Prince was the second human I interacted with in Yercaud. The resident Guest Relations Officer-cum-guide of the Club Mahindra Lake Forest Resort, Prince is a man who knows Yercaud like the back of his hand. The Lake Forest Resort came as a pleasant surprise. This was because Yercaud is a small hill station; quiet and unassuming, with a clutch of tourist spots to see. But its beauty lies in the forest that surrounds it. Unlike in other hill stations, the marketplace here is very local – there are no shops selling souvenirs or artefacts aimed at the tourist; the shops here focus on, and cater to the locals. The streets are lined with flower sellers, vegetable vendors and others selling local produce. Naturally, I thought that the accommodation would be simple and basic as well. But this resort was luxurious and cosy with very beautifully appointed rooms.

LEFT: The sculpted roof of the Anna Salai Temple.
ABOVE: The resort’s driveway is bordered by Silver Oak trees.


Private paradise


But my first human interaction in Yercaud was with Y.S Kundumalaiaswamy. He had a bright blue handcart on which he offered a range of refreshments ranging from rava dosa and rasam wada to filter coffee and fiery chilly bajjis (pakodas).
He immaculately did his lungi routine with practised perfection—an 13 Hello JUL - SEP 2008 exercise that I have come to believe, South Indian men cannot function without—and set about making some coffee for me. “There are 37 tourists in town right now and you are the thirty eighth,” he informed me. In between kerning his cucumbers and hanging his jalapeños around his cart, he also kept count of the number of new faces arriving into Yercaud.

ABOVE: The rooms in the Lake Forest Resort are themed. This one is the Lady Diana room.
BELOW: The lawns of the resort make for a good evening around a roaring bonfire.

While I was biting into his hot bajjis, fiery enough to make my ears smoke like a locomotive, he told me about David Cockburn, the Scottish Collector of Salem (1820-29) who is credited for the development of Yercaud as a place to escape to. He introduced the cultivation of coffee, oranges and pears, he is also credited with building The Grange—Yercaud’s oldest house—in the 1820s. This house still stands today and though it
is a private property you could request permission to take a dekko.
I made my way to my digs, just a short distance away from the Emerald.

Lake, where around 20 of the other 37 tourists in Yercaud were doing lazy circuits around the still waters in brightly painted pedal boats. The park in front of the lake has been nicely landscaped with trees and flower beds and is a riot of colours. It is well worth the Rs 5 entrance fee that you need to
shell out to enter it.

My room at the Lake Forest Resort looked out over the Shevaroy hills covered with silver oak trees
interspersed with Arabica coffee plantations... beautiful.

Morning perfect

The next morning I awoke to the musical chatter of coffee planters, as they gossiped about mothersin- law and local vegetable prices. Prince was dressed up and ready to take me around Yercaud, and after a wholesome breakfast of idli and upma accompanied by fiery sambhar andcooling coconut chutney, washed down by filter coffee, we set off.




While we were turning out of the gate he leaned towards me and conspiratorially whispered, “I’m taking you to the Anasalai Temple that is not on the usual ‘tourist spots’ circuit”. When we got there I realised that his claim wasn’t just words in the wind. The Anasalai Temple is about 5 km from the lake; a beautifully carved structure done up in typical Southern style. The views around the temple to sit and relax and maybe even carry a picnic lunch to. On our drive back we came across a local tribesman with his clutch of livestock, and he flagged us down, very agitated. I thought for a moment that one of his goats had taken off on a personal wander, when I looked in the direction he was pointing to and hopping up and down. In a straight line from the tip of his finger, in a little clearing amongst the silver oaks 20 feet away were two big bison with a little calf. I threw up my camera in a flash to get a picture and took two steps forward when the big bull mock charged. The tribesman almost shimmied up a tree, Prince looked ready to take off towards Salem with a sprint that would have left Carl Lewis standing, and I dropped my camera.

The bison, satisfied with this effect, retreated with the calf and I mentally patted my own back for my practice of always putting the camera strap around my neck.

Take your breath away

Normalcy returned some five minutes later, Prince reversed his strides and the tribesman pointed out something smaller, but equally fascinating. In the jungle by the side of the road, spiders had spun huge webs between tree trunks and they lay still in the centre of these silver strands waiting for prey.


Prince explained that they had fine hair on their eight legs and each leg is placed on a central strand of the web. When an edible snack approaches, the spider can identify it from the vibration the insect sets off and accordingly plans its assault.

The Kiliyur Falls are a popular must-see spot a short distance from the Lake. The falls are especially breathtaking after the monsoons, when they gush down 300 feet. The view from the top is fantastic, and avid trekkers (and fit ones at that) can trek down to the bottom of the falls. The descent is through a heavily wooded area and you will certainly see some gorgeous fauna. Keep aside two and a half hours at the least for this round trip.

Yercaud has enough to keep you busy and wonderstruck for two days, but its charm lies in the fact that it is never crowded during the week. Head here, and you’re bound to be enchanted.