The picturesque hill station, situated in the Shevaroy Hills, was established by the British in the early 18th century. Today this is one of the state’s productive areas and its surrounding slopes are entirely covered with plantations of coffee, tea, jackfruit and plantains. The other areas of beauty are the man-made Yerikadu Lake and the Killiyur Falls and Lady’s Seat which offers delightful views of the surrounding countryside. Also, if you are visiting to the Horticultural Research Station at Yercaud, you can see an interesting collection of rare plants here.
¤ Tourist Attractions of Yercaud
* Anna Park
Another important place of visit in Yercaud is the Anna Park which is located near the lake. This park has a collection of the natural species of plants and trees seen around Shevaroy hills. Flower shows are conducted in this park during summer months. There is a breathtaking Japanese garden inside this park in which plants are grown in Japanese style. Children can enjoy playing in the garden. It is a well maintained garden and is worth a visit.
* Bear's Cave
This is a must see for any tourist visiting Yercaud. The Bear’s cave is situated in a private coffee estate near the Norton Bungalow, which is on the way to the Servaroyan temple. There is a huge cave formation beside this coffee estate bungalow, which was considered to be home for the bears. Even though it is a private estate, the owner has been kind enough to open it for the visitors. The main area of the cave is seen to be about 7 feet below the ground level and the deeper gorge seen there is believed by the local community to be the path that leads up to the cave situated in the Shevaroyan temple.
* Big Lake
The greatest attraction in Yercaud is the big natural lake or the Emerald Lake. The lake with its wonderful hilly surroundings and a well maintained garden on its banks is a feast for the eyes of any person. There is a floating fountain in the lake and boating facilities are available at a reasonable rate. Self pedaling as well as rowing boats can be chosen according to the choice of the tourist. A nominal amount is collected as caution fee before issuing the boats and stringent safety measures are followed by the authorities.
* Botanical Garden
Any tourist who is interested in flora and in knowing about various species of plants has to surely visit the orchidarium and the green house in the Botanical garden. Yercaud is the place where the famous Kurinji flower blooms in plenty and the specialty of this flower is that it will bloom only once in twelve years. The National Orchidarium which is located 2 km from the Emerald Lake has a wide variety of orchids which includes 30 orchid species that are exclusively found here. Many endangered species of orchids are persevered in this orchidarium which is ranked the third largest of all the orchidariums in India. Besides Kurinji, Vernonia shevaroyensis and lady's slipper orchid are among the others on display here.
* Killiyur Falls
This exciting and amazing waterfall is about three km from the Yercaud Lake and is at its best when visited after the South West monsoon or the North East monsoon. The excess water of the Yercaud Lake as well as the water from the Shevaroy Hills fall deep into the Killiyur valley from a height of 300 ft and its view from the top to the bottom is breathtaking and pleasing for the eyes. A hardcore trekker can trek through the heavily woody forests from the lake to the bottom of the falls in about an hour.
* Lady's Seat
Lady’s seat is a rock in the form of a seat on the South West of Shevaroy hills that overlooks the ghat road and Salem town. The natives believe that a white English lady of earlier days used to spend their evenings watching the panoramic view from this rock. There is a viewing tower equipped with telescope to see the magnificent view. The view from Lady’s rock is more spectacular at night with thousands of light twinkling in Salem town. The viewing tower is open to tourists only during daytime.
* Montfort School
Montfort school is one of the well established residential boys school in Yercaud which was started in the year 1917 by Bro. Denis. The school has a splendid chapel that is built entirely with exquisite stones and is an excellent example of Franco-Indian architecture. The entrance of the school has three symmetrical grey walls which represents the three stalwarts who started the school. The Montfort School campus has attractive architectural buildings, beautiful gardens, huge playground as well as a swimming pool. The school also has a zoo that is left open to the public only on Sundays. This school is a must see for any tourist visiting Yercaud.
* Pagoda Point
Pagoda point or pyramid point is a viewpoint located on the eastern part of Yercaud hills. This has four piles of stones arranged so as to form a pyramid shape. It is said to be built by the local tribes and now there is a Rama temple located between the piles of stones. One can get a thorough view of the town of Salem and a little village called Kakambadi from this hill. The cliffs in this area look really beautiful especially in early mornings or evenings and spending some time in this point itself is refreshing to the body and mind.
