Road trip to Yercaud and Hogganakkal!

Itineraries:

Day 1:

Started from Edappally around 2:30pm and reached room Selam at 9pm. We stayed at Hotel : Grand Estencia. Tamilandu elections were happening and there were lot of DMK leaders staying in the hotel. Also towards the evening IPL matches were shown in the hotel. 

Day 2: 

Shevayur Temple, Anjaneyar temple, Yercaud lake, Iskon construction site, Mookaneri Lake,  1008 Shiva Temple 

Day 3:

Hogganakkal waterfalls, Mettur Dam

Day 4:

Bhavani temple,  Shopping at Thirupur, Isha yoga foundation/Dhyana linga

Grand Estencia:

Hotel room and surroundings were really good but only thing we didn't like was the smell of smoke in the corridor which was suffocating.

Shevayur/Shevaroy Temple:

This is a small temple located at Yercaud which is in the form of a cave.  Just because of the appearance it is also called a cave temple. The cave as such is carved out of a rock and people have to bend a little bit in order to get in. It looks like a small tunnel leading to the idol. Tunnel length is short which might be 15 feet or so. The only attraction is the view from the mountain.

Entry fee: To take car inside the temple premises you have to pay Rs. 10/-

Anjaneyar temple:

We visited this temple just like that. It was not listed in the tourist attractions but we found the temple surroundings to be beautiful and amazing. There is a meditation center nearby and the garden in the premises was well maintained.  

Raja Rajeshwari Temple:

This was another temple located in the list of tourist attractions but by the time we reach the temple it was closed for the day. 

Yercaud lake:

Yercaud is a hill station located at Shevaroy Hills,Salem. It is around one hour drive from the hotel we stayed. There are around 20 hair pin bends to the hill top. Even though we visited during the summer time the view was really amazing. The trees give a shade of light brown which was soothing. I could find trees decorated with lavender flowers all over which gave the mountain a bridal look. 

Yercaud lake located atop the mountain has a big lake and a boat house. The lake was beautiful with the same lavender flowers being blossomed at the lake shores. We didn't opt for boating as Sun was at its peak.

Car parking -30

Entry to Yercaud lake -30(6 per person) 

Mookaneri Lake:

Mookaneri lake (Kanankuruchi Aeri) is a lake spread over 58 acres and is located at the foot of the Shevaroy Hills. This is a major water body of the Salem city. The lake has 47 (man-made) islands. Each island is about 10 feet high from the lake bed and sprawls on an area of a few thousand square feet. The lake islands are home to nearly 12000 trees. The island is created by removing the clay from the bottom of the lake using excavators and building a sort of a bund. Initially it is filled with millet saplings to arrest soil erosion. After a while, saplings of Neem, Banyan, jamun, peepal, and vetiver trees are planted.

ISKON construction site:

As ISKON temple was listed among the places to visit we went in search of the same and ended up at it's construction site. Yes, probably the construction will take a couple of years to complete but currently there is no ISKON temple at Salem. 

1008 Shiva Temple:

1008 Shiva Temple as the name suggests has 1008 Shiva lingas along with Lord Nandi as the gate - keeper. The construction will force you to think about the architecture marvel. The lingas starts from the down hill and extends till the up hill. Each lingas is covered with a mandapam(a structure protecting something or a raised platform).

Set of mandapams located in separate areas/sections are given a different colour. You can drive your car to the hill top stopping at each main entrance to pay a visit. If you prefer to walk there are stairs which takes you to the main temple complex. Apart from the Shiva lingas this temple accommodate almost all idols of Hindu ideology.

Hogganakkal waterfalls:

Hogganakkal waterfalls which is also referred to as Niagara Falls of India is located on the Kaveri river in the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu, India. This is at a distance of around 108kms from Salem,  that is around 2 hours drive.  

The main activity is boating which is allowed only during dry season when water falls are not strong enough to disrupt the passage of the boats. The boats used here are coracles -  a small round boat made of bamboo. It takes around one day to build the boat. In Malayalam the boat is called Vatta Vanji. You could see a touch of floating market here, people are selling cold drinks, tender coconut and snacks in coracles. People are also selling freshly caught fishes at the shore. 

Maximum number of people allowed in one coracle is 4 so we opted for 2 boats. 

You can board the coracle near the entrance and after riding along for a while you have to get down and walk for a distance before starting the thrilling ride through gorge. As it was summer we could feel the sun rays penetrating through our skin making us little bit discomfortable,  but the discomfort are overcome by the sheer thrill of the ride. Our guide informed us that one side of the gorge belongs to Tamilnadu whereas the opposite side belongs to Karnataka. 

The waterfalls was stunning backdrops in many of the Indian films. ‘Chinna Chinna Asai' from ‘Roja,' ‘Mazhaiye Mazhaiye' from ‘Rhythm' and ‘Raath Ka Nasha Abhi' from ‘Asoka' movies are few among them. 

The word Hogenakal is formed from two Kannada words hoge and kal. When the water falls on the rocks it appears as if hoge (smoke) is emanating from the top of the kal (rock) because of the force of the water, hence the name Hogenakkal (smoking rocks).

Carbonatite rocks in this site are considered to be the oldest of its kind in South Asia. The rock structure formation added to the beauty of Hogganakkal.

One thing which we liked is the route. There were trees planted on both sides of the road. Straight roads with shades of trees gives a pleasure to the eyes. 

Entry fee: Rs. 50 will be charged to enter the Hogganakkal premises 

Coracle charge : Rs. 750+ 200 for rower

Mettur Dam:

Mettur Dam is one of the largest dam I'm India located in Tamilnadu across river Cauveri. It provides irrigation needs and drinking water to many districts in Tamilnadu. There is a park at the base of the dam called Ellis Park. There were many people playing in the water,  kids were doing somersaults. 

Sangameswarar temple,Bhavani:

Sangameswarar temple is a temple in Bhavani, in the Erode district of Tamilnadu. It is a temple devoted to Lord Shiva. The temple was built at the confluence of rivers Kaveri, Bhavani and  Amutha. The place is also known as Dakshina Triveni Sangamam indicating the confluence of three rivers. Devotees perform last rites for their ancestors on the riverbank and offer prayers at the Sangameshwarar temple.

Entry fee : Rs. 30

Shopping at Thirupur:

Thirupur is famous for its cotton industry. There are many shops which sells dresses at cheap rates. The bazaar or street where you will find the cheapest dresses is Khader Pet/Khader Bazaar. 

Isha yoga foundation/Dhyana linga:

The Adiyogi statue is a 34.3-metre-tall (112.4 ft) excluding plinth, 45-metre-long (147 ft) and 7.62-metre-wide (24.99 ft) statue of the Hindu deity Shiva with white Thirunamam at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, which has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the "Largest Bust Sculpture” in the world. 

Designed by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder of the Isha Foundation, it was built by the foundation and weighs around 500 tonnes. Sadhguru said that the statue is for inspiring and promoting yoga, and is named Adiyogi, which means "the first yogi", because Shiva is known as the originator of yoga. Adiyogi was inaugurated on 24 February 2017 by  Narendra Modi, on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri. 

Car parking : Rs. 20