Coorg Holiday

After a hectic day at work, I was eagerly looking forward to our trip to Coorg. I left office around 5 pm and came back home. After wrapping up some last minute packing, Vikram and I were off to board our bus to Bangalore. Even though sleeper buses have been in India for quite a few years now, this was the first time we were going to be travelling in one and I was quite excited at the prospect. Our bus arrived at the designated time – 9:30 pm. As soon as we stepped in, we were pleasantly surprised to see how comfortable our ride was going to be. Soon we settled in our cozy sleeper beds and before we knew it we dozed off.

The next morning, we woke up refreshed from a good night’s sleep. We reached Majestic Bus Terminus in Bangalore around 5:45 am. We were to be picked up in an Indica cab and driven to Coorg. The driver had called in advance and assured us that he was waiting for us. However, as soon as we got down, there was no sign of him. And to add to our anxiety, he was not answering his phone. Meanwhile, the local auto rickshaw drivers swooped down upon us and bombarded us with incessant requests offering a ride. After about 10 minutes of trying to evade these requests, much to our relief our driver finally called us. Without further ado, we got into the cab and were off to Coorg.

The weather was pleasant and so was the ride. The air was refreshingly cool. We stopped for breakfast on the way. As per our planned itinerary we were supposed to check-in at the hotel in Madikeri around 12 pm and then proceed for sightseeing after relaxing for a while. But the driver suggested that we finish seeing a few attractions en route and check in at the hotel around 5pm. We agreed and so we ended up touring Coorg the first day in our night pants!

Our first stop was Bylakuppe – a Tibetan settlement in the west of Mysore district. The settlements were established on land leased by the state government to accommodate some of the Tibetan refugees who came to resettle in India after 1959. We visited the Namrodoling Monastery (better known as the Golden Temple). At the entrance were the quarters where the monks lived. The monks in the settlement were dressed in their traditional attire of maroon and yellow. There were serious looking old monks as well as young monks laughing and running about. I’ve always thought of monks as serious people. So I found it amusing to see these young monks running about. After walking further down, we came across a landscaped garden where the Golden Temple stood. It was a stunning sight – vibrant and colorful. The roof had the typical curved edges that are present in Oriental structures.

When we stepped inside the temple, an oasis of calm greeted us. It felt like we were in a totally different world. Three beautiful 40 feet tall golden statues each of Padmasambhava, Buddha and Amitayus looked down upon us from above the altar. The statues are made of copper and plated with gold. They were positioned in such a way that sunlight fell directly on them giving them a surreal glow. Two huge dragons flanked the middle statue – that of Buddha. In front of the statues were rows and rows of wooden benches equipped with elaborate items for prayer.

The walls were adorned with colorful paintings depicting Gods and demons from Tibetan Buddhist mythology. The altar was decorated with flowers, candles and incense, and pigeons nesting amongst the golden statues flew happily around the temple. I was surprised to find that photography was allowed even inside the temple.

Outside the main temple, there were other smaller temples and another prayer hall. As we approached the prayer hall, we could hear the collective chants of hundreds of monks praying in unison and even clapping in between. After sneaking a glance at the praying monks, we moved on to see a replica of the Palyul monastery situated in Tibet.

After soaking in the beauty of the place, we moved on to check out the different stores around the temple area that sold Tibetan jewellery, handicrafts, incense and souvenirs. We bought a couple of souvenirs and proceeded to our next destination.

After lunch, we went to Nisargadhama, which is an island formed by the river Kaveri. It had lush green trees and scenic trails to explore. We crossed a hanging rope bridge in order to reach the island. We walked the trails and at one spot stopped to have cucumber and guavas smeared with salt and chili powder. It was drizzling on and off now. We sat in wooden gazebos and climbed tree houses. We also spotted several deer in the island. The cool air and the lush greenery combined with the sound of the flowing river made the place enchanting. I saw a sign board that said “Elephant Ride” and got excited. But I was disappointed to know that it was closed during the rainy season.

By now it was around 3:30 pm and we suggested that we go straight to the hotel to check –in. But the driver said that we can also see Abbey Falls today since the crowd will be lesser compared to the next day (next day being a Saturday). So once again we agreed and drove off to Abbey Falls.

