Yercaud is easily India's cheapest hill station destination. Make that least expensive, for so rich is Yercaud in its natural charm and its potential for bountiful discovery that to label it cheap would be truly insulting. It's sometimes referred to as the poor man's Ooty, but smart man's Ooty would be nearer the mark.

Yercaud is how the Brits got around the tongue-twister Yericaud, Tamil for lake-forest. This little hill station lies in the Shevaroy Hills, part of the Eastern Ghats. Unlike the more lush Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats are generally dry, and feature short and rocky hills, and Yercaud is thus a wonderful aberration.

Spread over just 383 sq km, Yercaud is small enough not to tire you, and yet spread out in mysterious little ways to give you a sense of serenity. Less crowded than Ooty or Kodaikanal, Yercaud is where you go to when you simply wish to apply salve to your soul. Or, simply to recollect, alongwith the poet, emotions in tranquility amidst sunflowers, dahlias and roses.