Silver Holiday Cottage – Yercaud , Hotel Review

For budget conscious traveler to Yercaud, Silver Holiday cottage is an ideal option for stay. Silver Holiday cottage is located in a calm and green environment.  Yercaud Lake is located from walk able distance from this hotel. Moreover it is located near the road connecting Salem and Yercaud.

The rooms are spacious and well maintained.  The rooms have independent entrance and have a comfortable veranda to sit and enjoy the weather.  The bathrooms and toilets are neat and clean.  Hot water is available 24hrs.  Room services are prompt during the offseason (cannot say the same in season time)

The biggest drawback is the lack of restaurant near the hotel. There is a small fast food corner nearby but the quality is not good. There are no swings or any garden within the hotel for the children to play.

Despite these shortcomings the hotel is good value for money.

Theni – tourist attraction and picnic spots

Theni district is full of surprises for a first time tourist. The whole district is lying on the borders of western ghats  so it is no wonder that it offers a lot of tourist attractions and places for visitors.

Theni can be reached from Madurai which is also the nearest Airport. If you want to visit and enjoy Theni then you must travel by your own vehicle because the sites are not bunched together instead they are spread throughout the district. Theni itself is well connected with lot of bus services but still it is advisable to have your own vehicle.

You can plan to visit the followings:

Vaigai Dam: The dam is constructed across Vaigai river, one of the important river of south Tamilnadu. It has well maintained garden and is a good picnic spot.

Kambam Valley: This valley has some of the beautiful scenic spots like Kandamanur, Mayiladumparai etc. This valley is part of catchment area of many rivers including Vaigai. Thekkady is very near to this location. Due to its location this area often receives light drizzles which are certainly a mood uplifter in summers.

Suruli Falls: It is one of the well known picnic spot inTheni. The water comes out of caves and forms a fall. Avoid going to this place on weekends as it will be crowded. There is a temple dedicated to Kailashanathar which is located above the Suruli falls at 800 mtrs height. Near the temple there is a Darga called Abu Bucker Masthan darga. This saint is supposed to lived here in 1630s.

Megamalai: It is located at the height of 1500 mtr from sea level. It is full of tea gardens cardamom estates.

Bodi mettu: It is another summer retreat but not well known and under developed. It is located at a height of 1300 mtr from sea level.

As you can see, you can visit all these places by anchoring yourself at Theni then visiting each one of them in turn. Theni has many decent Hotels and restaurants. You can plan for a minimum 3 to 4 days stay. It surely will be a memorable holiday.                                                                                                                                                                                

Choosing a camera suitable for travels

When it comes to buying a camera we certainly are spoilt for choices.  So what to look for when buying a digital camera which will be predominantly used for taking picture while travelling.

1.       Compact – should be able to fit in shirt / pant pocket

2.       Ruggedness

3.       Different scenic modes like landscape, night photography, kids  etc.

4.       Different resolutions (pixels)

5.       Video shooting

6.       Auto shoot

While looking at the available brands don’t go by advertisements but ask actual users and compare snaps taken by different cameras. Some of the brands which offer value for money are Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Fuji etc. These brands are in this field from the beginning and camera manufacturing is their core business so it is not surprising they produce good quality cameras.

 

 

 

Should you visit Yercaud? Is it worth to visit Yercaud? What are the tourist attractions of Yercaud?

Please visit this link to read about Yercaud.

http://tamilnadutourguide.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html

When I say Yercaud many of my friends and acquaintance snort in disgust. And many asked me whether is it worth a visit. Let us discuss the pros and cons of Yercaud

By nature and by its occupation it is a sleepy little town. If you are looking for roaring adventure and arranged picnic, conducted tours etc. you will be disappointed. If you think you will get good food wherever you are again you will be disappointed. There are very few decent restaurants available within Yercaud. And worse you cannot use credit cards as per your whims because not manu establishments entertain them.

Then what are the plus points. If you are looking to relax and just be - then this is the place. If you want to have the day all by yourself and lazy around then Yercaud is perfect for you.  Though a hill station you need not worry about wearing layer warm cloth etc. During the peak time of the winter you need warm cloths but the cold is not as much biting as that of Kodaikanal or Ooty. It is less crowded, less polluted and not fully commercialized. You will get good rooms at reasonable rates. There are not many places to visit but you can compensate that by having a good walk around various sites.

