Yelagiri

On Sunday, the 1st of September, Preethi and I decided to go on a drive. After looking at multiple options, we decided upon Yelagiri. 

Yelagiri is located in Tirupattur district of Tamilnadu and is 160 km from Bangalore. It takes you about 3 hours to reach there. As you get closer to the hill station, the winding roads up the hill makes the drive enjoyable. 

We directly headed towards Swamimalai hills. You have to park your vehicle at Mangalam village, at the base of the hill and trek for about 3-4 km. It is the highest point in Yelagiri with an altitude of 4339 ft. Many visitors trek here. You will have to pay an entry fee of Rs 350 to the forest guard at entry point. The trail passes by paddy fields and then climbs up a forest to reach a temple at the summit. 

We headed back to town and took a boat ride in Punganoor lake. It was a simple ride but enjoyable. The weather was cloudy. We also had some quick lunch at a shack inside the park. 

There are many shops in the town centre selling homemade chocolates. Try some of them. 

With nothing else to do, we decided to drive to Jalagamparai waterfalls. The falls can be reached from Yelagiri, by trekking in the jungle for about 4-5 km. However, the trail is not well defined. Therefore, we had to take the road, which is about 38km drive. 

The waterfall was very crowded and therefore not a great place to be at that time. If you find it empty, then its a perfect place for some shower. 

On our way back, we enquired with the villagers for some fresh milk. But since we were late, the extra milk had already been supplied to the society. We were requested to go there directly. Which we did, and bought some fresh cow’s milk for Rs30 per
litre.

Even though there isn’t much to do in Yelagiri, it is a good day-trip from Bangalore to experience natural beauty and rural life.