?Yercaud Tamil Nadu • India
Yercaud
Coordinates: 11°46′46″N 78°12′12″E / 11.7794, 78.2034
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	• 1,500 m (4,921 ft)

Coordinates: 11°46′46″N 78°12′12″E / 11.7794, 78.2034

A wooded path among the original forests of Yercaud.

Yercaud, popularly known 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 1,500 metres (4,920 feet) from 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, which is situated at a height of 5326 feet. Hence the Yercaud hill area is called Shevaroy Hills.

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 the bird of paradise.

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.

Festivals

• Summer Festival: This is held during the middle of May. It has a 7-day exhibition of flower shows, dog shows, boating races and a fair.

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.Bernard's Matriculation School, a primary school for a good foundation

Politics

Yercaud assembly constituency (ST) is part of Salem (Lok Sabha constituency).^[1]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Yercaud

• Yercaud at the Open Directory Project
• Yercaud travel guide from Wikitravel

See also