Trip to Madikeri aka Coorg, Kodagu....

25th December was a holiday and we had nowhere to celebrate, so we opted to visit a nearby hill station for the 3day weekend. Plans chalked out, options kept open with modes of travel (Bike or Car) and everyone informed. Being Christmas and another holiday the next week, some had gone to their hometowns. There were eight ready to leave Bangalore so we booked a cab and a Home stay in Coorg.

Kodagu (Coorg) is a district in South Karnataka along the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats with its capital at Madikeri. Located at around 900 m altitude it is a beautiful hill station filled with Coffee plantation.

The home stay owner (Pramila Aunty) had warned us about the chilling weather in Coorg so we in turn advised all to carry woolens and even an extra blanket. On some research, we found that according to Pramila aunty, chilly weather is at 20 °C. Wanting to have some fun, we did not carry any woolens and did not advice anyone against carrying some. Some of our experienced colleagues had told us that it would take around 8 hrs to drive the 256 km journey. This made us to start early morning at 0400 hrs. Everyone left the place with heavy sleepy eyes. On the way we had a cup of tea each with a temple’s hymns in the background, a perfect start to the trip. On crossing Mysore, we stopped for some more tea and then went along. All the sight seeing near Madikeri are far away so we planned covering some of the place on the way and save some time.

The first stop was at Nyingmapa Tibetan Monastery & Golden Temple near Kushalnagar. A lot of gold is used in the making of the temple. At the back of the temple is an immense 60 ft statue of Buddha along with slightly smaller (58 ft) statues of Guru Padmasambhava and Buddha Amitayus. The two sidewalls are covered with paintings with deities and Buddha in different forms of life. The paintings depict the deities in both calm and wrathful form using different type of clothes and ornaments. The calm deities wearing white clothes and precious stone ornaments, whereas the wrathful ones wearing skins of living beings and ornaments of bones. There is a beautiful garden outside the temple and a school for the monks. The periphery of the temple is lined with rotating cylinders with text engraved on them. It is said that if you rotate the cylinder once, you can absorb the whole text. Well then I believe Bhaskar and Tanmay would have become learned in Buddhism. Inside the temple there was a replica of the Palyul Monastery in Tibet. We left the temple for some breakfast. There was a small Tibetan shopping centre just outside the temple. We were looking for some Tibetan food but had to rely only on south Indian dosa and Idly Wada.

After breakfast we left for another place on our way to Madikeri. The next stop was at Nisargadhama. It’s a small island (around 65 acres) formed by splitting of Cauvery River in two streams. The forest department has developed the area, with a hanging bridge, a small deer park, Elephant safari and some tree top shelters. There are also some cottages in the forest for tourists. There is a meager entry fee to visit the area and a little fee for the elephant ride. It was lunch time, we had a little in Madikeri town and then headed for our home stay.

The search was another project in itself. There was no address to the place and Pramila aunty was persistent on the fact that the whole of Madikeri knows her. Very boastfully she asked us to follow a road and then ask any passerby about her and they’ll take us to her home stay. Well this was not to be and to top it there was no signal on the way. At one place we were happy that there won’t be any disturbance and on the other hand we didn’t have any way of communicating to the well-known Pramila aunty. This time there was another thought that wanted me to have a telephone signal. It seemed like now I found solace not in switching off the phone, but waiting for a call. At a curve of the road a phone beeped and we found a weak signal. This time we asked our driver to call her and take directions in Kannada. The driver seemed quite intelligent as he grasped it in one go and we left for our 2 nights abode. The moment we diverted from the main road into a coffee estate, every one wowed out. The place looked mesmerizing. There was no noise at all, only the serenity of countryside. Pramila aunty was waiting for us at the entrance. The house was a single story house with 3 bedrooms, a hall, a dining area, a kitchen and a courtyard filled with all varieties of fruits and flowers. We had a chance of tasting a Passion fruit (Fashion fruit for Praphulla), though it was sour than anything. We had freshly plucked Sapodilla aka Sapota, Zapota, Cheeku etc etc. It was so juicy that water droplets sprinkled out as we separated. It wasn’t anything new for me but still having a fresh fruit after around 5 years of staying away from home was a real delight. After dumping our luggage we left for a small walk along the coffee estate. It was a beautiful picturesque experience. There was almost no sound apart from our footsteps and occasional laughter we shared over a joke. We returned to the home stay and started to plan for the evening. Aunty had agreed upon a small campfire in the courtyard and we thought of chattering over some drinks and fire.

