YelagiriBangalore YelagiriTotal No of days - 3Dated - June 2017
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Behind the wheel & Contributor
Vinod Kumar...know more about me
Bangalore to Yelagiri
Located around 170 kms from Bangalore in the Vellore district of Tamil Nadu,
Yelagiri is less heard of, and a less exploited hill station. Even though it is popular
for the Bengaluru and Chennai travelers as a weekend getaway, the place is less
commercialised compared to other hill stations.
Somewhere near Krishnagiri
The drive
Somewhere enroute
There are many stay options scattered around. The hotels and resorts here looked spacious, built in
vast area of land. Our accomodation was in Sterling resort, our first stay in one. The resort was good,
large rooms, pools etc. The staff looked a bit inexperienced to handle the crowd. Food was ok, as breakfast
was included in the package. The traditional South Indian breakfast greeted us here too, overall the stay
was ok. Rooms are big, pool, well manicured gardens.
Sterling resort
The day we take rest and the next day morning plan to drive around the place. Adventure sports seems imenselt popular here, we followed a banner and arrived in a open ground, probably it was closed. The hotel staff had suggested the man made Punganoor Lake and park is just walking distance away, it has games, slides and boating. As we reached the park it was already 6pm and boating was about to stop, water level was quite low at this time. The park was under renovation.
The entry to the park
The lake
What more to see here, the tea stall owner at the park points to Jalagamparai Waterfalls, distantly away as understood by his action. Quickly he adds that ofcourse at this time of the year there is no water. The next place is Vainu Bappu Observatory or Kavanur Observatory, which is 70kms away. The night sky can be seen through the telescope on every Saturday from 7pm to 10pm, if the sky is clear. Again saturday is long away. The next is trek to Swamimalai hills, for which our time is limited and finally, Velavan temple which is just behind the resort. At least we can make it to this temple.
Vainu Bappu Observatory (picked from wikipedia)
The next morning we take a short ride through the narrow roads of Yellagiri, just to get the feel of the place and villages. Ther are a lot of resorts and home stays tucked in the interiors, and small villages.
Adding some pics...
A temple in the interiors
We then follow a adventure sports board to reach the Adventure valley sports, which is nearby and a good option for adventure lovers, we spend a eve there ziplining and atv biking. There are various activities
to be done in the range of Rs 200-300 which is reasonable. The boys are quick and helpful. Language is a issue at times and they are not able to understand english or hindi fluently.
In the evening take a short walk to the Govt Horticultural farm, a neatly landscaped garden which has an entry fee. There is a poorly kept aquarium at one corner with a few fish. the musical fountain that is complemented by multi-coloured lighting, is also an attraction.The trees and plants are marked in their scientific names.
The way to the farm
The junction point
The park
The fish museum
The Velavan temple is located on a small hill just behind the resort,with a flight of steps leading the small hillock. It is a beautiful place and a must visit.
The next morning the journey continues....