Bangalore to Yercaud: Everything you need to know!

Yercaud is a small hill station in Tamil Nadu, some ~230 km from Bangalore. We wanted to cover it in a day. By this time, we had already visited most of the places in 200 km radius of Bangalore and were confident about our bikes, riding capability, speed and safety. We left home at 5:30 AM and were back home by 7:00 PM. This post talks about everything in-between.

The timeline

Our Bikes:
Bajaj Avenger 220cc
Mahindra Mojo 295cc
RE Bullet Classic 350cc

Route Taken
We travelled all the way down to Salem via Krishnagiri and Dharamapuri on NH44. By default Google Maps suggests to exit the national highway at Deevattipatti and head forward via Kadaymanpatti, Danishpet and Kanavaipudur. However the highway was too tempting to leave and we decided to continue further till Salem. This increased our total distance by about 20 km. While coming back we took the road suggested by Google Maps, making a circle.

Road condition

NH44 runs from Srinagar to Kanyakumari making it the longest national highway in India (over 3,745 km).

Bangalore-Hosur stretch, though 4-6 lane, is pretty crowded and one should drive with utmost care. Once you cross Hosur, traffic drops significantly and average speed bumps up. Since we started early (5:30 AM, December morning) we got fog at places – reducing visibility and speed. There are many controlled-access stretches along the way which helped us make up for lost time.

Because of our updated route, we had to go through Salem. City traffic slowed us down to 30 kmph. There was a flyover under construction, reducing our speed further. Once we were through, we started climbing for Yercaud. This stretch has 20 counted hair pin turns. Road is in mint condition, however owing to hills average speed is 40-50 kmph.

We took the other way (default suggestion of Google Maps) while returning. This was the one less travelled, which unfortunately also meant – less maintained. One need to strictly follow the maps else getting lost is easy. When the road diverges, there is no easy way to tell which one to take. There are no marking and all roads look and feel the same. This slowed us considerably, but we did enjoy the off-road and dense forest.

Pit stops
There are some good options right before Krishnagiri. These places accept card for payment, have clean toilets and food is decent. Even if you miss one, you’ll find another option within a minute or two. Things are not the same once you cross Krishnagiri.

Another option can be A2B in Dharampuri.

Things to do
There are two major attractions in Yercaud – Yercaud lake and Kiliyur waterfall. Lake offers boating. We preferred sitting beside the water and enjoying the view. Waterfall is 3.2 km drive from the lake followed by a 15 mins trek. Both are great spot to relax. Kiliyur has sparse crowd because of the trekking involved.