Yelagiri-1

Yelagiri is a small nondescript hill station off the Bangalore - Chennai NH46 national highway. It ranks second to the other hill station near Bangalore, Yercaud (see my posts on Yercaud). If you want a short, relaxing weekend away from Bangalore, either of these two hill-stations will do. Yelagiri offers even less than Yercaud, but this is not to say that there is nothing to do there. There is the lake, a garden, and some short treks. There is also a musical fountain, which is sort of unique as you don't generally find musical fountains at hill stations. The musical fountain is a recent addition. Speaking to the people there, it seems it was mostly the result of an enterprising bureaucrat who made sure that the funds allocated towards the development of Yelagiri as a viable tourist attraction were put to good use, and in good time.

Yelagiri - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yelagiri (Tamil: ஏலகிரி) is a hill station / village in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, India, situated off the Vaniyambadi-Tirupattur road.^[1] Located at an altitude of 1,410 metres above Mean Sea Level and spread across 30 km², the Yelagiri village (also spelt Elagiri at times) is surrounded by orchards, rose-gardens, and green valleys.^[2][3]

Also see yelagiri - Google Search
The road from Bangalore to Yelagiri is excellent. With the completion of the last remaining flyovers on NH7, the drive from the Bangalore Silk Board is uninterrupted by diversions that existed hitherto. From NH7 you need to take a left at Krishnagiri on to NH46, the tolled highway that takes you to Chennai. At Bargur you take the state highway that takes you to Yelagiri.

The drive up to Yelagiri is pretty good, with 14 hairpin bends to be navigated. How do I know there are 14 hair pin bends? Because these are very neatly numbered such. While the temperatures are only marginally lower than the plains, the abundance of trees and the green cover makes the heat much more tolerable than in the open, where the sun beats down upon you, mercilessly.

As you enter proper Yelagiri, you are greeted by good pavements, proper lane markings on the road, and lots of signs to give a first-time visitor information on the things to do at the place. Very thoughtful, and to be much appreciated by travelers.

View Larger Map

As I wrote above, this is one of the 14 hairpin bends when going up to Yelagiri.

This is the intersection on NH46 where you need to take a right onto SH131. The flyover you see in the background is NH46.

© 2010, Abhinav Agarwal. All rights reserved.