The Great Yercaud Escape: Reversing Out of the IT Matrix with a Car Full of Friends
20 hairpin bends, zero network bars, and a midnight sprint down dark village roads.
Every techie in Bangalore knows the exact moment their brain cell count hits absolute zero on a Friday afternoon. For me, that was the cue to plot a swift escape to Yercaud—a scenic hill station in Tamil Nadu promising cool mist, lush greenery, and a crisp, chilly vibe to wash away the corporate blues.
Naturally, the universe laughed. Our trip turned out to be warmer than Bangalore itself. But as the saying goes: Even hell can be fun if you bring the right crowd.
We rolled out of Electronic City at 5:30 AM on Saturday, immediately hitting a wall of highway construction near Hosur. If you’ve ever wanted to experience the joy of driving bumper-to-bumper with massive cargo lorries while eating dust for an hour, I highly recommend the Tamil Nadu border checkpost. We finally escaped the construction zone, stopping for a deeply deserved, delicious South Indian breakfast at Paakashala to fuel up for the mountains.
🎭 The Art of the "Failed" Surprise
Initially, the headcount was simple: just four people, including my wife and me. The other four core members of our squad had hit us with the classic "on-and-off" routine due to prior commitments, ultimately mocking me on chat: "You guys enjoy this time, we'll surely join next time!"
Classic misdirection. While navigating the roads, my wife was secretly locked in an active IM exchange with them. The plan? A dramatic, movie-style ambush surprise when we arrived.
The reality? They started incredibly late from Bangalore, got hopelessly trapped in the exact same traffic, and completely ruined the timeline. I found out well in advance, turning their grand tactical surprise into a hilarious game of tracking their delayed GPS pins.
🌀 20 Hairpins and Absolute Zero Signal
As we hit Salem, the heat and humidity made us question all our life choices. Thankfully, the climb up the mountain brought some merciful relief. For anyone intimidated by Ooty’s treacherous roads, Yercaud is a breeze. My car and I sailed through the 20 legendary hairpin bends without a single hustle, tussle, or stalling incident.
We checked into Hotel Grant Square completely exhausted (thanks to my 4:00 AM wakeup call). While waiting for the late-comer squad, my group grabbed a quick cafe meal of veg Maggi and sandwiches before collapsing into a glorious 2.5-hour power nap.
By 5:30 PM, the full gang finally regrouped, and Yercaud welcomed us with its premium weekend feature: Zero Connectivity.
In an overcrowded hill station (due to long weekend), the digital grid completely collapsed. Airtel, Jio, VI—it didn't matter. No internet, no outgoing calls, and if a call miraculously connected, it sounded like someone underwater talking through a walkie-talkie. Ironically, losing our networks was the exact thing that forced all eight of us to actually look at each other and connect.
🛶 Parks, Overpriced Momos, and the Midnight Mist
Being a vegetarian group in a small town means surviving on the holy trinity of travel food: Maggi, pizza, and shakes. We did venture out to Jojo Momos —which charged us tourist-premium prices for basic momos—but honestly, when you're starving with friends, you don't argue with the bill.
We spent the evening strolling along the banks of Yercaud Lake, watching families fight for their lives in pedal boats (we collectively skipped the boating because the afternoon heat had drained our motivation). Afterward, we set up camp at Anna Park, sitting on the grass for hours to gossip, take photos, and shoot reels.
By 9:30 PM, the small town began shutting down, leaving us scrambling to find dinner. We managed to hunt down a local spot serving up classic masala dosas and South Indian meals.
But the real magic happened around 11:30 PM. Suddenly, a heavy, dramatic mist rolled across the town, dropping the temperature instantly. Within minutes, it started pouring rain. We scrambled into our cars and went for an unforgettable night drive along the 32 Loop Road.
Peeking through the trees, the blinking lights of Salem city far below looked absolutely mesmerizing.
🌅 Sunrises and Steep Treks
Day two began with an aggressive wake-up call for the Manjakuttai Sunrise Viewpoint. The punctual half of the squad (us) arrived early enough to watch the sun breach the horizon, painting the floating clouds on the mountain peaks with a brilliant glow—giving off massive Nandi Hills vibes. The other half of the squad rolled in long after the sun was already up, but they made up for it by turning the viewpoint into an intensive one-hour photoshoot.
The drive back through the narrow village roads was intimidating, but the reward was a heavy, complementary hotel breakfast of idli, vade, upma, and pongal.
Next up was a quick walk through the Rose Garden, followed by a trip to Killiyur Waterfall. The parking attendant tried to warn us: "Sir, the monsoon hasn't hit properly yet. There's no water."
Did we listen? Of course not. We spent 15 tedious minutes climbing down a steep mix of natural stone steps and metal ladders, only to find exactly what he predicted: a dry rock face. Still, we stayed for an hour, splashing whatever residual pool water we could find on each other before facing the true boss battle—climbing back up. We went entirely breathless, taking short micro-breaks at every landing, turning a simple tourist walk into an extreme alpine trek.
We recovered at the "KAPPI Stop" cafe overlooking the lake, inhaling plates of white sauce pasta, peri-peri fries, and cold coffee.
🐒 Sunroof Antics and the Hanuman Chalisa Rally
The absolute highlight of the trip was the descent down those 20 hairpin bends. With both cars driving in tandem, the journey turned into a rolling comedy show.
Friends were peeking out of the sunroofs, hanging out of the windows, making ridiculous faces, and using chaotic hand gestures to coordinate lane changes. We drove parallelly where the roads widened, teasing each other through the glass, blasting music, and stopping to mess around with the local mountain monkeys.
The universe, however, had one final twist for us near Salem. A massive traffic jam caused by cargo trucks forced us onto an alternate route—a pitch-dark, unpaved village road. As we bounced along the dirt track, one friend casually piped up: "Hey, aren't these isolated village roads famous for highway robberies?"
Cue the panic. The casual drive instantly turned into a high-stakes, bumper-to-bumper dirt race. To maximize our spiritual defense stats, we turned off the pop music and blasted the Hanuman Chalisa on the car speakers.
Thankfully, the ghosts and robbers gave us a wide berth. We broke out of the dark trails, hit the main highway, and safely parted ways at Electronic City. It was chaotic, warm, dusty, and completely disconnected—which is exactly why it was the perfect weekend.
Behind the Lens: Massive shoutout and Photo Credits (PC) to Shashank and Aditi for capturing the chaos, the mist, and the sunroof antics throughout this entire Yercaud getaway.