What vadapav is to Maharastra, Idli is to Tamil Nadu…
I was in Bangalore for an official tour and could not miss the opportunity to go on a day’s road trip to a not so famous hill station called Yercaud. It’s in Salem district about 4 hour’s drive from Bangalore. This hilly town is located in the Shevaroys range of hills in the Eastern Ghats.
We were a group of 4 school time friends who successfully hijacked one of our friend’s sister’s car for this trip.
Planned to leave Bangalore at 4 am but left 2 hours early as our excitement overpowered sleep.
4 Friends, 2 Drivers, 1 hatchback and unlimited kickass Music and Infinite chats is all what you need on a road trip. The road was smooth and we were easily cruising at approx. 80 KMH.
Bhookh alert !! If you are a person who cannot sustain hunger at all and fear that you might die anytime when you are hungry, please eat something/ pack some snacks before you are travelling in Karnataka highways during night. Because you will not find any 24*7 food courts / tapris or anything till the dawn breaks.
Uphill journey from Salem to Yercaud is picturesque and there a about 20 Hairpin bends till you reach your destination.
Dawn broke and we reached Yercaud on time, sleep deprived and declared dead of hunger. My hungry eyes located a café (don’t remember the name) right on the Yercaud circle and we barged in. Café served lip smacking idli sambhar with 2 type chutneys on banana leaf. The idli was so soft that it melted in mouth before chewing. Yearcaud has many Coffee estates and nothing beats the taste of hot brewing filter coffee aka Kaapi after those priceless idlis.
We were all fresh and there was no trace of sleep deprivation in our eyes. 1st we went to The Servaroyan Temple situated atop Servaroyan hill, the temple is a narrow, cool and dark cave having the God Servarayan and the Goddess Kaveri inside. The hilly roads are surrounded by aromatic coffee estates, some of them are even a century old.
There is a Pagoda point to see and also a beautiful lake to boat on.
Best time to visit – Monsoons and winters
Road trips are about journey and not about destination, but when you reside in Bangalore and have visited Nandi hills for infinite times Yercaud is definitely an option to be on top of the list.
This was originally published on www.ghumakkadpandit.wordpress.com