By Somali K Chakrabarti
Taking the time out for a vacation during summers is a routine with most families, and ours is no exception. At the end of May, to seek respite from the scorching summer heat of Mumbai, we had decided to go to the hill district of Coorg via Mangalore.
I have, since been contemplating to jot down some highlights of the trip to preserve the memories. Within a span of a month, when I found myself going to Mangalore once again last week, I thought that I absolutely must write this post before it gets too late.
Mangalore is an hour’s flight from Mumbai. The Mangalore airport is on top of a hill with two table top runways. Acres of greenery covering the hills all around is pleasing to the eyes. A winding road takes us down the airport.
Mangalore to Coorg is a three hour drive. We had decided to spend the day at Mangalore and start for Coorg early next morning.
Heading to Coorg
The way to Coorg is filled with green patches of wooded lands, coffee plantations and hilly slopes.
Coorg (originally Kodagu) is distinctively different from its neighbours. Kodavas, the native inhabitants of Coorg have their unique identity, customs and traditions that are different from other communities of Karnataka. Originally a martial race, the Kodavas later started practising agriculture. Serving the armed forces has been a tradition with the Kodavas. Even now, members from many families join the armed forces.
On the way, the driver tells us that Kodava language is influenced by Tulu, Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada languages.
We reach the hotel by the noon. After lunch and rest we get ready to go around the area.
Madikeri
Very near to the resort in which we stayed was Madikeri, a small hill station town which houses the headquarters of the district of Coorg. The place has an old world charm about it. A view point from where the king would watch the surrounding down hills, with his consorts is known as Raja Seat.
The flowers in the gardens bore a clean and fresh look.
We went to the Omkareshwara Temple, an ancient temple built in the 18th century. The temple has a simplistic architecture with a combination of Catholic, Keralite, Gothic and Islamic styles and a pond within the temple courtyard. I was surprised to see dragon heads on a box trunk like structure built outside the temple. We ended the sightseeing with a visit to the Kodagu Fort.
Dubare Elephant Camp
The best part of our trip came on the next day with the visit to Dubare Elephant Camp, where we saw elephants from a proximity.
We started early for the camp, so that we could see the elephants bathing.
On reaching the Dubare camp area, we crossed the river Kaveri on a ferry to land at the Elephant Camp. We spotted some elephants standing on the bank of the river. After buying the tickets, we headed towards the place where the mahouts were taking the elephants for a bath.
Soon we found ourselves splashing water at the elephants. The tuskers seemed to enjoy the attention. Suddenly a baby elephant that was quietly standing beside its mother, filled up water in its trunk and playfully splashed the water on the people standing in front of him. It amused the people as well as the calf, who repeated the prank a couple of times.
After finishing their bath, the elephants headed towards another corner of the camp. On the way, the baby made it a point to roll in a stack of hay to dry itself. Soon it snuggled up to its mother and stated suckling.
Thalakaveri
Thalakaveri (head of Kaveri), in the Brahmagiri hills in Kodagu, is the place of origin of river Kaveri.
Kaveri or Cauvery, considered among the most sacred rivers of India, emerges from an underground spring, which is connected with a small pond. A temple complex built around the spring houses the shrines of gods.
A peaceful atmosphere prevailed as we climbed up the stairs of the temple. It was breezy around there. The lush green hills all around presented a pleasant picture with the clouds drifting by.
Golden Temple Monastery
Golden Temple Monastery is a beautiful Tibetan monastery in Coorg. The monastery built in 1972 houses over 7,000 monks and students. We were surprised to know that the Tibetan settlement at Bylakuppe, Coorg is the second largest Tibetan settlement outside Tibet.
The tall statues of Buddha, Padmasambhava, and Amitayus are grand and imposing. The altar is nicely decorated with flowers, candles and incense sticks. The colourful murals on the walls of the monastery depict gods and demons from Tibetan Buddhist mythology.
We purchased some decoration pieces from the monastery before leaving.
Finally from Coorg, we headed towards Mangalore, carrying with us a few boxes of home-made chocolates, some spices and honey, along with the pleasant memories of the place, which will stay with us much longer after the chocolates and spices get consumed.
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Coorg is an amazing place. No words to describe it. In college my friends did a motorbike ride of a 1000 kms to this place. Sadly I couldn’t do it when my friends went and I am yet to visit this place.
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So another one added to your To- Visit list Anoop..and this being in South should be doable for you. 🙂
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Lot of places in to-visit list Somali. I have lost count actually.
It is in south but these days I come to India for 10 days or so. Hence never get the time to go for a good, long trip.
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Yeah that’s a problem..so just keep in your wish list,,when the time comes you will land up there.
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🙂 Yes. Can do only that for now, sadly!
