Destination: Coorg
Best time to visit: October to May
Date of travel: 24th – 26th
Dec 2015
Travellers: Myself with parents and
brother
Transport: 4 wheeler
Route map: Gadag – Belur –
Halebidu – Bylukuppe – Madikeri (halt) - Abbey falls – Mandalapatti –
Bhagmandal – Talakaveri – Raja seat, Fort, Omkareshwar temple – (halt) - Dubare
elephant camp – Nisarghadham – Gadag
Stay: Anand homestay
About
Coorg (Kodagu):
Coorg
is nicknamed as 'Scotland of India' and 'Kashmir of South'. It lies at an altitude
of 3500ft above the sea level in Western Ghats of south-western Karnataka.
Located amidst misty mountains, verdant valleys, scenic coffee plantations, Coorg is a perfect gateway for nature lovers. Thickets of bamboo and sandalwood
forests, stunning waterfalls and undulated mountain ranges glorify the beauty
of alluring coorg. Trekking expeditions to brahmagiri, pushpagiri, tadiandamol
peaks and white water rafting make coorg an exquisite destination for adventure
freaks.
Details
of the trip:
Day
1: Gadag – Belur – Halebidu – Bylukuppe
– Madikeri (halt)
· We
started from Gadag (North Karnataka) around 6:00 am. After visiting Belur, Halebidu
headed towards Coorg via Kushalnagar.
· We visited Buddhist Namdroling Monastery
of Bylukuppe, which is about 8km from Kushalnagar. Home to over 6000 monks, it is
a 2nd largest Tibetan settlement in India after Dharmashala. By the
time we reached there (around 4pm), the students of the monastery had begun
their evening prayer. Then we visited the main attraction of this settlement, Golden
temple that houses 40ft tall Buddha statue.
· We
then headed to Madikeri and halted at the pre-booked homestay on the outskirts
of Madikeri. As it was an extended weekend due to Christmas holidays, no
homestays within the town were available to book. Anand homestay indeed had a
pleasant ambience to stay in.
 |
| Buddhist Namdroling Monastery of Bylukuppe |
Day 2: Abbey falls –
Mandalapatti – Bhagmandal – Talakaveri – Raja seat, Fort, Omkareshwar temple –
halt
· We started for the abbey falls at 8am which is about 7km from the city. The
road is very narrow with hair pin curves. Abbey means ‘waterfall’ in kodava
language and is the main attraction of madikeri. Vehicles can reach the
entrance to the falls and then a 500mts downhill walk through coffee
plantations in slightly paved steps led us to the waterfalls. We aren’t allowed
to go to the stream, but from the hanging bridge, can have the spectacular view
of the falls cascading down a rock from a height of 70ft. moreover one can enjoy
the feeling of being amidst beautiful nature.
 |
Abbey falls
|
· Next spot to head was Mandalpatti (about 20km from the falls) that comes
under the Pushpagiri wildlife sanctuary. It’s a nightmare to get to the place if
taking our own vehicle as the condition of the road is pretty bad. On a screwed
path, one can indeed enjoy the trip due to mesmerizing beauty of nature around.
From the parking area, we arrived to hike up the hill to reach the view point,
but hike isn’t a rigorous one. From the view point, one can experience the
breath-taking view of lush green undulating mountains trying to reach the clear
sky. 'The most beautiful places are at the ends of really bad roads' and Mandalpatti
is one of those places. It is absolutely a scenic
place that shouldn’t be missed if planning for Coorg. Best time to visit this
place is post monsoon as the hills are slippery during monsoon and you can’t
start this place early in the morning as thick mist would be covered. There is
not much scope for trekking but you can do a mini hike around a few kms.
 |
| Mandalapatti |
 |
| View point, Mandalapatti |
· Then
we headed back to Madikeri, had a launch and drove to Bhagamandal (about 35km).
It is located on the bank of triveni sangam, a confluence of 3 rivers: Cauvery,
Kannike and Sujyoti. It is said that a dip in holy sangam completes the Hindu Shraddha
rites for the deprived soul. We paid a visit to Bhagandeshwar temple which follows
the Kerala temple. According to mythology the temple is named after Bhaganda
muni who installed Shivalinga here.
 |
Bhagamandal
|
· We
continued advancing (about 10km) until reaching the most sacred place Talacauvery,
which is a birth place of river Cauvery (Brahmagiri hills). A small perennial spring,
Brahma kundike located 1276m above sea level marks the origin of Cauvery and
the temple dedicated to lord Agastheeswara is built on it. From Talacauvery the
steps lead to the Brahmagiri peak where Sapta maharshis are said to have
performed special yagna. We can have a wonderful view of Brahmagiri hills from
the peak.
 |
Talakaveri
|
· We then returned to Madikeri and arrived at the fort around 4:30pm. There
is nothing much to sea in this place. The palace of erstwhile kings inside the
fort now houses the offices of deputy commissary.
· Next place to visit was Omkareshwar temple which is one of the oldest temples.
The architecture of the temple is amalgam of Gothic and Islamic styles.
· Then we
went to Raja seat, a sunset view point surrounded by a garden. Apparently, erstwhile
kings of coorg would spend their evenings watching the sunset here. The
spectacular sunset beyond the blue Mountains is breath-taking. A panoramic view
of the valley, paddy fields and the road to Mangalore glorify the beauty of the Raja seat. The musical fountain show after sunset will last until 7pm.
 |
Raja seat
|
· This ended our sight-seeing. Late evening was for local shopping as coorg is
famous for coffee, spices, honey and home-made chocolates.
Day 3: Dubare elephant
camp – Nisarghadham – Gadag
· We checked out from the homestay and started for Dubare elephant camp which
is about 30km from coorg. At about 9.30am we reached Dubare and crossed a river
by boat to reach an island (approximately 11acres). Instead of taking boat, you
can also reach an island by rafting across the water body. Here the elephants
are groomed and trained by forest dept. It even has a historical significabce
as the elephants used in Mysore Dassehra are trained in this camp. We watched closely
the elephants obeying instructions, taking scrub bath and it was more fun to
see the elephants playing in water. Elephant rides and white river water
rafting are also offered.
 |
| Elephant camp, Dubare |
 |
Elephant camp, Dubare
|
· Then we went to the last destination of our trip Cauvery Nisargadham on the
way back (about 10km) from dubare. It is a man-made island of 64acres land
connected by hanging bridge. Although the maintenance of the place is very
poor, it consists of wide variety of ayurvedic plants, deer park, shack house,
elephant ride and boating. There is nothing much in this place but can walk for
some time around thick bamboo groves and enjoy the pics.
 |
| Cauvery nisargadham |
·
After
the launch we headed back to gadag.
Timings and Entry fees: as on December 2015
Timings Per head
·
Raja
seat :
5rs
·
Omkareshwara
temple : 06.30am-12.00pm
: 05.00pm-08.00pm
·
Cauvery
nisarghadham : 10rs
·
Dubare
Elephant camp : 08.30am-10.30am : 20rs
: 04.30pm-05.30pm
o
Elephant
bathing : 09.00am-10.00am :
100rs
o
Elephant
briefing : 10.00am-10.30am :
50rs
o
Elephant
ride : 10.30am-12.00pm :
100rs
o
Water
rafting - : 100rs
