Thursday, January 11, 2007

A Weekend Getaway to Coorg

If u’re sick n tired of the endless traffic snarls of Hosur Road and BTM layout and looking for a place that could give u a complete peace of mind over the weekend; Coorg is your perfect hideout destination. Waterfalls, deep ravines, grassy slopes, coffee n spice plantations, verdant undulating topography, u wish ‘em and‘ve it all! Madikeri or Mercara is the district town of Kodagu or Coorg. Located 243 km SW of Bangalore and can be reached through Mysore Bypass via Ranganathittu-Hunsur-Kushalnagar.


One fine Sunday morning (after giving a Saturday break to the Friday late night troopers) on February we decided to make a one day trip to Coorg. Babu, our driver came down with the hired ‘Qualis’ when it was still dark outside. Got a chance to see the first sunshine bringing a misty morning over Mysore. By the time it was a full grown morning we had already reached Bylakuppe; what used to be a Tibetan camp is now a full-fledged settlement. Spread over the wide open Bylakuppe are the beautiful monasteries of Sakya, Sera-Je, Kagyur and Namdroling. Namdroling was our first stop-over in the journey. The spectacular golden monastery houses gigantic statues of Padmasambhava, Buddha and Amitayus. Bylakuppe is just off Kushalnagar. When we reached Kushalnagar, it was around 8 o’clock in the morning and decided to have our breakfast.

Reached ‘Cauvery Nishargadham’ next with our stomach filled with set dosa and rava idli! Nishargadham happens to be a large island covered with thickly dense forest. Small streams from the river Cauvery meander through the jungle here, only to meet the mother river beyond the island. It’s advisable to take a brisk walk through the jungle and u’ll get enough photo-ops; which will help u to claim that hiking by the river trails is ur ultimate passion.


Harangi Dam was not on our trip itinerary. But Babu suggested us that it’s really worth a visit. So after an hour long bumpy ride through the sparsely dense February forest when we reached before the turquoise blue water of the reservoir, we knew Babu really meant it. The view from the top of the dam was a real treat. The place was quite empty, devoid of Sunday visitors and lovebirds, excepting us and a few old monks from Bylakuppe. Descending through the rock laden face of the dam to reach the edge of the water was quite exciting. The pristine blue water and the distant mountains on the backdrop kept our digicams busy.

Our next destination was ‘Dubare Elephant Camp’. The road that leads to Dubare is through thick coffee plantations. U’ll get to see the coffee bushes studded with red berries and the air is filled with strong aroma! The training camp is sandwiched between south bank of Cauvery and Dubare Reserve forest. If u reach early in the morning, u’ll get a chance to be part of the ‘Elephant Interaction Program’. It starts with a luxurious bath in the river where u get a chance to scrub the elephants. Then u can feed ragi and jaggery to the pachyderms. Since we reached Dubare quite late, so missed the rituals but made our fare share of enjoyment by riding the ‘biggies’ for some half an hour though the jungle. At Dubare u can always take a lazy ‘coracle’ ride on the river to breathe some jungle out there.


We reached Madikeri via Siddapura just after noon. It was lunch time. Although u can try out some local fares like pandi curry (Kodavas like it hot, full of plantation spices) or akki rotis but we preferred to play it safe. It is strongly recommended to make an overnight stay in Madikeri to enjoy the cool breeze and the laziness of Coorg. U can also stay at Siddapura (14km from Madikeri) in the heart of Coorg’s coffee country. Fishing and angling in Cauvery could be a real fun. On a lucky day and with lot of patience u can get even a 10kg Mahseer (our very own south Indian version of Trout).

We left for Thalacauvery, some 42km from Madikeri just after the lunch. It’s the birthplace of the sacred river Cauvery and situated on Bramhagiri Hills. If u’re able to walk all the way up to the hill just above the Cauvery temple, can get a 360 degree view of the Mystique Mountains and forests around. But mind that, u’ve to go barefoot to the top.

When we came back to Madikeri the sun was disappearing behind the grey hills. A chilli darkness was approaching when we reached ‘Abbi’ falls, a mere 5km from the town. It’s inside a privately-owned coffee estate and a big tourist draw over the weekends. As all good things come to their ends, our day trip to Coorg ended by seeing Abbi falls.


But a lot still remained. So next time u’re here; get those boots on and get moving. Ups n Downs of the hills, the strong smell of Robusta and the graceful Cauvery; all are waiting for U!

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