Punganur Lake

Man-made lake at the heart of Yelagiri, the hill station's most-visited spot, ringed by hills with a central fountain; pedal and row boating are the main draw.

Punganur Lake, Yelagiri
Practical guide

Plan Punganur Lake

Who's going?Tailor Punganur Lake to your trip
Typeactivity
Nearest baseYelagiri
DistrictTirupathur
Best timeOctober to March is the cooler, drier…
Time neededAbout an hour
Entry₹20
Places to visit8Listed businesses1

Punganur Lake is planned from Yelagiri, one of the travel bases in Tirupathur district. Use Yelagiri for stays, food and local transport, then plan this place as a focused stop.

The story

Punganur Lake is worth visiting for Yelagiri’s central landscaped lake and family boating stop.

The story of Punganur Lake

Walk the lakeside path and use boating only when the authorised counter is operating, keeping expectations focused on a managed town park.

The lake has been developed as a visitor recreation space within Yelagiri’s modern tourism growth rather than presented as an untouched natural waterbody.

Confirm boating, ticket and maintenance status at the counter; weekend queues are common.

Punganur Lake deserves time for the details identified above rather than a rushed photograph. At Punganur Lake, use the named visitor approach, check the current public boundary on arrival and concentrate on the feature that makes this place distinct within its town. For Punganur Lake, any closure, worship restriction or safety barrier takes precedence over an older itinerary.

Legend & myth

Local memory places the lake at the centre of family visits to the plateau; that social role is separate from claims about its origin or ecology.

Read the full history of Punganur Lake 36 more words

History

The lake has been developed as a visitor recreation space within Yelagiri’s modern tourism growth rather than presented as an untouched natural waterbody.

Why visit

Experience Yelagiri’s central landscaped lake and family boating stop in its real setting.

What to expect

Highlights

Getting there

How to visit

  • Base yourself in Yelagiri or nearby in Tirupathur, then confirm the last-mile route locally before travel.
  • If access depends on temple, museum or seasonal rules, check on the day before you go.
Timing

Best time

October to March is the cooler, drier season in the Cauvery delta.

Weather in Punganur LakeSeasonal guide

Live forecast loads in your browser.

Today at Punganur Lake
Sunrise6:05 am
Sunset5:57 pm
Golden hour best light4:57 pm–5:57 pm
Blue hour after sunset5:57 pm–6:22 pm
Sun sets toward compass bearingW · 261°
Moon tonight🌒 Waxing crescent · 24%

Sun and moon are calculated for this location and shown in IST. Photography windows are the hour around sunrise and sunset; the sunset bearing is degrees clockwise from true north. Moon phase is accurate to about half a day.

Stay · eat · do · rent · see · shop

Stays, food & things to do near Punganur Lake

Verified hotels, homestays, restaurants, experiences, sights, shops and rentals around Punganur Lake — commission-free, with direct contact. Filter by what you need.

1 place to stay near Punganur Lake

Top pick
Hotel
Hotel Land Mark
850 m · 11 min walk

A hotel on Boat House Road at Athanavur, opposite the Murugan temple, in Yelagiri Hills. It lists four mobile numbers for booking rather than a landline.

Directions Commission-freeView details

Book with the place itself. India’s cyber-crime coordination centre warned in April 2025 that convincing copies of hotel and pilgrimage booking sites are being pushed through sponsored search and social ads, taking payment for rooms the property never hears about. Every listing here links to the business’s own contact details and its own Google or Bing profile — we take no commission and sit in nobody’s payment path. If a booking page reached you through an ad, check the address bar against the property’s own site before you pay. Fraud can be reported on cybercrime.gov.in or on 1930.

