Yearning for Yercaud

The bus journey from Bangalore was uneventful but for a flat tire halfway through. We reached Salem in Tamil Nadu around 1 pm where it was terribly hot — and humid, since it had rained some time earlier. Everything was stinky and the heavy humidity made it almost difficult to breathe. It's true what they say: Tamil Nadu has only three seasons all year round — hot, hotter and hottest. From Salem, we hired a taxi (Rs 850 for an Indica) to our stay in Yercaud. Our destination was a coffee estate called Glenrock Estates, another 5 km from Yercaud town.
The drive up the hill was spectacular with 20 hairpin bends and a beautiful view of valleys and the city of Salem beneath. The play of the sunlight and shadows of the hills on the valleys was breathtaking.
Our driver made the climb uphill look dangerous — no horns on hairpin bends and always on the wrong lane until we almost had a few head-ons with trucks and other cars driving down. The weather didn't help, since it was very misty and visibility was less than 5 m. Later we learned that this is the usual scenario every day; it becomes misty and you are surrounded by clouds in the afternoon.

We were dropped at Glenrock Estates and hiked 200 m to reach our tent (Rs 1400 per person per night inclusive of all meals). Our tent was attached to the cliff-side at one end and the rest of it was suspended above the ground supported by stilts bound to a tree! To top, there was a beautiful attached washroom, which had an abundant supply of hot water. The toilet also provided a beautiful view. How much closer to nature can you get? The estate was beautiful. Acres of coffee plantation were shaded by fruit trees like orange, mosambi and papaya, along with spices like pepper and cardamom, and a variety of vegetables. The owner hadn't spoiled the natural beauty of the place with multistoried facilities. Everything was rustic but the hospitality touched a chord in our hearts. Always smiling, always welcoming, the staff on the estate made us feel at home from the very beginning.
By the time we finished lunch around 3 pm, the weather had cleared and the sun was peeking out again from behind the clouds. The estate has its own private dam and waterfall. We set out after lunch with a young guide (the son of a staffer) to explore the estate.
The path around the estate was studded with beautiful wildflowers. The path was almost carpeted with oranges and mosambi, which had dropped off the trees. I collected over a dozen of each.
The coffee plants were laden with berries at different stages of their life cycle. We were also met on our way by various other natural inhabitants of the estate on whose habitation we'd taken the liberty of intruding. To name a few, they included families of spiders and a snail.
After hiking to the dam and the waterfalls, we spent some time frolicking in the pool of the dam. The water was refreshingly cool and the surrounding forests only added to the charm. I had to exercise my self-control really hard in order not to jump onto a tree and give out Tarzan's wild call.
By the time we returned to our tent, it was dusk and the estate staff didn't recommend any further outdoor activities. We lay back on hammocks and enjoyed the sight of the city lights coming on 4,500 ft below us.
I was glad to be here, and not in the honking city below.

Next morning, we woke at 5 with hopes of capturing the sunrise. It was cloudy but we were not entirely disappointed. As the sun played hide-and-seek among the clouds, we watched in amazement at the play of light and shadow on the trees and the hills surrounding us. After freshening up, we left at 7:30 am for a hike through the coffee plantations, taking in the colorful flowers, butterflies, singing birds, bleating goats, clucking wild hens, fresh unpolluted air carrying with it the sweet smells of vegetation and moist earth. It was overwhelming… as if the earth was laughing and making merry in the abundance of life.
Words can hardly do justice to the place that we reached at the end of the hike. The view from there made me feel like paying homage by falling on my knees and kissing nature for just being what it is, so naturally beautiful.
It reminded me of what Emily Dickinson had once written:
Who has not found the heaven below
Will fail of it above.
God's residence is next to mine,
His furniture is love.
To me, a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass was more welcoming than the a luxurious Persian rug. We were standing on the top of our hill, surrounded by many rocky faces while at our feet, thousands of feet below, lay the sleeping cities.
I could hear the wind whisper and echo off the surrounding hills, and my breath mingle with nature. For once, I could stop and listen to my heartbeat. To sit in the shade and look upon the verdant green hills was invigorating.
Discovering that idyllic place, we found ourselves filled with a yearning to linger there, where time stood still and beauty overwhelmed us with a deep sense of gratitude and profound love. We were delighted by the beauty that surrounded us, as our softest footsteps echoed off the hills around us.
John Schindler said, "How easy and simple it is to live enjoyably when the simple, interminable blue of the sky, with its long wisps of white clouds, become a pleasant thing to behold, a thing of beauty that thrills you every time you care to look skyward."
I lost myself in nature and found peace in my love for the green earth.
After filling our lungs with fresh air and refreshing our senses with beauty, we hiked back to our tent. I bought some farm fresh pepper (Rs 300 per kg) and cardamom (Rs 500 per kg) and was gifted two baseball-sized papayas by the extremely generous estate staff.

Our stay at the estate and at Yercaud came to an end. A cab (Maruti Omni, Rs 750) dropped us at Salem after a pit stop at Yercaud town for boating and lunch. I was already looking forward to planning another trip. "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
The winds will blow their own freshness into you...
While cares will drop off like autumn leaves."
- John Muir