A pleasant visit to Mettur Dam

Last weekend, I decided to go visit Mettur Dam. I want to visit a new place every month this year. This ticks of the entry for January.

Bus travel took about two hours in total from my room. The journey was mostly on state highways, so plenty of towns along the way. Lighter traffic compared to national highways, and I spent the time gazing outside the windows (didn't have to bring out my phone to read a book). There were many impressive infrastructure buildings around the outskirts of Mettur. And amazing views of the Cauvery river along the way.

Bridge on the way to Mettur Bus Stand

After a bit of confusion at the Mettur bus stand, I got the direction right and walked about a kilometer to reach the park at the base of the dam. Ticket entry was Rs 5. Outside the gate, plenty of hawkers were selling snacks as well as toys for kids. Plenty of fish stalls nearby as well.

 

After a bit of walk to the main gate (where tickets were checked), I got my first surprise. I didn't know I'd be crossing a bridge overlooking the water flowing out from the dam!

View of dam walls after park entry gate

View of dam walls after park entry gate

 

There wasn't much of a crowd lingering. I took a few snaps, enjoyed watching fishes and finally got to the park. The dam walls took over one end of the horizon.

View from just inside the park

Thanks to the large and sprawling area, the park didn't feel crowded. It was well maintained too. I randomly took a direction and went exploring. There was a path that took you to yet another bridge over the dam water. This one was pretty narrow though. Again I took a few pics before coming back to the park.

View of the park from one end

 

After going around the outer paths, I took the inner one that was surrounded by trees - plenty of mango trees (which were extra pretty thanks to the blooming season). There were lot of resting areas and water taps too. I could see many families lugging along lunches.

Interesting tree

 

Of course, parks need playing area for kids. And this one had enough to spare for adults too. I spent a few minutes on the swing :D

Impressive trees

 

Another attraction were the enclosed structures housing birds and snakes. And when I reached the other end of the park, I got to see this beauty too:

One of the fauna attractions inside the park

After munching on snacks and a bit of rest, I left the park.

Parting shot from another end of the park

 

To keep myself motivated for another visit, I didn't go to the view points this time. Overall, it was a nice way to spend a weekend. Definitely recommended for everybody.

Mookaneri lake

While looking for a nice spot to visit, I stumbled across Mookaneri lake. What's more, it was easily reachable and promised great views all around.

Mookarnei lake

As per the Mookaneri Lake wikipedia entry:

It is located to the south of the Shevaroy Hills, and is a major water body of Salem. The lake is fed by rainfall from the surrounding area, including the hills surrounding Yercaud, which flows into the lake via the Puthu Yeri and Kothukaran Odai streams.

There are 47 man-made islands in the lake. Each island was created by excavating and piling lakebed clay about 10 feet high, and covers and area of a few thousand square feet. Initially, millet was planted on the islands to arrest erosion and help build a soil layer, before saplings of neem, banyan, jambul, peepal, and vetiver trees could be planted. The lake islands were populated by nearly 12,000 trees as of 2013.

I surprised to know that so much effort had been made to avoid erosion. And that it was formed via streams from Yercaud, which I had visited just the previous month.

 

Armed with directions to reach the lake, I decided to walk about 1.5 kilometers from a bus stop. In hindsight, that was a mistake as I got sore feet while returning.

Anyway, the place wasn't crowded despite being a weekend. Perhaps because I had reached about an hour before noon? I took pictures and videos and relaxed a bit in the narrow park along the lake boundary. Some of the locals were fishing and some were taking a nap.

 

Some of the man-made islands

 

After about three months, I went back for another visit. This time, it was way too crowded due to a local festival (I hadn't known though). And thanks to the monsoon rains, the water level had risen too. Learning from previous visit, I had taken a bus ride much closer to the lake and thus was able to spend a lot more time walking along the lake. Looking forward to going there again next year.

 

Mookaneri lake

 

Yercaud

Yercaud is a popular tourist spot in Southern India (see wikivoyage for detailed travel guide). I don't remember much other than going to a park regarding the first time I went there (as a side trip during one of the marriages of college friends). And despite living close by since 2017, it wasn't until 2021 that I went there again. Even that needed a couple of my friends dragging me out. I'm glad they did.

 

January 2021

We had our own vehicle, but there are frequent buses too. It wasn't that cold for January at the foothills. I still packed warm clothing and that came in handy at the peak.

On the way up

 

About 20 hairpin bends later, we reached the peak. There are a couple of parks and a lake among other tourist attractions. We spoke about going for a boat ride, but the wait time was too long and we decided to skip.

Boating in the lake

Like any tourist place, options for food and beverage were overpriced. The coffee shop we went had a nice ambience.

Nursery near the coffee shop

 

There was a nursery near the coffee shop that I enjoyed browsing. My friends bought a few plants too. After that, we got a few local products like tea, coffee, home made chocolates, scents, etc. Overall, it was a nice trip, especially in the company of friends.

 

May 2022

I finally managed to get my lazy self to visit Yercaud again. Went alone this time. Was bored from writing programming books and this was a chance to get some relief from summer temperatures as well. I got up early and caught a bus ride to the peak.

 

I made the mistake of going during a weekend in summer. Once I reached there, it was clear that there were just too many tourists. I had to wait about 30 minutes to get breakfast served.

Lake under a clear sky

I was too early for parks to have opened. So, I just strolled around and got a glimpse of ongoing constructions and village life. There were kids learning self-defense in school grounds.

After one of the parks opened, I spent a few hours there. By the time I had come back after the stroll, it had become crowded. Still, there was enough space to sit around and observe tourists having breakfast, enjoying the swings, snapping selfies, etc.

Adventure activities

Boating was out of question. So, I went to check the coffee shop from the previous year and that was crowded too. I simply walked around the streets and found a place organizing adventure activities for kids (which was unsurprisingly crowded too).

 

I decided to return back early. But first, I got some home made chocolates and masala tea. Then, as I went to the bus stop, I came to know about the main attraction event for the tourists - flower show. The waiting queue was too long outside the gate, contributing to the traffic problems.

Lots and lots of tourists were still coming up. So much so that it took about couple of hours to go down 4 hairpin bends. Luckily, I had brought snacks (just in case). I will likely go back next year in summer, but I will certainly avoid the weekends!!