Yelagiri, Tamil Nadu

As a group of 8, we decided to spend a weekend (14th & 15th of June, 2008) in Yelagiri. Since most of the members were alien to trekking, it was decided to grab this opportunity and go for a mini trek during our visit. We make up a short schedule and followed it for most part.

From left: Bose, Arun, Murugan, Chitanya, Subru, Kadir, Hari

Yelagiri schedule
June 14th of 2008	Start from Chennai (6:30 A.M)
	Breakfast in a Vegetarian Restaurant – Vellore, which is on the way to Yelagiri (8:30 A.M)
	Visit to Jalagamparai Waterfalls (11.30 A.M to 12:30 P.M.)
	Lunch at Yelagiri (1:30 P.M)
	Punganoor Artificial Lake-cum-Park ( 3 :00 P.M to 5:00 P.M) Boating & Park visit
	Play Time ( 6:00 P.M to 7.00 P.M) Cricket
	Dinner (8:30 P.M)
June 15th of 2008	Breakfast provided at Cottage (7.00 A.M)
	Trekking (8 A.M to 12.00 Noon)
	Lunch in a hotel at Ambur, which specializes for Biryani and which is on the way to Chennai (1.30 P.M)
	Back to Chennai (7:00 P.M)

Place where we stayed : Hotel 'O' Nila

Yelagiri is about 250 km from Chennai. We travelled in 2 cars (thanks to Mr.Hariharan V.G and Mr. Murugan Poornachandran) and reached Jalagamparai Waterfalls as planned. The drive from Chennai through Poonamalee High Road followed by Bangalore highway in the early morning hours was a pleasant one. The last leg of the drive which leads to Jalagamparai waterfall deserves special mention as it takes you through small villages, dirt roads and corn fields, which compensated our disappointments (not a drop of water in the waterfall).

After our lunch, we checked ourselves in the cottage, we have booked at Hotel 'O' Nila (http://www.onilayelagiri.com/), a decent place but the food and service was just OK. Not good but not bad either. The place also has a swimming pool, playground for adults to play cricket/badminton and separate play area for children.

Trek Trail

The scenic trek along a muddy path on the second day to Swamy malai was really shot but filled with fun. With few breaks, we reached the top of the hill after an hour. There is a small temple, which the locals visit during special occasions and some few rocks to sit and relax. (Remember to bring your own water bottles and don’t expect any other facilities) After spending few hours enjoying the breeze and the view of Yelagi hills, we headed back to cottage. Drove to Ambur (about 40 K.M away from Yelagiri which is famous for Biryani) for lunch before heading back to Chennai.

Few points to consider if you have plans to visit Yelagiri

If you are planning to drive to Yelagiri in your own car/bike, make sure to fill your tank at the foot of the hill itself. There is no gas station uphill.

The water at the Jalagamparai falls depends largely on Yelagiri’s rainfall. So enquire first before heading off for the waterfalls For lovers of jackfruit, this area has plenty of it especially in the summer months, and the fruit here is considered very good.

In front of Jalagamparai waterfall ??