We left for Madikeri for our supplies. It was supposed to be Saket sirs treat for a recent award he got. We collected vodka, juice, and cold drinks and when we were about to leave, it started raining like anything. The first drops straight away washed the campfire plan. So we went back and arranged the Sofa’s for our whole night party. Food was prepared and we asked aunty to sleep, as we’d have it rather late. Pegs started and so did the chattering. A lot of things happened that night; some news came out, some old coffins dug, some old secrets brought into light. The night went by and next day was welcomed with a wonderful morning.

Clear sky and birds chirping around was what we saw and heard in the morning. A lot was planned and re-planned for the day as everything was far away. We started by leaving for Abby falls. Being Saturday and a three-day weekend, every place was crowded. It seemed like every one had come to Coorg only. We stopped at the falls and had some kinoow, a fruit primarily found in Northern part of the country is somewhat like an orange, but a little on the sour side. Had a glass full of buttermilk before we headed for a walk to the falls. It was the best we had in recent years. It was a small walk through a personal coffee estate. The falls were not so mesmerizing but were good enough for a peek. There was no place to go in water so we were content with just seeing and capturing them in our cameras. Our next stop was planned for Tal-Cauvery, the starting point of river Cauvery (The Ganges of South). It has a huge religious significance and without doubt we knew it would be crowded like hell. On the way we changed our plan and instead headed to Kakkabe. It was supposed to have a bird sanctuary, so photography enthusiasts like Saket sir (including me) preferred going there. The climate had suddenly changed from humid near our home stay to a cool breeze along this area. There were some very beautiful home stays on the way. A free advice: Please stay somewhere in the Kakkabe area if you ever happen to visit Coorg. After driving for around 2 hrs we reached kakkabe. There was no sign of a bird sanctuary but there was supposed to be an old palace, one preserved by the Archeological department of India. On reaching our eyes were searching for some grand architecture, but instead we found a double story house. It was nowhere near the palaces we had seen ever before. Nalknad Palace was built in 1792 inside dense forests at the foothills of Karnataka’s highest peak. It served as a last refuge to the king before he surrendered to the British. The House comprised of many dark rooms and secret passages. After a little wandering around we left for Madikeri, to witness some musical fountain show.

We reached Madikeri by 06 in the evening. The show takes place in a small garden in the Madikeri fort. From the edge of the park we can have a view of the sunset. It’s a deep valley and overlooks a series of Mountains. Though we missed the sunset but thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of the valley. The musical fountain was a joke in itself, with just a small fountain running in the centre and some music playing in the background. We thought of not wasting time and instead left for our home stay. The weather seemed clear now, a small campfire was made and we gathered around it humming and singing songs. It started to drizzle and we left for the indoor. The night went by in compositions and poetry. Finally we retired long after midnight.

The morning marked the last day of our stay. We left the home stay bidding adieu to aunty and promising to come back again. On our way we thought of visiting Dubare elephant camp. This camp serves as a training ground for elephants used in the Mysore festival on the eve of Dassehra. To reach the camp you have to cross the river, on foot or by boat, the choice is yours. We preferred walking over the slippery rocks. Shoes in hand we headed towards the camp. With some falls and near misses we reached the camp. Though the display of elephants was over yet we enjoyed treading through the area. On returning back we had some fun bathing in the river. Marking an end to the trip we changed and started for the drive back to Bangalore. We reached Bangalore by midnight after completing yet another place of visit.

Though the place wasn’t that great but we enjoyed as a group…. As always

For pics of the trip, visit http://picasaweb.google.com/devilish102/TripToMadikeriCoorg#