Yercaud, TN and Bannerghatta, KA – 12th to 14th May 2016

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For a change, this time our trip timing was entirely dictated by Anagha’s summer break from badminton coaching. This being the final year in under-13 for her, there was very little scope for us to skip the training/coaching sessions. It was only towards end of April that 1 week break was announced and we immediately looked for availability of resorts in a drivable distance (less than 1000 KMsJ). This decision was easy we have learnt to respect our agreements. We narrowed down to Yercaud based on weather conditions, availability and closeness to Bangalore. Motto was to enjoy whatever Yercaud has to offer and relax rest of the time.

“There are times when you get what you like, and there are times when you have to like what you get”

The broad plan – start 11^th May Wednesday evening to Bangalore, stay @ Grishma’s akku’s house in Bangalore. Start 12^th morning to Yercaud for check-in, drive back on 14^th again to Bangalore, stay overnight, and drive back to Hyderabad on 15^th May Sunday.

Hyderabad to Yercaud – Previous night on 10^th, I realised one of the head light was not working. So I had to take off from office for 2^nd half, and it took quite an effort to fix the problem. We wanted to start @ 5 PM, and we started very much on time in spite of all difficulty. Drive to B’lore was routine, and we reached after 1 AM in the morning. We started @ 9 AM next day and it took us 2 hrs to get out of B’lore onto NH7. I had heard a lot about B’lore traffic, but to experience it was still different. There was all kind of confusion outside and lot of heat inside the car. Being in the driver’s seat and making decisions when all are advising, seemed the most difficult job in the world gurrrrrrrrrr......Luckily tempers settled down and peace was restored by the time we reached Yercaud @ about 2 PM. The drive uphill was scenic and exciting with 20 hair pin turns.

Yercaud - is a hill station in Salem District, in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in the Shevaroys range of hills in the Eastern Ghats. It is situated at an altitude of 1515 metres (4970 ft) above sea level, and the highest point in Yercaud is at 5,326 feet (1,623 m). The hill station is named owing to the abundance of forest near the lake, the name signifying Lake Forest. As a popular tourist destination, Yercaud is also called as Jewel of the South. Yercaud is connected to the city of Salem, Tamil Nadu through a Highway of 28 km. Coffee and citrus fruits, most notably oranges, are grown in abundance, as well as bananas, pears and jackfruit. Scenically, Yercaud is as enchanting and picturesque as the hill stations on the Eastern Ghats and trekking will be an experience.

The total extent of Yercaud Taluk is 382.67 km2, including reserve forest. The entire county is administered as a township.

I captured above information for the benefit of readers, and it had zero influence on what we are going to do there. We wanted to just plan things based on what we see and hear on the ground. We spent the evening @ Yercaud Lake with boating and horse riding.

The resort (Lake Forest) is not a Mahindra property, but is unique in many ways. The architecture is from the times of British and still maintained well. The food is of excellent quality and a lot to offer unlike the resorts belonging to Club Mahindra. For the first time, we willingly ate @ the resort after starting our stays with Mahindra in 2013. On the evening snack menu we had our favourite Aloo Bonda and Onion Pakodas backed with almost perfect weather (cloudy with light drizzle) for the menu.









On the second day we had a busy morning with several rides @ a small amusement park called “Poppy Hills”. This park can’t be compared with reputed parks with any stretch of imagination, but still had enough to keep us excited and busy. The morning was indeed spent well with few first time experiences in life. The rides included Bungy trampoline, mini frisbee, bouncing castle, etc. Spending time with little puppys was a surprise element (which made it Puppy Hills J).

Rest of the day was totally relaxing with after-noon nap and family time in the evening with indoor games. After dinner we spent some time in the open under the sky. If we were totally disturbed by mosquitoes on one hand, there was a baba on the phone advising someone on the other side. Every other moment we heard “baba, baba, baba, baba...”, and the ”advice” was sandwiched between “baba, baba, baba, baba...”. This was quite amusing and we will remember forever.



We decided to leave early morning on 3^rd day as we thought of visit to Bannerghatta. This was indeed a very good decision as we could cover some lost ground (disappointment of not seeing tiger) from Kanha. Wait of over 2 hours in the queue for Safari was worth as we could see bears, lions and tigers from quite close.

We ensured evening in Bangalore isn’t wasted by taking a metro ride from Vijay Nagar to Beyappanhalli. Good warm-up for taking ride on Hyderabad metro next year. On Sunday 15^th, we left early morning and were back in Hyderabad by 2:15 PM, to complete the trip with good mix of activities and relaxation!

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Photos

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Anagha and Grishma overtaking bike on Horse!