As you can see there are more pros than cons. If you are tired of visiting Ooty & Kodaikanal then you must visit Yercaud to feel the difference.

Kovalam Beach near Chennai

When you say Kovalam beach everyone will think of the beach near Trivananthapuram. But there is another Kovalam beach near Chennai. It is located on the Chennai Mahabalipuram road. Kovalam is a small village so obviously there are fewer crowds in the beach. The beach is almost similar to the Marina beach. Some other tourist attractions in this village are a ruined fort and Dargah.  Taj group has a beach resort here named as Fisherman cove. If you visit Mahabalipuram you must take some time to visit this beach.

Sriviiliputhur Andal Temple & Grizzled Giant Squirrel Sanctuary

Srivilliputhur is located in Virudhunagar district in Tamilnadu. It is 70km from Madurai. It lies on the feet of Western Ghats. This place has some of the best sites to explore.  Prominent among them are Andal Temple in the town and the Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary on the foothills of Western Ghats.

Srivilliputhur is the birth place of Andal, one of the important Vaishnavaite saints.  The legend goes that Lord Vishnu preferred the flowers already worn by Andal and that Andal ultimately disappeared in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.  This temple has beautiful sculptures. Some of them are so life like.  It is among the biggest temples of Tamilandu. The kopuram or tower of the temple is also well known for architectural beauty. The Tamilnadu Government’s official seal  has this tower as the emblem of the state. The car festival (rath yatra) of Andal temple which is held once in a year is also famous and well known in south Tamilnadu.

 Srivilliputhur also boasts of a national wildlife sanctuary. The prominant animal in this sanctuary is Grizzled Squirrel. The sanctuary covers an area of 480 sq.km. It is connected to Periyar Tiger reserve on the Megamalai reserve forest.  This area also covers another famous tourist attraction Pilavakkal Dam. See my notes on Pilavakkal here

http://tamilnadutourguide.blogspot.com/2009/03/pilavakkal-dam.html

This sanctuary has a mixture of different flora, because based on the mountain height this area has  different types of forests including evergreen forest, deciduous forest ,  grassland etc. This mixed and rich flora is the ideal place for many animals to have their habitats here.  Important animals apart from Giant Grizzled Squirrels are Elephants, Tigers, Leopards, Gaur, Deer, Wild-boar, porcupines, monkeys , flying squirrel etc.

Srivilliputhur is easily accessible by road from Madurai and Virudhunagar. It is a well developed town so boarding and lodging should not be a problem. You may visit this place any time of the year. To venture deep into the sanctuary you will require the permission of Wildlife warden. You can contact the warden at  7&8 Valiikulam street , Srivilliputhur.

 

Sittannavasal – an ancient abode of Jains and an offspring of Ajanta arts

Sittannavasal is a small village located near Pudukkottai. It is located on the Pudukottai  - Viralimalai road and is 16km Pudukkottai. It is considered to be an ancient village dating back to 2^nd BC.

A hill located near this village is the reason for village being famous. In early period Jain monks lived in the hills  and you can see the paintings and arts done by them and by those who followed them. The main and important site is the rock cut cave temple. It is said that the entire walls and pillars were covered with paintings in natural colors. But now only few are left.  Among those still visible are partially damaged. Yet they retain the colors. The paintings contain flowers, calves, elephants and birds. There are different claims as to who did all these works. Some later discoverers claims Pandava kings executed these works.

But what is unique about these paintings is the similarity to the paintings found in Ajanta caves.  Some historians claim that Pallav kings secretly sent painters and sculptors to Ajanta caves to learn about the natural colour making process and the style of painting. These artisans came back and replicated these arts in Sittannavasal.

 Tamilnadu is known for its sculptors. Various sites and temples show case this skill in abundance.   But Sittannavasal is the only site in Tamilnadu which boasts of having ancient historical paintings. Despite this uniqueness not many within Tamilnadu knows of this place.  Mainly art lovers and historians visit this site. It should also be promoted as one of the Jain pilgrimage centre.

This place easily reachable from Pudukottai and frequent buses are available from there