Yercaud is a hill station in Salem district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The total land area of the town is 383 sq km with the elevation of 1632m.
It is situated in the Eastern Ghats in the Shevaroys hills, also pronounced as Shevarayan hills, situated at the height of 1515 m or 4970 ft above sea level, and the highest point is at 5,326 feet or 1623 m (Servarayan temple). Camping, trekking, hiking, angling, river rafting, coffee plantation walks, photography tours, village tours, scuba diving and various adventure activities in and around Yercaud attracts a large no of tourists over a weekend from Bangalore and Chennai and the prices start from Rs. 1000/person.
When to visit?
Being a cold place, Yercaud has breathtaking views and surroundings all throughout the year so can be visited at any time but Summers are preferable among visitors because of its comfy atmosphere and in May, a seven-day summer festival is conducted which includes flower shows, dog shows, boating races and village fairs. Monsoons (July – September) makes the place heavely but is majorly avoided by the tourists.
Tourist Attractions:
- Anna Park/ Japanese Park
- Deer Park
- Arthur Seat
- Orchidarium-Botanical Survey of India
- Ladies Seat, Children’s Seat and Gent’s Seat
- Karadiyoor View Point
- Shevaroy Temple
- Kiliyur Falls
- Sri Chakra Mahameru Temple
- Bear’s Cave
- Nortons Bungalow
- Kottachedu Teak Forest
- Emerald Park
How to reach?
By Road:
Yercaud lies in Salem district, and the distance between Salem bus stand and Yercaud is approx 30kms and to cover the distance of 30kms, TNSTC bus will charge you around Rs. 20 per head. The Salem bus stand is connected with all the major cities of Tamil Nadu. You can also consider a road trip to Yercaud from Chennai (via. Tindivanam) and from Bangalore (via. Hosur – Krishnagiri – Dharmapuri – Salem – Yercaud).
By Railways:
The nearest Railway station is Salem Junction located at the distance of 35 km away. There is availability ply of trains that connects Salem with majority of the Tamil Nadu, Kerala & Karnataka. Other than the South of India, Salem rail route also works well with Guwahati, Patna, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata, Bilaspur, Jammu, Rajkot and Dhanbad. From Salem Junction you can either take a city bus, local taxis or pre-booked cabs to Yercaud.
By Airways:
Tiruchirappalli international airport is the nearest serving airport, situated at a distance of 165 km from Yercaud. There are some direct flights to Tiruchirappalli, from Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore and some of the international spots include Singapore, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Colombo. From airport either you can opt for city bus or even cab. The cheapest flight costs around Rs. 999 per head.