Yelagiri

Yelagiri
ஏலகிரி
Town

Lake at Yelagiri
Yelagiri

Location in Tamil Nadu, India

Coordinates: 12°34′41″N 78°38′27″E / 12.578104°N 78.640737°E / 12.578104; 78.640737Coordinates: 12°34′41″N 78°38′27″E / 12.578104°N 78.640737°E / 12.578104; 78.640737
Country  India
State Tamil Nadu
Elevation 1,110.6 m (3,643.7 ft)
Languages
 • Official Tamil
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)

Yelagiri is a hill station in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, India, situated off the Vaniyambadi-Tirupattur road.[1] Located at an altitude of 1,110.6 metres above Mean Sea Level and spread across 30 km2, the Yelagiri village (also spelled Elagiri at times) is surrounded by orchards, rose-gardens, and green valleys.[2]

History

Yelagiri or Elagiri is a small hill station located in between the towns of Vaniyambadi and Jolarpettai (Tamil Nadu, India). The hill station dates back to the British colonial days.

"The Whole of Yelagiri was once the private property of the Yelagiri Zamindar Family. It was taken over by the government of India during the Early 1950s. The house of the Yelagiri Zamindars still exists in Reddiyur."[3]

Fr. Francis Guezou of Don Bosco, worked for the uplift of hill tribals. He has been the main reason for the educational upliftment to the people of Yelagiri.

Location And Overview

The Yelagiri hill station is not as developed as other hill stations in Tamil Nadu like Ooty or Kodaikanal. However, the district administration has now taken up the task of developing Yelagiri Hills into a tourist destination by promoting adventure sports such as paragliding and rock climbing.[4] The road to Yelagiri is well constructed and punctuated with the milestones and signboards. Petrol pumps are sufficient, making travel convenient and easy.

Yelagiri is one of the famous places for trekkers in India. The hill station is located at a height of 1410.6 meters above sea level. Yelagiri comprises 14 hamlets and a number of temples spread over several hills.

The highest point in Yelagiri is the Swamimalai Hill, standing tall at 4,338 ft; Swamimalai is a popular destination for trekkers. The view from the summit is spectacular. The hill provides a good number of trekking trails through thick reserved forests. Mangalam, a small village, is at the base of this hill. There are other trekking options that include smaller peaks like Javadi Hills and Palamathi Hills.

Yelagiri Hills is home to hundreds of snakes.

Climate

Yelagiri's climate is classified as tropical. In winter, there is much less rainfall than in summer. This climate is considered to be Aw according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification.

People

Human settlement started 200 to 400 years ago. Most of the native people are 'Vellala caunter' or 'Malayali' (not to be confused with Malayalees). Malayali denotes people who live in mountains. Malayali people also called as "karalar" which means 'one who rules the clouds'. Malayali people claim to come from plains, they are from the Kancheepuram district. The retreating 'Vellala caunter' (a group of cultivators) from the warring soldiers of Tipu Sultan's army in the seventeenth century made the plateau of Yelagiri their home. Another native tribal groups are the Irular.

Religion

Most of the Tamil people are Hindus. They commonly worship Shiva in the name of 'Nachiappan' and Parvati in the name of 'Nachiamma'. A temple for Karthik (son of Shiva and Parvati) was built in the 1960s. Recently more Churches were also established by the Christian missionary. Mosques are also available in the area.

Education

Earlier only a few Christian missionary schools were available for primary school education, but now more Residential schools have come up in this region.

Educational Institutions: There are schools in the various hamlets around Elagiri including the Government School and St. Charles School which are primarily for day scholars. There are also three residential schools - Ebenezer Matriculation and Higher Secondary School (Residential), Peace Garden Matriculation School and Samaritan Residential Schools. The Don Bosco has recently started an Arts and Science College for the benefit of local community.

Fr. Francis Guezou started a boarding for boys. Don Bosco Boarding House with 170 students. This is the first institution of Fr. Guezou on the hills. He wanted to gather the children around him and give them good education. Boys from I std to XII std, are staying here and attending school at St. Charles School.

BICS InfoTech, with 350 students and trainees. This work makes real Geuzou’s dream of providing higher education with employment for the underprivileged young people. Mr.Maria Leo Francis,Fr.Maria Arockia Raj, Fr. Thaddeus with a similar thought met Fr. Guezou and then this great dream of BICS became real.

In 2013, BICS has got approval of running a regular college, and Don Bosco College is providing good education on hills.

The Yelagiri Summer Festival

The famous Yelagiri Summer festival celebrated in May end is organised by the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Board. Stalls from different departments, Flowers show, Boat house various cultural programs and Dog Show with a variety of dog breeds are conducted every year. People from all over the State and other parts of the country participate in this annual festival.

per WP:NOTTRAVEL

Places of interest

Trekking at Yelagiri

Nature Park: A Park established by the year 2008. It has an aquarium, rose garden, an artificial water falls, Musical fountain. A nice place for kids to relax. But all this is of poor maintenance.

Punganoor Artificial Lake-cum-Park : The most popular landmark of Yelagiri Hills is the lake and an adjoining park. It is an artificial lake (depth 25 feet).

Jalagamparai Waterfalls: A short distance away, on the other side of the hill, is Jalagamparai falls,Situated at a distance of 14 km from Tirupattur. The murmuring Attaru river flows through the Yelagiri Hills, and plummets down to form a highly captivating waterfall. It's an hour, 5 km, walk from Yelagiri downhill. Though there is a direct route from Yelagiri to the falls, it is often closed. One has to go all the way down the hill, take the plains, and then climb the hill on the other side. It's an hour's journey.

Swami Malai Hills: Swami malai hills are the hills in the shape of cake with a strong base at the bottom and a high peak. Trekking is an attraction at Swami Malai (3 km to and 3 km fro). This trek leads one to a small peak from where the entire valley is visible. Note, to go for this trekking, you need to reach a small village called Mangalam. You can park your vehicles near the small temple, adjacent to a water tank and walk in between the houses of Mangalam. This leads to the actual starting point of trekking. Once you reach the top, you will feel it is worth the treacherous journey. Not to forget to climb the rock, which is also known as View Point.

Telescope observatory: A telescope observatory near Yelagiri hill is also of attraction to visitors. (Now Shutdown)

View of Vaniyambadi town from Yelagiri Hill station 
Yelagiri Lake View 
Paragliding at Yelagiri 
View from Yelagiri Telescope Tower 
View from Yelagiri Telescope Tower 

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yelagiri.
  1. ↑ "Miles to go for Yelagiri Hills as a tourist spot". The Hindu. May 25, 2008. Retrieved 07-04-2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  2. ↑ T. Pullaiah; Rao Muralidhara; D. Muralidhara Rao; K. Sri Ramamurthy (2002). Flora of Eastern Ghats: Hill Ranges of South East India. Daya Books. ISBN 9788187498490.
  3. ↑ http://zamindar.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36&Itemid=16
  4. ↑ "Yelagiri hills, for paragliding". The Hindu. August 20, 2008. Retrieved 07-04-2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  5. ↑ "Climate: Yelagiri". climate-data.org.

Further reading

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Yelagiri.
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