My family had been pushing me for a quality weekend vacation for
sometime. However, I had not been able to make it due to my
professional commitments. Then, during the later part of Dec '13, we decided for the weekend vacation at Yercaud. We had never been
there earlier and heard it to be a quiet, nice place from the reviews on
internet. Checked up internet quickly for the accommodation and found
that there are many hotels in and around Yercaud. There were many good
reviews about GRT nature trails but there were negative ones too.
However, I took the plunge and booked GRT for weekend of 20th Dec for 2
nights.
Quickly checked the web for the road conditions and found most of them to be positive except few stretches of bad/pot holed roads. The most recommended stretch was Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Dharamapuri - Salem - Yercaud.
We decided to leave relaxed in the morning as the hotel check in time was 2:00 PM. Assuming that a stretch of approx 220Km should not take more than 3.5 hours. However, we started really relaxed, around 10:30 AM from Bannerghatta road in Bangalore. Just to mention that we were driving Honda City with my wifey and 2 kids. We took the nice road and paid toll of INR 33 for Hosur/electronic city road. The traffic was good on Hosur road and we could not manage the odometer for more than 50/60 Kmph till the next toll of Attibele where we paid a toll of INR 25 and headed for Krishangiri. The road from Hosur is bad for few kms due to few flyovers coming up. However, once you are out of the rough patch, the roads are a breeze and you'd love to drive. We touched sometimes 120-130 kmph without any hiccups. There's very little traffic on the highway. There's toll at Krishnagiri - INR 55, Dharampuri for INR 83 and Omalur/Salem - INR 67.
Once you pay Omalur/Salem toll, drive straight for 7 Kms and then take a left from a light point junction. Drive straight till you hit T junction and then take a left. The straight road will take you to Yercaud. The road from Salem to Yercaud is very good and maintained well. There is toll of INR 20 when you enter Yercaud. This looks like to be a fake as there's no receipt, just a constable and a guy asking for money. Drive carefully on this stretch as there are 20 hair pin bends and also avoid overtaking. Use horns on blind spots. Trucks were at their usual pace so one has to be very careful.
Day 1: We reached Yercaud around 3:00 PM. After freshening up at the resort, we decided to take rest and spend the evening in the resort itself. We spend the evening exploring the resort (huge one) and playing some indoor games. The weather is really chilly and we decided to have an early dinner and called it a day.
Day 2: We had breakfast at the hotel. The buffet was large and good and well cooked. We decided to go for a half a day kind of sight seeing as my 2 yrs son would not take anything beyond it and would sleep for sure. We first went to Shevaroy Temple. On the way, we saw coffee and pepper plantations. We were old that this is the highest point in Yercaud. There's a small temple and a sight seeing point. A small shop selling toys and sweet corns. Our next stop was pagoda point. This was just a viewing point with nothing special to mention. On the way to pagoda point, we stopped at a shop to buy some oils and perfumes which were claimed to be produced locally. The next stop was lake. That's something you and kids would enjoy. There was an entry fee of INR 25 and also some fee for camera (which I have forgotten). The boating offers many ways of rowing, peddle and motor boat. We opted for motor boat and paid INR 320 for a round trip of the lake. Few pics of these sights are:
Shevaroy Temple
Pagoda Point
Lake
We missed few other options e.g. ladies seat, gents seat but my kids were getting restless and wanted to go back to hotel. So we came back to the hotel, had our lunch in the resort and retired in our room for some rest. In the evening, the resort had planned bon fire and dance program so we enjoyed the evening in the resort itself.
Day 3: Good and sunny weather. Since were were to leave today, we did nothing except had our breakfast and then played few games in the outdoor and indoor areas of the resort. We checked out at around 12:30 and started from the resort at around 1:00 PM. We took the same route back to Bangalore, paid all the tolls
again and reached home by 5:30 PM. 
A little on GRT Nature Trails:
The resort is right on the Salem - yercaud main road and easy to spot. When we reached the resort, we were given a quick review of various facilities in the resort. The room was spacious, clean and with splendid view. White sheets were spotless and the bathroom always had hot water. It had a glass teflon floor for some part of the room wherein you can actually walk and see through below the rocks and flora. The staff was very supportive, courteous and ever ready to help. The sky walk and the terrace takes your breath away with beautiful views, especially at night when you overlook Salem city. The food is on the expensive side but the food quality and hospitality covers the costs. Again very courteous and helpful staff in the dining hall.