Ranked guides

Top experiences around Yelagiri

7 more places around Yelagiri. Open a guide to plan the visit and onward journey.

hill stationYelagiri Hills

280 m · 4 min walk

Tirupathur's signature hill station on a ~1,110 m Eastern Ghats plateau, reached by a road of 14 hairpin bends and known for its cool climate, orchards, rose gardens, boating and paragliding.

waterfallJalagamparai Falls

5.1 km · ~13 min by auto

Seasonal waterfall where the Attaru river drops over rocky ledges on the eastern flank of the Yelagiri hills, reached by a short downhill trek; strongest during and just after the monsoon.

parkYelagiri Nature Park

1.5 km · 18 min walk

Landscaped ~12-acre park near Punganur Lake with an artificial cascade, musical fountain, aquarium, children's play area and themed gardens; a standard family stop on the Yelagiri circuit.

templeVelavan Temple, Yelagiri

1.0 km · 12 min walk

Hillside temple dedicated to Lord Murugan (Velavan), one of the main devotional stops within the Yelagiri hill station, visited both for worship and for the valley views.

S
Swamimalai Hills, Yelagiri
Place
heritageSwamimalai Hills, Yelagiri

3.5 km · ~9 min by auto

The highest point of the Yelagiri hill station, reached by a trek of roughly 3 km from Punganur Lake. The summit offers a panorama over the whole hill station and surrounding valleys, making it Yelagiri's best-known trekking route.

N
Nilavoor Lake, Yelagiri
Place
heritageNilavoor Lake, Yelagiri

2.7 km · ~7 min by auto

An artificial lake in Nilavoor village on the Yelagiri hills, flanked by a garden on its banks. It is a popular boating spot offering pedal and motorboat rides amid the hill scenery, and is quieter than the more central Punganur Lake.

G
Government Herbal Farm, Yelagiri
Place
heritageGovernment Herbal Farm, Yelagiri

880 m · 11 min walk

A forest-department herbal park close to Punganur Lake growing medicinal herbs and plants used in Siddha and Ayurvedic preparations. It is a small educational nature stop showcasing the hill's rare medicinal flora.

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The experience

Punganur Lake — at a glance

Timings9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Best timeOctober to February
Entry price
Indian adult
₹20

Fees change without notice. Check the current rate at the counter.

Entry: Indicative INR 20 - confirm on site

Getting here

How to reach Punganur Lake

Nearest railway Jolarpettai Jn (~25 km); nearest airport Bengaluru International (BLR), ~120 km; Salem ~90 km

Getting around Punganur Lake

If you need step-free access, contact the site before travelling. Ask about a level entrance, steps along the route, the nearest drop-off point, seating and accessible toilets.

If you need help at Punganur Lake
112All emergencies (police · fire · medical)The single number to call in any emergency (ERSS).

Emergency numbers are verified against official government and state tourism sources. 112 works anywhere in India.

Nearby

What’s near Punganur Lake

hill stationYelagiri Hills

Tirupathur's signature hill station on a ~1,110 m Eastern Ghats plateau, reached by a road of 14 hairpin bends and known for its cool climate, orchards, rose gardens, boating and paragliding.

280 m · 4 min walk · straight line
G
Government Herbal Farm, Yelagiri
Place
heritageGovernment Herbal Farm, Yelagiri

A forest-department herbal park close to Punganur Lake growing medicinal herbs and plants used in Siddha and Ayurvedic preparations. It is a small educational nature stop showcasing the hill's rare medicinal flora.

880 m · 11 min walk · straight line
templeVelavan Temple, Yelagiri

Hillside temple dedicated to Lord Murugan (Velavan), one of the main devotional stops within the Yelagiri hill station, visited both for worship and for the valley views.

1.0 km · 12 min walk · straight line
parkYelagiri Nature Park

Landscaped ~12-acre park near Punganur Lake with an artificial cascade, musical fountain, aquarium, children's play area and themed gardens; a standard family stop on the Yelagiri circuit.

1.5 km · 18 min walk · straight line
S
Sri Vekkaliamman Temple, Kandili
Place
heritageSri Vekkaliamman Temple, Kandili

An Amman temple at Kandili, about 13 km from Tirupathur town, noted for its towering gopuram reported at around 142 feet. It is one of the more prominent temple destinations in the district and a focus of local festival worship.

2.4 km · 30 min walk · straight line
N
Nilavoor Lake, Yelagiri
Place
heritageNilavoor Lake, Yelagiri

An artificial lake in Nilavoor village on the Yelagiri hills, flanked by a garden on its banks. It is a popular boating spot offering pedal and motorboat rides amid the hill scenery, and is quieter than the more central Punganur Lake.

