Nothing but relaxation. Review on Yelagiri

Writing about another week-end getaway from Bangalore within a week! No, I'm not competing with the hot-selling travel book from Outlook; this is just a sharing of experience, MS-ian to MS-ian.

Yelagiri (pronounced with the 'y' silent) is actually a group of hills which also houses a bunch of villages, located very north of Tamilnadu near the Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka borders. The name literally means ''Elaichi hill'', but I'm not sure about the significance of that.

This hill-station, if one may call it so, is situated close to the towns of Jolarpet(tai), Vaniyambadi and Tirupattur. The best way to get there possibly is to take a train to Jolarpet Junction and take a bus / taxi to Yelagiri, the latter trip taking less than an hour.

The road from Jolarpet to Yelagiri is far better than the average Indian road, even on the hilly terrain. The bus ride costs Rs.6 per head while a taxi would cost 50 times that -- you choose what's best for you. Jolarpet is about 2 and 3 hours by train from Bangalore and Chennai respectively. The road route from Bangalore is supposedly bad.

So, what does this damn place have at all? Almost nothing actually in a way. The weather is good, probably better than Bangalore. When we went there, we had a fair amount of sun (that didn't result in sweating) coupled with a cool (rather chill) breeze. The net effect is pleasant when you're outside, but you feel a bit cold indoors.

In addition to the weather, you have very few people around and very little commercialisation (ala Ooty and the like). Cell-phones are useless here, atleast as yet. So, as you see, having almost nothing itself is the beauty of the place. If you want to laze absolutely for a couple of days and get relaxed ultimately, this is one great place to go. 'Alcoholophiles' might give you more ideas.

Okay, there are some things that you can see in this place. There is a boat-house which has a park and a lake (which is more of a pond) that provides for boating, among other things. The 'lake' area is a good place to sit and relax. Nearby is the Velavan temple; the only good thing about it is that it offers a good view of the surrounding areas. Trekking is probably a good thing to do if you don't want to rest really. If you're still keen on sight-seeing, you could travel 40-plus kilometres to Jalagamparai waterfalls.

Hotel Hills is almost synonymous with Yelagiri; almost everyone mentions this dwelling when you do your inquiries. But I should say it was a disappointment. Firstly, the rates are a bit too high for the bare minimum kind of accommodation provided.

Secondly, the attached restaurant, Diana (again recommended by one and all) serves bad-tasting food for atrocious prices. The staff are fairly helpful though. Further elaboration can be deferred to a separate review on this hotel. There aren't too many other boarding and lodging options. The YMCA camp maybe good for the cost-conscious while Taj Gardens (not belonging to the Taj group) might be worth exploring. A few shops exist around Hotel Hills, where you can get stuff like packaged drinking water and biscuits.

Go for it, if you care about a small, largely unknown place with pleasant climate but hardly anything to look around.