We started our vacation by driving to Yelagiri, a small town in the mountains, which lies in Tamil Nadu. It is a very basic place, and it is difficult to find anything to do here. The amenities are basic, but the people are warm and welcoming. And, the Kamat’s outlet on the Highway serves the best, hottest, crispest vadas, I’ve had in a long time :).
Luckily, we had Radio One (Bangalore FM channel here) and our music CDs. There was internet and mobile connectivity too ;-). One advice to anyone venturing to this place by car — Carry your own alcohol, water and snacks. Alcohol is very difficult to find and extremely expensive, and you will have to walk miles to get branded water.
This is a great place where one can just relax; don’t expect to do too many other things here. They really need to work on the cleanliness if they want more people to visit them. And, btw, it is a hill station, yet the weather was almost like Bangalore’s. It seems the place buzzes only on weekends, and on weekdays they don’t even switch on their beverage coolers. So, we had to bring our drinks to our resort’s kitchen fridge to chill :).
We heard that there was this nice 4-km trail which went up in the mountains to Swamimalai. We are always game for a good trek. So, Gurdev and I woke up real early and embarked on this trail on a Tuesday morning. Except for a few villagers at the base, there was not a soul to be seen on the way. We enjoyed the seclusion, greenery and the peace around us. I think, it was a wonderful place to meditate. We were nearing the summit on this mountainous path when we heard heavy thuds. There was a warning sign in Tamil at the base about cobras, elephants etc., but we surely did not expect to see anyone. In the clearing, I saw a huge gray wild elephant who could not see us. The thuds were the sound of his feet. I have not come across a wild elephant, and we did not know how he would react. We suddenly realized that we were only the two of us there. Suddenly, Gurdev caught my hand and we started bounding downhill as silently as we could. We heard the thuds for some distance, but we overran it. I think the wild chap had not spotted us, or did not find us interesting enough :).
We stopped only when we reached a slope where there was a farmer tilling his land. We laughed at our little adventure and made our way back to the car. Though, I must admit that I was a little scared.
So, this was the most exciting part of Yelagiri trip. Oh, I forgot to mention this fabulous Ayurvedic body massage I had at the resort. Amazingly relaxing! The header pic is also clicked in Yelagiri.
We packed our bags and moved on to our next stop Hogennakal falls.
On Holidays? Enjoy, dear. Yelagiri looks appealing with its rustic charm.
wow …seem u had a exciting trip…pics are good…
and wow u had a massage…really nice…
yelagiri seems to be a pleasant place..
Indians, by and large have started to learn to live.How times have changed.Must have been a wonderful trip.
must be a memorable and awe-inspiring trip..also the pictures were nice
The fotos added to the beauty of post 🙂
Seems to be a good place, should plan a tour. Thanks
Last year my husband took his uncles and aunts to Yelagiri. We are members of the Sterling resort, and he thought why not visit this place and also make use of the resort there. He found it very good, I believe they were taken very good care, could choose their own menu and had a very good time there. I could not go because i was not feeling well, and also I was not in a mood to go with uncles and aunts.
He keeps telling me we can go again as it is so close by from Bangalore.
Interesting, albeit a bit scary, adventure you had up there. Just when you thought all was quiet! Enjoy your vacation 🙂
@Holy Lama Actually, I am back from holidays. Thanks, they were fun.
@rohini Thanks! And, yes, the massage was superb ;-). All women dig that!
@BKChowla I think that it is a great change. It was such a nice trip.
@Tomz Thanks!
@Jon Thanks :).
@Suffix If you only plan to relax, it is a good place, and from Bangalore easily accessible too.
@rama Hey, we stayed at Sterling too. I am not a member but a friend is. The Resort was a cozy little place, but I preferred the one by Sterling at Yercaud. That was a spectacular one. It is really accessible from Bangalore, but if you really must go, Yercaud is a much better option.
@RGB Exactly! Things and perceptions change within seconds 🙂
Everything seems so unbelievable. First because you have internet and cell phone signal in the middle of nowhere but have no alcohol. In Brazil this is exactly the opposite. Second, because you are faced with elephants in the middle of the forest. Here, the biggest animal you can find is an chimpanzee ( a big monkey, if you see one run as much as you can, they bite ) or an ox.
I hope you quite enjoy your trip!
Awesome pics! 🙂
Your smile is beautiful. 🙂 Keep smiling. 🙂
Interesting naration of an interesting jounrey! 🙂
Enjoyed reading it. 🙂
@david Yours is the most amusing comment I’ve received :). It is interesting to know things about Brazil as you put them so humorously. Indeed, it is surprising to see an elephant in a jungle on a mountain. We have a lot of monkeys here who don’t bite but are sprawled in the funniest of positions along the routes :). The adventure was a lot of fun.
@Chandrika Thanks for all the wonderful compliments :).
The encounter with the wild elephant must have been thrilling. The place seemed very nice. We stayed at a Sterling resort in Goa and the facilities were disappointing to say the least. Lovely photos.
You are doing the right thing.We all need time out from busy schedules.We cannot predict on wild elephants,they are often dangerous. Have more adventures ahead.
Sounds wonderful Rachna!! My goodness, I love the photos too!
beautiful pics
@Aparna Yes, it was. And, we were not too happy with Sterling’s facilities here. The one at Yercaud was much better, but the service needs to be better. Thanks for letting me know about the Goa one; we are saved from trying that out.
@dr. antony Exactly! We were not sure about the predictability of the wild chap so we started racing.
@agnes Thanks :).
@sm Thanks for your comment and visit.
Yelagiri looks beautiful. The elephant adventure must have made up for the lack of things to do there 😉
@Destiny’s child 🙂 Yeah, at least some adventure!
exciting trip indeed…good to c u guys having fun..enjoy
Thanks Ramesh.
Hope you having fun on ur holidayssssssss enjoyingggggg… the pics are beatuifullll 🙂
Bikram’s blog
Thanks Bikram!
Lovely to read you blog post, had a great time, Thanks for sharing with us…