Yelagiri is a tourist spot, they charge Rs.15 INR per person to enter the park.

Yelagiri Lake: Yet another artificial lake surrounded by a park and you can go boating in the lake. There is an entry fee for the park and the boating charges are separate.

Jalagamparai Waterfalls: You either take a trek route or motorable road to reach the falls. The trek route is 6 KM from Nilavoor and the motorable road is 12-13 KM from Tirupattur. Definitely one place you should visit during your trip to Yelagiri.

Nature Park - Yelagiri

Besides this, Yelagiri is known for Paragliding and Trekking. If you are adventure enthusiast then you must plan accordingly for a good trek in the hill and a paragliding experience in-between the majestic mountains. And the place doesn’t house any good food options; the food served at restaurants can reduce your hunger but won’t excite your taste buds.

Yelagiri isn’t famous for spices, chocolate or anything in particular so I do not recommend purchasing anything here. With respect to fruits, we did find lots of different fruits and the tourists mostly buy Jackfruit that is priced according to the season and demand.

Yelagiri, a perfect place for the weekend getaway at a reasonable budget. Good for camping, trekking, adventure activities and road trip.

#Yelagiri #TamilNadu #RoadTrip2017