Yercaud is a small hill station in the Shevaroy Hills near Salem at a height of 1500 meters, a nice getaway from Bangalore 230 kms, quiet and serene, surrounded by coffee plantations, ideal for walks and relaxing. Yercaud got its name from the Tamil words yeri and kaadu, which translate as lake and forest, respectively.
Aside from the solitary lake, the endless expense of green is all that meets the eye. Take a long walk away from the lake into the mysterious wooded hillside or climb up to the Murugan temple for a heart-stopping view of the valley, and you’re guaranteed an experience as exhilarating perhaps even as mystical as you could hope for in any of the more celebrated hill stations in the country.
The best time in Yercaud is in the warmer months between May and October. May and June are the months when tourist activity is high.
The annual summer festival is in May when there are boat races on the artificial lake; flower shows and fruits flood the stalls. Not only is it popular with holidaymakers, but also with companies who now hold incentive meetings and conferences in the pleasant surroundings of this delightful town. Coffee and citrus fruits, most notably oranges, are grown in abundance apart from bananas, pears and jack fruit. Scenically, Yercaud is as enchanting and picturesque as the hill stations on the Western ghats and trekking here can be one of the most pleasurable ways to pass time.