Yercaud: Vagamon’s Twin

There are many interesting hill stations in South India, and among them, we have Yercaud, the less visited and lesser known one in comparison to the others of the same kind. With Ooty and Kodaikanal being the better placed attractions, and also with a cooler climate, this place has gone unnoticed by many nature enthusiasts. If we look at the climate there, the two places in Kerala which can be compared to it are Vagamon and Kumily. The place is located about thirty kilometres from Salem, to which a journey from Coimbatore is remarkable, considering the quality of the roads. We did think about going to Valparai, another hill station with a similar climate, but this one was preferred due to the roads. You can always trust Tamil Nadu with their roads, as they are as good as you will find anywhere else in the South. Well, always choose the less travelled good roads.

Yercaud is well-known for Montfort School, its chapel and the Sacred Heart Church, but all of them were closed. The three lovely viewpoints are Gents’ Seat, Ladies’ Seat and Children’s Seat, all providing some fine views of the area around. Cauvery Peak, despite a long drive away, is a must visit for coffee lovers – they also have some activities of adventure and some history attached to it. The boating and park area is pretty good, and the lake in the middle of the town is a lovely thing of beauty. There is scarcity of big restaurants, and the Guru Restaurant turned out to be a favourite. We stayed at Hotel Tamil Nadu just like we did in Kodaikanal, and it turned out to be lovely option, very close to the boating and lake area, also providing some fine breakfast. Our journey was quick, and it was lovely. The place was not crowded at all, and that helped us to go through the whole hill station very quickly.

You have the wonderful roads and you love the 20 hair pins.

We loved the rowing boats over everything else.

Just cool enough on the lines of Vagamon in Kerala.

The hair pin roads can be seen from a distance here.

The misty, foggy world of Vagamon was missing here though.

There are always the signs of antiquity being seen around.

Cauvery Peak is a place of coffee, unlike the usual tea plantations.

It is calm, peaceful and without the crowd; so love the serenity.

I would always choose Hotel Tamil Nadu (TTDC) when available.

When roads are so good, why wouldn’t you choose to drive Tata Tigor?

<<< Click here to go to the previous post.

<<< Click here to go to the latest movie review.

***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during my visit to Yercaud.

TeNy

Advertisement

Being There: Vagamon

The first time I went to Vagamon was during my school days, and during that time, I didn’t know that this place was a hill station. I used to think about it as another scenic place because it was very close to my place, and it might the one hill station which I can go for a one day trip from my location. It is also the only hill station to which I have driven the car all by myself. It is not located not that high as compared to the other popular hill stations like Munnar, Ooty, Kodaikanal, Yercaud and Valparai, and the roads don’t have that much of complicated turns. There is also more than one path to reach there even if you are coming from the same direction.

You can combine the journey to Vagamon with Ilaveezhapoonchira which is another destination on a hill on the way, and is a place of amazing scenic beauty. The first time I was at Vagamon, it was not that much of a big tourist destination, but things have become different now. But still, it doesn’t bring many people from outside Kerala for visit. It is located about a hundred kilometres from the city of Cochin, and the nearest big towns Palai and Thodupuzha are about thirty five and forty five kilometres from Vagamon. Sixty five kilometres away, Kottayam is the nearest railway station. The Cochin Airport is close to a hundred kilometres from Vagamon. Here are ten photos which I had taken during the journey to this particular place, on my Sony Cybershot DSC-W310. Even though I have only limited captures of the beauty of the place, I am hoping that this serves as inspiration for your future visit 😀

TeNy

Of Hills and Rivers

I am sure that most of the people who visited Central Kerala might have visited Munnar, the beautiful hill station which often serves as the Lake District type of inspiration for us. I have made a number of visits to the place with the 2012 journey being the last one. The truth is that you never really get tired of visiting Munnar, which is why I have kept visiting the place throughout my life, and another possible visit to come later some time. Among the hill stations which I visited, Munnar will have the big advantage in my mind. Last time we stayed at Ayur County Chancellor Resorts and it was a nice place to stay with a peaceful atmosphere and beauty of nature all around – the options were also many.

Munnar also has many locations which can be visited during the journey, and as you would have guessed, the traveling part itself is fun and refreshing. Having its name from Mudhirapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundaly rivers, Munnar’s tea plantations are sure to provide the best view along with its eternally green world. Yes, you will love to have tea at Munnar. Here are ten photos which I had taken during my last visit to Munnar; all of them were taken on my Sony Cybershot DSC-W310. I hope these photos will remind you to visit Munnar again, or make you interested in arriving in Kerala and get to Munnar!

TeNy