Trip to Coorg

We needed a vacation to reclaim our life back from stress of the city life. A long weekend was coming and we decided to go to Coorg known as the Scotland of the east. Living in a city, you can quite forget the beauty and power of Nature and its entire splendor. After some net surfing we found this eco-friendly home stay called rainforest retreat where you can in the middle of an Organic Spice Plantation. We decide to try it out.


We set out for the journey on Saturday morning 6 AM from Bangalore. Usually on Mysore road we have breakfast at Kadu Mane. This time we wanted to try at Kamath. We reached Kamath Yatrinivas at 8 AM. We loved the special Idli wrapped in leaves.

The road till Hunsoor was nice and most of the time we could cruise at 120 kmph. After Hunsoor there is a diversion either to Virajpet or Mercara. Mercara road takes you to Coorg via Kushalnagar, which is shorter route. The Virajpet road is good but is slightly longer. We had seen in one of the reviews on the net about the horrible road via Kushalnagar. Somehow I decided to explore the Kushalnagar route ignoring Divya's warning, which I repented later.


We reached Madikeri at around 12:30. Rainforest retreat was a good 15 km from town. Signboard to Club Mahindra resort helped us to reach the first 10 km. Last 5 km showed the signs of thick rain forest. We were received by Harish at the cottage and our food was ready. The cottage was in the middle of the plantation and surrounded by clear streams. There was a pond next to the cottage and three lovely swans welcomed us.

The cottage was built like a Kodava home with western toilets and there was no TV or Heater as informed before. No mobile connectivity also :-). The cottage gives a quaint feel of living in the past. The lunch was rice, home made roties and filled with Baimbale curry (made from tender bamboo shoots) and other Kodava curries.

Evening we went for a walk to the nearby hills. The serene air was refreshing and view of the valley was breathtaking. We decided to come to the same place early morning and returned to the cottage. A boy built fireplace in the room to keep it warm. I have seen fake electric fireplaces at USA, but was seeing a real fire place for the first time.
We got up early morning on Sunday and went for a stroll. The view of misty mountains and densely forested valleys was breathtaking. chirping of the birds added a magic feeling to it.

After breakfast we began our trekking with our guide Nakul. He is Yoga teacher from Bangalore and was working with the Rain forest retreat for some time to experience Kodava culture. We were a group of three families. Our guide had warned us about Leaches and we had applied Lemon on our shoes and legs. After a while we started seeing interesting creatures on the way. I spotted a big colorful snail on the way and two kids in our group were thrilled to see it.
Next two kilometers of the trek was extremely steep. We struggled up the muddy, humid trail. We had to be careful about Leaches too. The power of lemon was wearing out and leaches started climbing our shoes. We were busy pulling out those creatures from shoes.We soon found us on the top a peak overlooking a breathtaking valley. We enjoyed the sight for a while and started our journey back. It started raining and we took a different route back this time. It was shorter route but tough. Rain and soggy mud made all the leaches come alive. We reached back to the base around 2 PM and everybody was tired and hungry.

Afternoon we went to Madikeri town. Being a sunday after noon, town was asleep. Most of the shops were closed and there was no traffic at all in the roads. Looks like Madikeri has only one traffic signal and we slowly walked across that signal not realizing it is a traffic signal!. Reminded us Bangalore and I was wondering if I can find any empty traffic signal even on a Sunday. Evening we went to Raja's seat from where we could see the beautiful Valleys and catch the magnificent view of setting sun.

Monday morning we went to Omkareshwara temple, which is a blend of both Islamic and Gothic style of architecture. Some film shooting was going on there. Evening we visited the Madikeri fort. Two life size elephants in the compound was the main attraction. Evening we decided to try Coorg International for Dinner. Food was great and ambiance was nice.

Next day morning we started our journey back to Bangalore. Nisargadhama and Tibettan Monastry was on the way. Kaveri Nisargadhama is located a few kilometres away from the Mysore-Coorg border and not in the hilly terrains of interior Coorg. The first sight that greets you is that of a long, hanging bridge with river Cauvery serenely flowing beneath. on the other side of the bridge is Nisargadhama resort, sprawled over 25 acres. On one side are picturesque hanging cottages made from bamboo, suspended over water and surrounded by abundant bamboo grooves. We walked along river Cauvery for some time, hearing the the calm soothing sound of the river. Among the bamboo forest, there was beautiful tree top hut made of bamboo. We climbed on top and relaxed for a while. Next destination was Tibettan Monastry and settlement at Bylakuppe.