Yercaud is a hill station in Salem district of Tamil Nadu. This hill station is located in Eastern Ghats at an altitude of 1515 meters above sea level. The highest peak is Shevaroy Hills or Shevarayan Hills which is at 1623 meters above sea level.

A view of a villiage from Pagoda Point,

Image credit:chandrasekaran arumugam(https://www.flickr.com/photos/29848963@N03/)

Yercaud is also called as “Jewel of South” and the name Yercaud (Yeri+Kadu in Tamil) is derived from the lake (Yeri in Tamil) found in middle of town surrounded by thick forest(Kadu in Tamil). Yercaud is one of the hill station near to Chennai and it is one of the most beautiful and scenic location for a week end trip from Chennai.

Jewel of Shevaroy Hills view,

Image credit:chandrasekaran arumugam(https://www.flickr.com/photos/29848963@N03/)

The major business of Yercaud is agriculture. Coffee and tea plantations, spices, fruits like Banana, Pears, Orange, Jackfruit, etc. are grown in large level.

History

Though there are evidence of Stone Age period civilizations found in a temple near Shevaroy Hills, it is said that the people from Kanchipuram have settled in Yercaud first when Telugu kings invaded Thondai country.

How to reach Yercaud?

Yercaud is near Salem city and it is just around 25 kilometers away from Salem. Salem is 345 kilometers away from Chennai when you travel by road through NH 45 and NH 68. The nearest railway station is Salem junction and it is 32 kilometers away from Yercaud.

Places to see

Though Yercaud is smaller hill station when compared to Ooty and Kodai, there are many places in Yercaud for sightseeing. They are,

1. Yercaud Lake with Boating and Anna Park

2. Botanical Garden

3. Killiyur water falls

4. Lady’s seat

5. The Servaroyan Temple in Shevarayan Hills

6. Bear’s cave

7. Karadiyur View point

8. Pagoda Point    

Other Attractions

1. Yercaud also has many varieties of wild life and birds. The wiki list include bison, deer, ant-eater, rabbits, hares, foxes, mongoose, squirrels, partridges, snakes, bulbuls, kites, sparrows, swallows and paradise flycatchers.

2. Trekking

3. Summer Festival is organized every summer in the month of May with the annual festival of Lord Servarayan. There will be flower shows, dog shows, boating races, etc. during this festival.

Best time to visit

The best time to visit Yercaud is October to June. The lowest temperature level is recorded during January month of every year.

View the below album for more pictures,

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