Some details about the journey:
Car: Honda City
Tyres: Michelin
Start time Bangalore: 10:30 AM
Reach time Yercaud: 3:00 PM
Stoppages: 1 (20 mins)
Start time Yercaud: 1:00 PM
Reach time Bangalore: 5:30 PM
Stoppages: 0
Total stretch: 445 Km
Car Avg: 18 Kmpl with AC on most of the time
Total Toll paid (1 way): INR 263
Quickly checked the web for the road conditions and found most of them to be positive except few stretches of bad/pot holed roads. The most recommended stretch was Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Dharamapuri - Salem - Yercaud.
Route Map
We decided to leave relaxed in the morning as the hotel check in time was 2:00 PM. Assuming that a stretch of approx 220Km should not take more than 3.5 hours. However, we started really relaxed, around 10:30 AM from Bannerghatta road in Bangalore. Just to mention that we were driving Honda City with my wifey and 2 kids. We took the nice road and paid toll of INR 33 for Hosur/electronic city road. The traffic was good on Hosur road and we could not manage the odometer for more than 50/60 Kmph till the next toll of Attibele where we paid a toll of INR 25 and headed for Krishangiri. The road from Hosur is bad for few kms due to few flyovers coming up. However, once you are out of the rough patch, the roads are a breeze and you'd love to drive. We touched sometimes 120-130 kmph without any hiccups. There's very little traffic on the highway. There's toll at Krishnagiri - INR 55, Dharampuri for INR 83 and Omalur/Salem - INR 67.
Once you pay Omalur/Salem toll, drive straight for 7 Kms and then take a left from a light point junction. Drive straight till you hit T junction and then take a left. The straight road will take you to Yercaud. The road from Salem to Yercaud is very good and maintained well. There is toll of INR 20 when you enter Yercaud. This looks like to be a fake as there's no receipt, just a constable and a guy asking for money. Drive carefully on this stretch as there are 20 hair pin bends and also avoid overtaking. Use horns on blind spots. Trucks were at their usual pace so one has to be very careful.
Day 1: We reached Yercaud around 3:00 PM. After freshening up at the resort, we decided to take rest and spend the evening in the resort itself. We spend the evening exploring the resort (huge one) and playing some indoor games. The weather is really chilly and we decided to have an early dinner and called it a day.
Day 2: We had breakfast at the hotel. The buffet was large and good and well cooked. We decided to go for a half a day kind of sight seeing as my 2 yrs son would not take anything beyond it and would sleep for sure. We first went to Shevaroy Temple. On the way, we saw coffee and pepper plantations. We were old that this is the highest point in Yercaud. There's a small temple and a sight seeing point. A small shop selling toys and sweet corns. Our next stop was pagoda point. This was just a viewing point with nothing special to mention. On the way to pagoda point, we stopped at a shop to buy some oils and perfumes which were claimed to be produced locally. The next stop was lake. That's something you and kids would enjoy. There was an entry fee of INR 25 and also some fee for camera (which I have forgotten). The boating offers many ways of rowing, peddle and motor boat. We opted for motor boat and paid INR 320 for a round trip of the lake. Few pics of these sights are:
Shevaroy Temple
Pagoda Point
Lake
We missed few other options e.g. ladies seat, gents seat but my kids were getting restless and wanted to go back to hotel. So we came back to the hotel, had our lunch in the resort and retired in our room for some rest. In the evening, the resort had planned bon fire and dance program so we enjoyed the evening in the resort itself.
Day 3: Good and sunny weather. Since were were to leave today, we did nothing except had our breakfast and then played few games in the outdoor and indoor areas of the resort. We checked out at around 12:30 and started from the resort at around 1:00 PM. We took the same route back to Bangalore, paid all the tolls
again and reached home by 5:30 PM. A little on GRT Nature Trails:
The resort is right on the Salem - yercaud main road and easy to spot. When we reached the resort, we were given a quick review of various facilities in the resort. The room was spacious, clean and with splendid view. White sheets were spotless and the bathroom always had hot water. It had a glass teflon floor for some part of the room wherein you can actually walk and see through below the rocks and flora. The staff was very supportive, courteous and ever ready to help. The sky walk and the terrace takes your breath away with beautiful views, especially at night when you overlook Salem city. The food is on the expensive side but the food quality and hospitality covers the costs. Again very courteous and helpful staff in the dining hall.
Some details about the journey:
Car: Honda City
Tyres: Michelin
Start time Bangalore: 10:30 AM
Reach time Yercaud: 3:00 PM
Stoppages: 1 (20 mins)
Start time Yercaud: 1:00 PM
Reach time Bangalore: 5:30 PM
Stoppages: 0
Total stretch: 445 Km
Car Avg: 18 Kmpl with AC on most of the time
Total Toll paid (1 way): INR 263
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