Skywatch Friday- Clouds in the Hills

All this work is taking a toll on my Blog!! I've not blogged a travel story since the last .. well the last one!! Hopefully next week should be better..

Onto today's Skywatch post...

A few years ago [Aug 2004], while i was working with a Friend, we decided to take a break and getaway for a weekend.. We were 4 girls and were headed to the hills. If you've been to Chennai or lived here, you know how hot it can get!

We were heading over to Yelagiri Hills, about 240kms from Chennai.. A train journey till Jolarpettai and then a short ride across the 14 hairpin bends in the cab that had been sent by the Resort, well it was more of a hometstay. And back in the days, Yelagiri was pristine, unspoilt, people barely knew of its existence, plus there was nothing much to do, unlike Munnar or Yercaud!

All we did was walk, talk and chill out at the vast expanse of space. The icing on this cake was there was no connectivity- so no mobile phones, and back then we dint have laptops.. The resort did not have Television either! You can imagine how amazing it must have been...

Almost everyday, we would walk past the Punganur Lake, which was a man made lake spread across 57 sq meters. There was a beautiful garden, a play area for children and there was boating offered at the lake. Walking around the perimeter took about an hour, and it was one of the most scenic spots in Yelagiri. On our final day, we did spend an hour boating, with our boatman giving us tales about the place, and also spotted a water snake whiz past our boat... What an experience that was!!

We stayed at the Taj Gardens[no connection to the Taj group of hotels], a family run farmhouse owned by one Mr.Rahman, a retired Leather Businessman.  The resort wass spread about 40 acres or more, most of which was barren, but the area near the rooms and entrance was done up very neatly with beautiful garden, play area and even a small pool. area of course is large, with huge playground, park, plantations, rose garden, etc. 

We were the only guests and the staff was available at our beck and call, and some more. they were ready to cook up quite the storm for every meal-veg and non veg.. Hospitality was awesome!! I wonder what has happened to the place, heard that a Famous Resort company has bought them over... Today, Yelagiri also holds Paragliding events and such...

For more beautiful skies, visit Skywatch Friday