The Yercaud fizz
Early Jan this year & we wanted to create our holiday planner for the year. After a late breakfast on a lazy weekend when we were seriously seeking out for some enthralling destinations in India & decided to Google for it, we were surprised at the choice of destinations thrown at us around the city. Without much deliberation, we decided to give up on the planner but take off immediately. And while we were laying our conditions of a perfect weekend getaway, we knew it must have a character to itself, a property that absorbs us & a place that builds the fondness our souls looked forward to – Yercaud seemed to fit it all!
We reached Yercaud early on a Saturday morning after a relaxing drive of 2hrs from the nearest city of Salem. While we were still on our way to the resort, the captivating sequences of the town took us in its stride – rapt in the cocoons of slumber, soaked in the first rays of sunshine & covered in layers of mist - the city was getting ready for yet another day! While the city mesmerized, leaving us longing for more, we reached our resort – The Grange Resort.
Amidst deep forests & round turns up the hill, we entered a narrow stretch of land within dense forest on both sides. While we wondered at the richness of vegetation around, our cab stopped with a screech in front of what seemed to us an olden day’s bungalow & a rusty board that was hanging. The scrutiny was still on when emerged out a young guy with polished English accent, well dressed & extremely courteous to lead us our way to the cottage. It was such a beautiful shot of early morning rays strewn over the grasses gathering dew drops. On the hills, amidst a brilliant property, breathtaking captures of nature & mercury falling to 13 degree Celsius. Chill ran down our spine as we entered our cottage that was done up minimally & set out in a while to take a resort tour. Coffee plantations, pepper plantations & orange plantations – they were all there as long as you could see. It felt a deep shudder in the woods with thick dense layers of plantations - unperturbed, undisturbed & naturally rich with a strange sense of freedom, exhilaration & shelter. We were later told by the caretaker that the forest is infested by bison due to low security measures & more often than not, they are spotted in the portico of one of the cottages.
This was one brilliant property – with lovely cottages spread across, rusted swings in the kid’s park that squeaked & a small pool that has not been cleaned in ages. The ruins were evident & so were the intentions of restoration of the property.
The day rolled over with sight seeing around the city, a sumptuous lunch & temple visits. It was getting dark when we realized that the 10 acre property had only 3 bulbs of 60 watt each. Adventure as they call it, we knew how dark could darkness get when we got back after gulping a few shots of expensive liquor at night. While we barely managed our steps we realized that all business shuts down at 7:30PM in the city except the star rated hotels. It was densely dark that we could not figure our way to the cottage. Without a single soul to sail us through, we could hear squeaks from the swings & didn’t know if we were to believe the stories shared with us in the morning. We got excited & captured some stills in the darkness. Finally, we managed to reach our cottage safe to count on the events of the day.
We were to leave the next day & all I did was to lap up the nature at its best & get deeper into the woods inside the resort. As I lay there enjoying the ruins, the dampness, the murky shadows of bushes around & the ecstatic view, I wanted the unexplored beauty intact. We had a wonderful stay, met some of the simplest characters, visited some interesting places & experienced a real HOLIDAY - away from the city to a calmer, beautiful, serene, fascinating & an enthralling destination – Yercaud.
We reached Yercaud early on a Saturday morning after a relaxing drive of 2hrs from the nearest city of Salem. While we were still on our way to the resort, the captivating sequences of the town took us in its stride – rapt in the cocoons of slumber, soaked in the first rays of sunshine & covered in layers of mist - the city was getting ready for yet another day! While the city mesmerized, leaving us longing for more, we reached our resort – The Grange Resort.
Amidst deep forests & round turns up the hill, we entered a narrow stretch of land within dense forest on both sides. While we wondered at the richness of vegetation around, our cab stopped with a screech in front of what seemed to us an olden day’s bungalow & a rusty board that was hanging. The scrutiny was still on when emerged out a young guy with polished English accent, well dressed & extremely courteous to lead us our way to the cottage. It was such a beautiful shot of early morning rays strewn over the grasses gathering dew drops. On the hills, amidst a brilliant property, breathtaking captures of nature & mercury falling to 13 degree Celsius. Chill ran down our spine as we entered our cottage that was done up minimally & set out in a while to take a resort tour. Coffee plantations, pepper plantations & orange plantations – they were all there as long as you could see. It felt a deep shudder in the woods with thick dense layers of plantations - unperturbed, undisturbed & naturally rich with a strange sense of freedom, exhilaration & shelter. We were later told by the caretaker that the forest is infested by bison due to low security measures & more often than not, they are spotted in the portico of one of the cottages.
This was one brilliant property – with lovely cottages spread across, rusted swings in the kid’s park that squeaked & a small pool that has not been cleaned in ages. The ruins were evident & so were the intentions of restoration of the property.
The day rolled over with sight seeing around the city, a sumptuous lunch & temple visits. It was getting dark when we realized that the 10 acre property had only 3 bulbs of 60 watt each. Adventure as they call it, we knew how dark could darkness get when we got back after gulping a few shots of expensive liquor at night. While we barely managed our steps we realized that all business shuts down at 7:30PM in the city except the star rated hotels. It was densely dark that we could not figure our way to the cottage. Without a single soul to sail us through, we could hear squeaks from the swings & didn’t know if we were to believe the stories shared with us in the morning. We got excited & captured some stills in the darkness. Finally, we managed to reach our cottage safe to count on the events of the day.
We were to leave the next day & all I did was to lap up the nature at its best & get deeper into the woods inside the resort. As I lay there enjoying the ruins, the dampness, the murky shadows of bushes around & the ecstatic view, I wanted the unexplored beauty intact. We had a wonderful stay, met some of the simplest characters, visited some interesting places & experienced a real HOLIDAY - away from the city to a calmer, beautiful, serene, fascinating & an enthralling destination – Yercaud.
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