Yelagiri... the hill town of TN

Yelagiri is a small hill town spread across 29 sq kms of area in Tamil Nadu, the southeastern state of India.
We started from Bangalore by road at around five in the evening and took the road towards Hosur. With the toll roads, flyovers and bypass of towns, the drive is easy and comfortable although one crosses really inhabited and crowded towns dotted with a number of Sarvanna Bhavan restaurants as soon as you enter Tamil Nadu leaving Karnataka state behind.
We drove from Bangalore to Krishnagiri towards the toll booth at Vaniyambadi and then on to Elagiri before taking the rather narrow hairpin bends to reach Yelagiri at the top. There are around 14 hairpin bends and not many places to stop as you ascend, since the road is rather narrow. But the view of the towns below becomes spectacular with each hairpin bend you take. Yelagiri falls in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu and is approx 158 kms from Bangalore.  We reached in around three and a half hours.
June to February is an ideal time to visit Yelagiri. The Yelagiri Paragliding Club hosts an international paragliding fest around September which should be a must attend if you are an adventurist.
Yelagiri Nature Park is the most popular place to visit here. Its well maintained and one can enjoy the lovely horticulture here.
The Punganoor lake is a beautiful artificial lake in which boating is fun and the park here is also well maintained and was blooming with seasonal flowers when we visited.
Then there is Jalagamparai waterfalls which is around 5 kms downhill from Yelagiri town and walking there is a good option.
Treking to Swami Malai Hills is easy and fun. It is a total of 6 kms trek from a village named Manglam.
There are a few fun parks and bird watching trails run by private companies and if you have small children with you, maybe you could give it a try.
The Murugan temple and the Perumal temple are worth a visit .
There is not much to shop in here, but Yelagiri is known as the producer of the best homemade honey in Tamil Nadu.
A drive or walk around the small town is very pleasant and a few small temples in the village make you stop and take photographs while you admire the intricate work and architecture of these south Indian temples.
The town has a number of big and small lodges and hotels to stay. We stayed at the Sterling Resorts which is a sprawling old school well maintained property. temples