[i20ian]

I've been longing to go to Coorg for a long long time. It was always there some where around the corner of my mind. There were distinct opinions about Coorg. Some said it is not worth a visit, being from Kerala and that you have seen better hill stations. Some said it is all about coffee plantations and pandhi curry.

So finally the time came to visit Coorg. The reason being a colleague's marriage. Marriage came on a Sunday. So took a couple of days off from office and started the journey.

Checked out in TBhp to see if anyone has any valuable experiences to share.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...endations.html

Booked a resort at Thalathmane village named Brook stone Villas. Read some really bad reviews about the road leading to the resort in Trip advisor. Apart from that other reviews were good. So decided to go ahead and book.

A week before the start of the journey saw some fellow bhpians mentioning that their home stays called them to cancel their trip to Coorg since it was raining heavily there. Saw an article in newspaper too warning about heavy downpour in Coorg.

These didn't deter us from thinking twice about the trip. Plans finalised. Here we went. Our team.. Me, my friend and our wives.

Packed the stuff, filled up the tank, got my i20 serviced the previous day and we were raring to go.

Day 1

Started at 6am from Bangalore. Crossed Kengeri in half an hour. Not even possible in the wildest of your dreams when Bangalore wakes up! Took the following route and reached Bylakuppe Tibetan settlement by 11am. A half an hour pitstop in between for breakfast at Kamat Lokaruchi Ramnagara.



Now let the photos do the talking.

Corn fields all around.





Beautiful roads



Even they can't resist the temptation to take photos.



Tashi Lhumpo monastery



Time for lunch



Feels like we are in China



We were the only visitors there. A monk explained to us that the monastery was an educational institution where monks were given training in advanced studies. There were almost 500 monks in the monastery and now they have gone home for vacation.

The child monks here are very naughty. Some of them managed to apply some jam on my car parked outside.

Proceeded towards the more famous Golden Temple.

It started raining.



To our dismay the temple was closed for renovation works. But still visited the adjoining prayer Hall and took some snaps.

The grandeur



When we were about to leave the monks started playing some instruments and drums which produced a distinct voice. Might be a praying session.

Proceeded towards Kushalnagar. Had lunch from Top in town restaurant in Kushalnagar. Food was OK. Not much to be expected after all from such a roadside restaurant in a crowded tourist place.

After lunch reached Nisargadhama. The place was crowded. Light drizzle. Nothing much to see there apart from a few tree houses.

Had some fun climbing up one of those.



There was a hanging bridge over the Kaveri. It was very crowded. There were a few people enjoying some adventure activities.

Came out and headed towards Madikeri. Raja's seat was next on our itinerary.

Raja's seat



Intermittent rains and cool wind made the atmosphere mesmerising.

View from Raja's seat





Toy train near Raja's seat



A small ride around but was fun in the chilly weather

Madikeri town engulfed in mist



By the time we left raja's seat, it was 5pm. So decided to call it a day.

Since my friend joined in late for the trip, he had booked a separate stay in Madikeri town which was 4kms from Raja's seat. But the roads are in very bad shape throughout the town adding to it the construction work going on in certain stretches making the drive all the more miserable. Laboured through the roads and after getting stuck in traffic jams and messing up the route finally dropped my friend at their Hotel. 1hour to travel 4kms. Nightmare!!

Our resort was 7kms from there located on the Madikeri Mangalore highway. It started getting dark. By 6.30pm reached the place from where the road to our resort starts.

It was very narrow with coffee plantations all around. Wifey got scared as we couldn't see anyone around. No sign of the resort anywhere. The roads where really bad as pointed out in certain reviews. But my mind kept on saying that "Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations". Rightly so. After 2kms of adventurous ride reached the resort. It was calm and beautiful. It was 6.45pm already.

Checked in. We were the last guests to reach. So the manager was waiting eagerly for us. The weather was chilling cold. Strong winds were blowing. Smell of coffee was in the air. Had a cup of hot tea and some Parathas and kadai chicken for dinner. Chef Sanjay seems to be at the top of his trade.

To be continued...

[JohnnyBoss]

Nice beginning. Waiting to see the pics of road to resort and resort as well.
Seems they've redone the Raja's seat. Now it looks really nice.

[i20ian]

Day 2

After a good night's rest, woke up early. Decided to explore the resort as wifey was still asleep. There was light drizzle. Fog. Chilling winds. Took some snaps of the resort.



i20 resting happily after yesterday's ride.



The resort





The entrance



A cup of hot Coorg coffee to start the day.



Had a good complimentary breakfast and started to Madikeri to pick up my friend.

Moved on leisurely through the coffee plantations. Some snaps of the road.







There were streams and rivulets flowing nearby and we realised how beautiful the road was which scared the hell out of us yesterday.





Picked up my friend and reached Abbey falls.



Crowds had gathered as it was a Saturday. Parked the car far off since we expected the parking lot to be crowded.



The falls were in full swing.



It was 1pm when we left Abbey falls. We felt hungry. So dropped the plan to go to Mandalpatti and came back to Madikeri.

Had lunch from Fort Mercara. Ordered chicken vindaloo. It was extremely spicy. Wondered whether anyone would eat something so spicy!!

After lunch started to Talakaveri. Learned that the temple closes at 6pm. So hurried there.

Greenery enroute called for some snaps.





Resembled much like Kerala.







Reached Talakaveri at 4pm. Mist, rain, strong cool winds greeted us.

The place looked straight out of heaven. The temple was barely visible from the distance.











The temple



Origin of Kaveri river.



Started return journey by 5pm. Mist everywhere.







Enjoyed the ride thoroughly. Reached Bhagamandala.

The Triveni Sangama.



Finally reached the resort at 7.30pm. Had some delicious dinner and hit the bed.

To be continued...

[i20ian]

Day 3

Woke up late. Had breakfast. Checked out and reached Madikeri town. Bought some Coorg coffee and honey. Picked up my friend and went to the marriage venue in Siddapura which was 25kms from Madikeri.

Said good bye to Madikeri town. The roads were really beautiful. Drive through misty roads winding through coffee plantations and cinnamon trees was a sight to behold for a long time to come.







There were many waterfalls enroute. Reached the marriage venue. Saw a Coorg marriage had some good food and started the return journey to Bangalore.

Took the Kushalnagar route and stopped by at Dubare elephant camp. The camp was closed due to rain. River rafting was available but decided against it due to time constraints.

The Kaveri at Dubare.



Drove on to Mysore and after enduring the hard BM road Sunday traffic reached home at 10pm.

On the whole, a trip to remember. A realisation that Coorg was much more than just Coffee.

A word to all fellow Bhpians.. If you want to enjoy the beauty of the hills.. Mist.. Rain.. Cold.. Winds.. Greenery.. Then have no doubt the monsoons are the best time to visit.

Overall trip statistics
Total kms : 750
Fuel consumed: 50ltrs petrol
Mileage: 15 kmpl

Overall trip rating:
Roads: 3/5
Scenery: 5/5
Adventure: 4/5
Enjoyment: 5/5
Memories: Priceless!!

[Aditya]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!