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We were supposed to visit Coorg this summer, but sadly it got cancelled. Maybe, next year.
Great narration, Somali and stunning pics. By the way, why is the elephant chained?
Have a wonderful week!
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Thank you Kiran. Hope you go next year. The elephant is chained for safety reasons. There was an incident last year when an elephant had gone berserk. To avoid such incidents they put a chain around the big elephants. Have a nice day. 🙂
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Couple of years back I had visited and it was the Orange Country resorts and I can recollect every bit of the travel and description you have made.
Yes, the evening cultural activity in the the resort is what they try to present the culture and tradition of the locals and it was indeed quite fascinating to hear their part of the story. The elephant camp, it was enjoyable see the elephants from very close quarters, and the Tibetan Monastery was serene and rich with the decoration, yes, I never knew it was second largest establishment…
I also visited the Kabini Forest, I don’t know whether you combined the package, it is equally fascinating to be part of the forest and the ride a boat on the river diving the two forest and see the animals all across. Thanks for the lovely post, nostalgic for me…
😀
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Thank you Nihar. Nice to know that this got you in a nostalgic frame. We missed the Kabini Forest, which is said to offer a variety of flora and fauna. That would have made it even better. Have a good day. 🙂
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You too have a lovely day!!!
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The post kind of rejuvenated me! Great post Somali. Have a good day😃
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Hey Thank you Re. You too have a great day !
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Very nice blog. You’ve given us a birds eye view of the whole area. Brought back many happy memories of our visit to this heavenly place almost 25 years back.
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Thank you sir. Good to know that the post brought back your happy memories of Coorg. Have a nice day.
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Photographs and descriptions are excellent Somali. We were planning our holidays. You have made our task easy.
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Good to know that. Thank you Ratna.
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Its a good travelogue. Inspiring enough to visit. You remembered the names and places so meticulously. Thats amazing. Flawless write up!!
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Thank you Rajat.
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Kodagu ( formerly called Coorg ) is the most picturesque place of Karnataka .
I never saw Coorg .However since my school days I had the picture of Coorg
in my imagination .Later during my service in CRPF I had some friends from
Coorg who had martial traditions .You have written a wonderful travelogue on Kodagu
(Coorg) and beautifully described Madikeri( formerly (Mercara ) and other places .
I particularly liked the elephant story . All the photographs are excellent.
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Thank you. 🙂 General Kariappa was from Coorg too.
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Field Marshal KM Cariappa (1900-1993) was the first Field Marshal and the first
C-in-C of the Indian Army .I had the opportunity to talk to him .
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It may be good to have a post on Field Marshal Cariappa. 🙂
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It is a good idea .
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Coorg – been part of my places to visit for such a long time! 🙂
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It can be a nice backdrop for your Vampire stories. 🙂
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Yes, need some extra time there for the same reason 🙂
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Very nicely written
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Thank you Ranjani. 🙂
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I’ve been there. It’s a great hill station. Beautifully narrated with lovely pics. Loved the close up of flowers very much.
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Thank you Ravish. Have a great day. 🙂
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Lovely pictures Somali. I have always wanted to visit Coorg but have to still make it happen:)
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Thanks Lata.Hope you are able to make it happen soon. 🙂
Have a great day.
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Nice concise post.
Did you not try the local coffee?
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Oh yes ! How could I not mention coffee! Have a nice day Deepak.
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The Beauty of Coorg is a unique feature of the Place itself.. Brings back my memories of visiting the place staying in Orange County for 2 days.. Right Post of the Season!
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Thank you Sir. Orange County seems to be a favorite with many people.
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I have been there thrice, yet not completely satisfied. 🙂
Loved seeing your captures.
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Thanks Indrani. These are the kind of places where one feels like going again and again. 🙂
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Wish to go there someday. Beautiful pictures 🙂
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Purba, the hill stations of South are somewhat different from the hill stations of North. Will be an interesting comparison for you. Have a nice day. 🙂
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You are awesome 🙂 keep the same.. Inspiring-posts
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Thank you Vikas. Happy that you liked the post. Have a good day.
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Lovely pics 😃
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Thank you Anita. Have a nice day.
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I have been to Ooty a couple of times (had too many home-made chocolates there) when i was in Bangalore, but missed this place.
I heard it is awesome, as is apparent from your description also. Maybe some other day…
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He he home made chocolates are really good. The place is awesome. Yes maybe some other day..
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Well described informative post Somali…loved your clicks
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Thank you Bushra. Have a pleasant day.
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Thanks for letting me re-live my trip to Coorg. Staying in coffee estates was always a high point for me. Also, the little rafting expedition near the Dubare elephant park . Keep sharing.
Cheers
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Aww that baby elephant is so cute!
I love Coorg, it’s one of my favourite places. Especially the golden temple.