2.7 km · ~7 min by auto · straight line
S
Swamimalai Hills, Yelagiri
Place
heritageSwamimalai Hills, Yelagiri

The highest point of the Yelagiri hill station, reached by a trek of roughly 3 km from Punganur Lake. The summit offers a panorama over the whole hill station and surrounding valleys, making it Yelagiri's best-known trekking route.

3.5 km · ~9 min by auto · straight line
waterfallJalagamparai Falls

Seasonal waterfall where the Attaru river drops over rocky ledges on the eastern flank of the Yelagiri hills, reached by a short downhill trek; strongest during and just after the monsoon.

5.1 km · ~13 min by auto · straight line
townJolarpettai

Town built around one of South India's major railway junctions, where the Chennai-Bangalore and Chennai-Salem-Kerala lines diverge; a long-standing strategic rail hub and the rail gateway for Yelagiri.

6.9 km · ~17 min by auto · straight line
P
Paiyampalli
Place
heritagePaiyampalli

A village in Tirupathur taluk that is one of Tamil Nadu's important prehistoric sites, excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India under S. R. Rao in 1964-65 and 1967-68. The digs revealed a Neolithic habitation level dated around 1390 BCE overlaid by a Megalithic period, with charred horse gram and green gram and black-and-red ware pottery. It documents one of the earliest farming settlements in northern Tamil Nadu.

10.0 km · ~17 min by cab · straight line
J
Janab Masthan Ali Aulia Saheb Dargah, Vaniyambadi
Place
heritageJanab Masthan Ali Aulia Saheb Dargah, Vaniyambadi

A revered Sufi shrine in Vaniyambadi, a town with a large Muslim population and many mosques in medieval and modern Islamic styles. The dargah draws devotees across faiths and is cited as a symbol of the town's tradition of inter-religious coexistence.

11.2 km · ~19 min by cab · straight line
townVaniyambadi

Palar-valley town that is one of Tamil Nadu's leading leather-tanning and leather-export centres, with a strong Muslim mercantile heritage, historic mosques and a biryani tradition allied to Ambur's.

11.5 km · ~19 min by cab · straight line

All 8 places to visit in Yelagiri →

On the map

Where Punganur Lake is

Good to know

Punganur Lake — frequently asked

How long should I allow?

Allow about two hours for Punganur Lake, adding time for queues, worship, birding, weather or closures.

Where do the directions lead?

The Directions link leads to the practical visitor entrance for Punganur Lake; follow current signs for parking, tickets and permitted entry.

When should I visit?

Confirm boating, ticket and maintenance status at the counter; weekend queues are common.

When is the best time to visit Punganur Lake?

October to March is the cooler, drier season in the Cauvery delta.

What are the entry fee and timings at Punganur Lake?

Entry: Indicative INR 20 - confirm on site. Timings: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM. The rupee figure quoted is the Indian adult rate.

How do I reach Punganur Lake?

Base yourself in Yelagiri or nearby in Tirupathur, then confirm the last-mile route locally before travel. If access depends on temple, museum or seasonal rules, check on the day before you go.

How much time do I need for Punganur Lake?

About an hour.

What else is near Punganur Lake?

Nearby you can pair Yelagiri Hills (280 m), Government Herbal Farm, Yelagiri (880 m), Velavan Temple, Yelagiri (1.0 km), Yelagiri Nature Park (1.5 km).

Read before you go

Punganur Lake guides, stories & itineraries

We have not published a story about Punganur Lake itself yet. These cover Yelagiri and the wider district, with separate journeys between stops.

Around Yelagiri

These guides explore Yelagiri and the surrounding area. Choose a visit that fits your interests, allowing separately for travel between stops.

Tamil Nadu-wide guides & itineraries

Route-level itineraries and practical guides for the rest of Tamil Nadu.

See all 16 Tirupathur guides & stories →

Image credits

Photographs: Nandhiniraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wikimedia Commons.