Relaxing Weekend Gateway – Yelagiri!

Relaxing Weekend Gateway – Yelagiri!

Whenever we decide to visit Yelagiri, we’ve always been told that it’s not so great a place to visit and there is not much attraction. So we eventually used to drop our plan, and it happened thrice. But somewhere deep within me wanted to visit this place and the right time came around the 2018 year-end break.

   

We were planning for a trip on Dec 25th and to travel to Yelagiri on 26th Dec ‘18. Since we gave our car for service, we thought of hiring a private cab, and almost there was nothing because of Christmas and new year’s eve. So we ended up traveling by Bus/Train from Chennai.

While going, we went by bus from Chennai to Ambur (Bangalore Private bus). It started at 7 am and we reached Ambur by 10 am. From there, we traveled by TNSTC bus to Jolarpet, because it has different travel options to Yelagiri.

Upon reaching Jolarpet, we were received by an Auto Driver who asked us if we want to go to Yelagiri. When we replied yes, he said he can take us to the hill. I got shocked, thinking how an auto can go in hairpin bends. My husband was much excited and convinced me to travel by Auto. Next 45 mins Tada!! We reached Yelagiri! It was such a pleasant ride with some good views.

In a few minutes, we reached our hotel, TGI Kairos. Since Christmas and new year’s eve, almost all hotels got booked and a few good hotels’ rates shot up too high. And in this hotel, we had a room left in Goibibo. When looked at the trip advisor and it had 4.5 ratings. Also, some pics looked too greeny. So with no second thoughts, we fixed this hotel.

    

When we entered, as expected – it was full of greens everywhere. The management staffs were friendly. They directed us to a room on the first floor. The room was neat, clean, and with a big balcony. The balcony and its view were just wow.

This place has now 18 rooms with a few villas (easily accommodate a big family or a gang of friends). I always prefer to stay in a place that is close to nature. Our trip to Coorg and Kerala had such places. This place has loads of trees and greens and one can enjoy a peaceful time away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

   

Daytime in Yelagiri is almost hot and post evenings are bliss. So, we roamed around the resort and there are plenty of plants, trees, and a small children’s park. Evenings they do campfire (most of the time) and they have a recreation center too. You can play your music there if you are alone. We stayed in the resort itself and had a good time with their in-house extras.

Since this place is slightly far from Yelagiri town, we had our food at the resort itself most of the time.

Day 1 lunch (meals served as a buffet) was so so spicy. But after our feedback, the next day’s lunch was better. Dinner on the first day was okay-ish. Chapati was okay while eating, but had jaw pain the next day. So, we ended up ordering phulka the next day, which was good. The resort had a limited veg menu but had varieties of non-veg options(I assume).

   

On day 2, we woke up very late (thanks to the climate) and decided to visit some places in Yelagiri. We chose two places. One – is boating since our daughter loves it and the next – is a private bird sanctuary.

   

The private bird sanctuary was outstanding and you get to see some wonderful birds and even you can feed and get yourselves embraced. And the place had a 7D theatre which was an enjoyable experience as well.

    

 

 

 

 

Boating, we booked a private pedal boat. 200rs for one round and it was nice. Though the lake wasn’t so clean, you can enjoy it if you go there post noon. These two took 4 hrs time, and we were back at the resort to enjoy the pleasant evening with cool views on our private balcony.

Yelagiri also has a para-gliding activity. It is also good for trekking. We have planned to try these when we visit next time.

On our third day today, we started from Yelagiri to Jolarpet and from there to Chennai via a double-decker train. Overall, it was a memorable experience and a relaxing gateway.

PS: This is my opinion and I’m not related to TGI Kairos.

 

Happy Travelling 🙂
Preethi