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Good to know that Sreesha, and yes the baby elephant was too cute. 🙂
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the description and the photos are lovely…….
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Thank you Shivangi.
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what a beauty !! Coorg is now being a hot destination for travellers and tourists. It has a lot of scenic point to visit. It is great to see Coorg through you camera .
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Thank you Yogi ji. As you have visited monasteries in the north, you may also like to see a Tibetan monastery in the South sometime.
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Awesome Post!!!! 🙂
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Thank you Gurmeet.
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Lovely post.This post bought back our memories. Coorg is the first post on our blog.First road trip before 7 years. Did u get the chance to go to Abbey falls? Thanks for bringing back those memories.
http://www.srikri.com/
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Thank you Srikrishna. We had stopped shortly at the Abbey falls but it had started raining , so could not take pictures. Will read the account of your roadtrip to Coorg. Have a nice day.
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We are Srikri( Sriram & Krithiga).
Thanks for visiting and giving comment in our blog.
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Oops! Names noted Sriram & Krithiga. 🙂
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I would love to visit Coorg! Beautiful pictures Somali.
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Thank you Kalpana. It has a different flavour than the hill stations of the north.
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Great post! Amazing pics!!
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Thank you Amitji. Have a nice day.
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I always wanted to go to Coorg but could not visit so far. Nice pictures.
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Thank you. Hope you soon get a chance.
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I’ve heard so much about Coorg, about the scenic beauty, home-made chocolates and spices. This post made me know a few more things…. beautiful account and loved the pictures..especially of the flowers…. 🙂
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Thanks Maniparna. The spices have nice strong flavour and home made chocolates are absolutely yum ! Had many varieties such as ones with liquid coffee inside and also meetha pan masala flavoured chocolate.
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Wow! Mouth-watering…. 😛
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Coorg is beautiful n I can go there anytime 😛 Great that you liked it and covered Madikeri n Dubare. I haven’t been to these two places as everytime I am smitten by the coffee plantations and the waterfalls 🙂
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Plantations and Waterfalls have a charm of their own Roohi. Luckily we get to see some around Lonavla , but seeing the elephants from such close quarters was an awesome experience. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day . 🙂
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the description and the photos are lovely…….
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One of those places in Karnataka which has a bit of everything for everyone 🙂 .
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Thank you Rajiv. Aptly put – the place has a bit of everything for everyone. Have a nice day.
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I love Coorg. I stayed in a back to nature kind of resort which had no conventional electricity or mobile connectivity. It was refreshing. I did not like the Monastery much but enjoyed the Abbey Falls. Lovely travelogue, Somali.
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Thanks Rachna, No electricity and mobile connectivity sounds almost like attaining Nirvana. I had a similar experience in some ashram in Gangotri but that was long back. I guess worth trying out once in a while to disconnect with city life and connect with self.
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yayyy…been here and done that…love Coorg, Mangalore airport reminded me of the landing its like you landing on a flat plate…coming to Coorg it used to be our frequent getway when I was in Bangalore…nice post Somali 🙂
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Yes landing on a flat plate on top of green forests it is . 🙂 Thank you Shweta.
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Super awesome this is. I have been looking forward to going to Coorg since a long time, you definitely covered good number of places…! Awesome captures too… 🙂
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Thank you Jatin. If I am not mistaken you had written about a road trip to Mangalore.
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I’ve been around Mangalore a couple of times but never visited it really. Its such a beautiful place. The pics are wonderful and reading this I really wanna visit it 🙂 South India is so beautiful in general.
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Hope you get to go sometime . 🙂
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Yeah I hope so too 🙂
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Coorg was an amazing experience. Nature and sight seeing with a spiritual connect and history. Must visit.
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Coorg is my favorite getaway destination! Amazing write up 🙂
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Good to know that you like the write up. Thanks for stopping by Swheta. 🙂
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Some familiar sights there. 🙂
Elephants and water make such a great combo. I love how playful they get they get into the water. I can see you loved your Coorg trip.
I’ve been to Bylakuppe a few times; didn’t know that was the second largest settlement of Tibetans outside Tibet. Thank you for that info.
If you’d like to visit Kodagu of the early 20th century, you must read Tiger Hills. I loved the book. 🙂
Nice write up, Somali. 🙂
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Thank you Divya (now that I finally know your name :-)) for letting me know of Tiger Hills.
I have a penchant for knowing about the historical background of places. So will definitely get hold of it.
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Hi Somali, i was already following your blog, but did not know how I missed this post. Thanks for stopping by my post!
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Thanks you Preethi. It was nice to read the account of your trip to Coorg. 🙂
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Coorg is beautiful indeed.. and your write up is amazing..
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Thanks a lot Nikita for stopping by.
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