Yercaud, Valparai fests may see big rush, thanks to rising mercury

Coimbatore: As temperature continues to soar, the hill stations in Western districts are gearing up for summer festivals to attract more tourists.

Arrangements are in full swing for the 46th edition of the summer festival to be conducted for eight days in Yercaud from May 21 to 28.

“Elaborate arrangements have been done jointly by police, revenue and tourism department for the festival, including traffic diversions, operating additional buses, demarking separate parking lots for tourist vehicles and deploying of additional cops to regulate traffic in Yercaud hills,” said an official of the district administration.

It has been planned by the Horticulture Department to have floral displays with over 2.5 lakh flowers. In addition, cultural shows, bharatanatyam and folk dances, horse riding, dog show, boat riding competition, sports, cooking and rangoli competitions for women will be major highlights of the festival.

The summer fest will be even more special in Valparai, where the ‘Kodai Vizha’ is being organised after a gap of several years. The Coimbatore district administration has planned to conduct the summer festival in Valparai for three days from May 26. It remained suspended over the last few years due to COVID-19 pandemic.

As huge crowds throng Ooty, the Rose Show, which was supposed to end on Monday, was extended for two days till Wednesday. More than 65,000 tourists visited the show till Monday.

Meanwhile, in Ooty, a ‘Tourist Information Centre’ has been opened in Wenlock Downs area to provide information regarding lodgings, newly created vehicle parking lots, vehicle diversion routes and other information. It will function from 8 am to 8 pm till May 31 and tourists can contact 0423-2443977, 8122643533 for information.