* Shevaroy Temple
The Shevaroy temple is situated on top of the flat-topped Shevaroy hills and is dedicated to Lord Shevaroyan. The temple consists of a narrow and dark cave which is impenetrable and the idols of Lord Shevaroyan and Goddess Kaveri are placed inside it. The native tribals come in hundreds and celebrate their annual festival in the premises of this temple during the month of May every year. The view from the Shevaroy temple area is magnificent with several mountains around Shevaroy and the plains spreading in between the hills. A good view of Yercaud town and Nagalur can be obtained from this hill.
* Silk Farm
One of the places of interest in Yercaud is the silk farm. The silk farm is located very near to the Lady’s seat. Visiting the silk farm will be a memorable and knowledgeable experience especially to the children. In the silk farm one can see how the silk worms are reared, how they are fed on mulberry leaves and how the cocoons are used for spinning the silk threads etc. The life cycle of silk worm and methods of spinning silk can be understood by visiting this place.
* Small Lake
The small lake in Yercaud is situated not far from the town. Although it is not as attractive as the Emerald Lake, it has a wild beauty which attracts the tourists. This scenic lake is serene with everlasting beauty and is believed to be fed by many wells. It does not dry up even in summer. The lake is surrounded by a road and at one end of the lake is the famous Montfort school. As this lake is preserved in its natural form with surrounding woods and trees, it gives a chance to enjoy the beauty of nature in its wild form.
* The Grange
The Grange is a castle built in 1820 by the then collector M D Cockburn and is one of the oldest architectural marvels that are seen in Yercaud. This is the first commercial plantation area for coffee, oranges and apples in Yercaud. It is believed that Robert Clive of English East India Company used the grange as his summer resort in the late 1800’s. The Grange also has a large cellar that can hold huge quantities of provisions. Nowadays, there is a beautiful and exotic resort in the vicinity of the Grange that is located in between the coffee and orange plantations and will be a fantastic place for the tourists to stay in.
* Salem (30 Kms)
This is the largest city in the region and has some old temples but is basically known for its industries, mainly steel, sago and hand weaving.
* Namakkal (48kms)
The town lies at the foot of a small hillock which is about 200 feet high and about half mile in circumference. There is a fort on the hillock. There are two rock-cut cave temples here, one dedicated to Narasimhaswamy and the other to Ranganathaswamy. There is also a big Hanuman statue of about 20' height here carved out of a single stone.
* Aragalur (74 kms)
Aragalur is about 4 kms South East of Talaivasal on the right back of Vasishtanadhi. The name of the village in Tamil means " Village of six trenches . The village was ruled by a prince named Ekambara Mudaliyar. It has two imposing temples, one is dedicated to Sri Kameswara and the other to Karivaradaperumal. There is a big Budhdha statue at Thiyanganur village on the outskirts of Aragalur Village.
* Kodumanal (40 kms)
It is a tiny village on the banks of the Noyil river. it is an archaelogical site dating back to the 2nd century BC. Hre lies the remains of a megalithic settlement.
* Bhavani (50 Kms)
The Sangameswarar temple here is situated at the confluence of the rivers Bhavani and Kaveri. It is one of the most important pilgrims centres in South India.
* Vedanthangal (85 kms)
Vedanthangal is one of the largest bird sancturies in India. It is a marshy, 30 hectare park with lake visited by over 1,00,000 migratory birds every year. The majority of these birds can be seen between November and February. The variety of birds include Herons, Darters, Spoonbills, Pelicans, Sandpipers, White Ibis, Cormorants,Blue winged teals and Swans.
* Mettur Dam (52 Kms)
This multi - purpose dam built on the River Cauvery is a nice picnic spot, situated as it is, amidst well - maintained gardens. Water from the Stanley reservoir is used for irrigating a major portion of the plains of central Tamil Nadu.
* Kolli Hills (100 Kms)
This is the second hill station in the district at an altitude of 1190 mts. Sri Kapaleeswara Temple is located on the top of the hills called Chathuragiri is one of the oldest. The terrace type of 70-hair pin bend ghat road, the fruits cultivated, honey, and the unchanged tribal culture are unique memories. The wonderful Agasakangai Waterfalls flowing from a height over 2000 feet is a unique scene.
* Tiruchengodu (45Kms)
Tiruchengodu is one of the seven Sivasthalams in Kongunadu.This is another pilgrim centre which has an ancient temple dedicated to Ardhanareeswar - a unique concept of Saivism where the deity is half male and half female.
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