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

Muttom – an idyllic beach with unpolluted surrounding

Want to explore a lonely beach with no pollution and crystal clear sea water? Then start for Muttom an idyllic village lying on the outskirts of Nagarcoil.  Muttom shot into famous after its beauty was shown in few Tamil films. Another positive aspect of Muttom is its old world charm. It is mainly made up of fishermen hamlets and Churches. Churches in this area are built on the model of western architecture.

Muttom Beach is scattered with big rocks on sands. Tourists usually climb these rocks to have a good glimpse of the sea.  In fact you can keep on looking into the sea without any feeling of time. The feeling of calmness is similar to one we get after meditation.  You can also go for walk on the sea shore. In some places waves reach up to the full height of the rocks. There were many instances wherein tourists had been pulled into the sea by these gigantic waves.  So you must be careful while climbing on the rocks.

Muttom is 16Km from Nagarcoil. Regular bus services are available from Nagrcoil to Muttom.  Avoid visiting this place on weekends since the beach will full of tourists. Take your own food and water.  If you want to venture into sea do it when there are some locals nearby. Naturally these locals are expert swimmers and have saved many a tourists from drowning.  Muttom is an ideal picnic spot one should visit.

Devipattinam - a holy place where Lord Ram worshipped Navagrahas

Devipattinam occupies a unique place among the holy sites of Tamilnadu. Legend says that Lord Ram when returning from Lanka with Sita, offered his prayer to the local deity Devi and the worshipped Navagrahas. Since there was no temple for Navagrahas there he put 9 stones at the sea shore and did his puja. Those stones are still there and are being worshipped by many devotees still today.

Devipattinam is a village located on the east coast of Tamilnadu. It is 15 km from Ramanathapuram, the district headquarter. A temple dedicated to Devi is another famous holy site available in this village. This is the place as per the legend where asura Mahihasura was killed by Goddess Durga Devi. The beach is ideally located to let the pilgrimage to take a dip in the sea. Sand dunes along the sea shores prevent strong tide reaching the seashore so the sea water here comparatively calm and tide less. 

This place is also known for offering Shraadhs to ancestors. It is said that if you offer Shraadhs  once here at Devipattinam that is good enough for your whole life. In this context  Devipattinam is considered as equal to Rameshwaram..

You can reach this place from Madurai. Ramanathapuram is connected with Madurai with an all weather road. Lot of buses available from Madurai to Ramanathapurm. However from Ramanathapuram to Devipattinam the road is narrow. Moreover bus frequency is not good. 

Please remember it is just a village so plan to visit and return on the same day. There are some Brahmin priests who offer customized pooja at consolidated costs which may also include breakfast and lunch prepared by the priests’ family member themselves.   

If you are plan to offer Shraadhs get someone to visit prior to a day and fix the arrangement with the Priests available here. This will avoid a lot of hassle for you and also  the rate the charge is reasonable.