From the point where we got off the car, there were stone steps leading down to the waterfalls for about half a kilometer. We climbed down the stone steps set in the green forest. I wasn’t expecting much. I had imagined the falls to be quite small. But to our surprise it turned out be fairly big with water gushing down forcefully since it was the rainy season. We soaked in the beauty of the falls. There was also a small bridge in front of the falls where we could go and feel the mist from the falls on our faces. It felt heavenly! After spending some more time near the falls we headed back up and grabbed steaming hot cups of tea.

At around 6 pm, we checked into our hotel. We had booked in the Solitaire Exotica Resort. The resort was good but it was about 5-6 km away from Madikeri town. We walked around the resort and its surroundings and then relaxed in our room for a while. I was slightly dissatisfied that we could not go for a walk to explore Madikeri town since we were staying far from the town centre. However, it started raining heavily. So, I consoled myself saying that we would not have been able to do it anyway J

We watched TV, had dinner and slept like a log.

The next day morning, we woke up and had a delicious breakfast of aaloo parathas and tea at the resort. After breakfast, we set off for Talakaveri, which is the place that is generally considered to be the source of the river Kaveri. Talakaveri is about 40 km away from Madikeri accessible by winding roads leading up to the top of the hill. The air was so misty that I was wondering how on earth was the driver able to see where he was going. Thankfully we reached the top safely. A small tank had been erected at the place that is said to be the origin. There was also a small temple behind it. The water from the tank was channeled to fall on the head of a stone Nandi. The place had a divine aura to it. We threw a couple of coins in the tank hoping for some luck J After praying at the temple we climbed some 500 steps to reach the view point on top of the hill. We couldn’t get much of a view since it was very misty. But inhaling the fresh air of the mountains together with the heavy mists made the climb worth it. We spent some time at the top and then began descending the steps. At this point, it started raining heavily. Thankfully, I had an umbrella with me and both of us climbed down.

We drove back to Madikeri and on our way stopped at Triveni Sangam in Bhagamandala. It is at this place that the river Kaveri is joined by its tributary Kannike and the mythical river Sujyoti. It is considered to be a sacred confluence of rivers. We dipped our feet in the cold waters.

Next, we had lunch and post lunch we visited a view point in Madikeri called Raja’s seat. By now the rains had stopped. It was 2:30 pm and the driver dropped us off saying he would return around 5pm. Raja’s seat had a spectacular view of the valley below. We sat admiring the view for a while and then walked about the park surrounding Raja’s seat. Then, we walked in the streets of Madikeri town looking at the shops and taking in the general buzz of the small town. While walking, we came across a group of boys playing cricket in a wet muddy ground. We stopped to watch their game for some time. Then we returned to the park and bought some yummy bhel puri to eat. We also rode on the little train that runs around the park.

At around 5 pm the driver came and on our way back to the hotel we stopped at a coffee shop. Since it was Vikram’s birthday, we had 2 slices of black forest cake, after which the driver dropped us off at our hotel. We didn’t feel like being indoors. So we asked the manager of the resort if we can talk a walk in the coffee plantations which we guessed belonged to the resort. He said we could and so we strolled in the coffee plantations. As we walked, we discovered a small canal and sat by it. We looked at different interesting looking varieties of fruits growing on the trees and listened to the surprisingly loud sounds of the birds. We climbed the stairs of one of the nearby home stays to find a breathtaking view of the mountains and lush green trees washed by the rains. Then we returned to the resort where Vikram took a dip in the swimming pool. The water was cold which he found refreshing. Then, we sat in the chairs by the side of the pool where discotheque lights were put up and Hindi film songs were playing. After dinner, we hit the bed.

Morning came and it was time to check out of the hotel. We had breakfast and checked out. We visited the Omkareshwara temple, a Shiva temple located at the heart of Madikeri town. The temple was built around a central pool and legend has it that the king who built this temple brought the Shivlinga from Kashi. This was our last stop at Coorg. After visiting the temple, we started our journey back to Bangalore at around 10 am. We stopped once for lunch and reached Bangalore around 4 in the evening. Our bus to Chennai was at 10:30 pm. So we had time to visit some of Vikram’s relatives living in Bangalore. We had a good time with them, had dinner together and bid them goodbye. The journey back to Chennai was also very comfortable thanks again to the sleeper coaches.

Overall, it was a very memorable trip and no doubt we enjoyed it thoroughly!