Yelagiri

Yelagiri Hills is one of the best hill stations in Tamil Nadu. Set amidst four mountains, Yelagiri Hills offer its tourists an opportunity to spend cool and relaxing vacation throughout the year. To reach the hilltop, one has to travel through the winding Ghat Road with 14 Hairpin bends, each named after a Tamil poet. Once you reach the top, you get to see some panoramic views of the surrounding slopes of the mountains and the lush green forests. These hills are well known for their trekking trails which pass through the dense forests. Salubrious climate, uniquely styled village houses and adventure activities like trekking, rock climbing and paragliding attract lots of tourists to this place. Yelagiri is a main tourist attraction and a weekend getaway for the bikers from Chennai and Bangalore.

Yelagiri is surrounded by 14 small tribal villages and the villagers here make their living by indulging into forestry and horticulture. You will not find any fuel station or vehicle repairing shops in the hills. So, it is a good idea to keep the fuel tank full before proceeding to Yelagiri apart from carrying a first aid kid. You will find many temples, both big and small located in these hills. The sound of temple bells here fills the air with serenity and sanctity. Pongal and Diwali are two important festivals celebrated with zeal and vivacity here.

November to February

Being a very small hill station, Yelagiri has very limited tourist attractions. The main tourist destination is the Swamimalai Hill which is frequently trekked by the visitors.

As Yelagiri is situated in Southern India, all eating joints and restaurants here offer a wide variety of South Indian cuisine. Dish made of Jackfruit (a popular seasonal vegetable in summers) is a must have in summer months. The Tandoori Hut and the Hills Hotel on the Boat House Road offer excellent tandoori North Indian and Chinese food. You will also find liquor shops run by Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) so, getting liquor is not a problem.

Being a very small tourist destination, there are very limited opportunities for shopping in Yelagiri. The must buy things from Yelagiri include homemade honey and Jackfruit. The pure mountain honey can be bought from the weekly market which is held every Friday in Athanavoor, village situated near Yelagiri.

People mostly from Bangalore and Chennai visit Yelagiri on weekends. The hills are around 159 km. from Bangalore and around 228 km. from Chennai. The routes are clean and well-constructed with excellent sign boards all over the route. If you are driving your own vehicle from Chennai, it would take you around 4 to 5 hours to reach Yelagiri Hills. For a rail trip, the nearest Railway Station is the Jolarpettai Junction (about 23 km.) from where you can easily get a bus or a taxi to Yelagiri Hills. There are no petrol pumps on the hills and the last one is at Ponneri, a few meters before you get on to the ghat road. The most preferred way to get around the nearby places and attractions is on foot or trekking. Very few auto-rickshaws and taxis are available to take you around the nearby tourist spots.

Other than this, there are other attractions like Herbal farm and nature’s park, which are worth visiting.

Jalagamparai Waterfalls: Located around 5km. downhill from Yelagiri, is a picturesque spot frequented by many tourists. Most of the people coming to Yelagiri trek to this beautiful location and enjoy spending time in the lap of nature. The real beauty of these falls is visible in the winter months when it is loaded with water. Nilavoor: A lovely tribal village where you will find fields with crops of samai and tur daal. If you get an opportunity, you can also get to see villagers performing the traditional Nila Pattu Dance and performing pooja at the Ammam temple on Fridays. Telescope Observatory: Managed by the forest department, this observatory is located on the 13th bend on your way to Yelagiri Hills. There is a telescope housed in the observatory from where you can get spectacular views of the surrounding valleys, hills and distant tourist spots.