Yercaud
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Yercaud | |
|
|
|
| Country |  India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Area • Elevation |
• 1,515 m (4,970 ft) |
Coordinates: 11°46′46″N 78°12′12″E / 11.7794°N 78.2034°E
Yercaud is a hill station near Salem, Tamil Nadu, India in the Servarayan range of hills (anglicized as Shevaroys) in the Eastern Ghats. It is at an altitude of 1515 metres (4969 feet) above the mean sea level. The town gets its name from the lake located at its center - in Tamil "Yeri" means "lake" and "Kaadu" means "forest". Yercaud is known for coffee plantations and orange groves. It also has an orchidarium run by the Botanical Survey of India.
The highest point in Yercaud is the Servarayan temple. Hence the Yercaud hill area is called Shevaroy Hills.
Yercaud is also known as Poor mans Ooty.
Contents |
[edit] Flora and fauna
Some of the original forests continue to exist in the Yercaud hills and contain several endemic species of plants and fauna. The Yercaud hills have many faunal and floral similarities to the Western Ghats.
Wild life includes bison, deer,ant-eater, rabbits, hares, foxes, mongoose, squirrels, partridges, snakes, bulbuls, kites, sparrows, swallows and Paradise flycatchers.
[edit] Agriculture
The main crop of Yercaud is coffee. Coffee was first cultivated on the "Grange Estate" in the year 1820, the year in which coffee plants were brought from Africa to Yercaud by Mr. M.D. Cockburn.
Jack fruit, orange, guava and spices such as black pepper and cardamom are the other crops raised on the coffee estate.
Sandalwood, teak and silver oak are abundant too.
[edit] Festivals
- Summer Festival: This is held during the middle of May when the annual festival of Lord Servarayan, presiding deity of the Shevroy Hills, takes place. It has a 7-day exhibition of flower shows, dog shows, boating races and a village fair.
[edit] Schools
- Montfort School, run by the Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel, is one of the Christian-run schools in the Yercaud hill town for boys.
- Sacred Heart School run by the Cluny Sisters is a school for girls.
- St.Charles , a primary school for a good foundation
- L.O.V.E School (Lady Of Velankanni Primary School) - A co-ed school for kids from pre K.G. up to grade 5. Reasonable Fees.
- Fairlawns Home School & GDR Matriculation School
- St.Bernard's School - A primary school.
- St'Joseph's High School(Boys)
- Nazareth Higher sec school (Girls) .
[edit] Trekking in Yercaud
Yercaud has developed into a major trekking destination in the region. A lot of treks are organized here. Chennai Trekking Club organizes treks in Yercaud.
[edit] Politics
Yercaud assembly constituency (ST) is part of Salem (Lok Sabha constituency).[1]
[edit] References
- ^ "List of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies". Tamil Nadu. Election Commission of India. http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/background/S22/TN_ACPC.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-10-09.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yercaud |
- Yercaud at the Open Directory Project
- Yercaud travel guide from Wikitravel
[edit] See also
|
||||||||||||||||||||
