Ashish KumarIn October 2012, we were discussing places that can be covered in a two day outing . Each and every location was a minimum of around 250 kms from Bangalore and require at least 3 days for a satisfactory visit.
Finally after long discussion , Coorg being at around 270 kms, found a suitable destination. Shashikant, Shashank, Kumar Saurav, Mayur & Ujjawal accompanied me in this trip .
Our first stop was the Buddhist Namdroling Monastery, popularly known as The Golden Temple. The Tibetan Monastery is located around 6 kms from Kushalnagar town towards Mysore. This Tibetan settlement at Bailkoppa or Baylkuppe is the the second largest Tibetan settlement outside Tibet. There are over 7,000 monks and students at the Tibetan monastery.
The monastery not only attracts large number of young Tibetans seeking enlightenment and education, but also draws huge tourists from all over India and abroad.
All we had done there was to spend some time in the beautifully maintained gardens and the monastery complex. We found a peaceful environment in these monasteries that words can’t explain.
Later we started our way toward Coorg .The winding roads took us through a maze of greenery . At every labyrinthine corner, we meet a collage of colours which explode into shades of greens, browns and yellows. The roads seem to have no particular destination . It just lead us from one part of paradise to another.
As we squint though the green fabric , we pass plantations of coffee, cardamom and pepper which merge with forests, foliage and fauna.Finally we were in Coorg, locally known as Kodagu or Kodavu from the Kodavas who inhabit that region.
Next day we went to Talacauvery .It is the origin of Cauvery River from the Bramhagiri Hills. This place is treated as the holiest place in Karnataka. A small spring, Brahma kundike, marks the origin of the Caurvery, a temple was built on the spot where regular puja rituals took place.
From Talakaveri, steps lead-up to the nearby Brahmagiri peak, where the seven great sages called the Sapta Maharishis performed a special yagna.
Then we moved on to Abbey Falls, the main attraction of Madikeri, breathtaking waterfall where the Kaveri River cascades down a rock face from a height . A hanging bridge was built across the gorge there offering a good view of the falls.
We had our lunch on the way and proceed to the Dubare Elephant camp.We went for a rafting in the nearby Cauvery River. As it was not monsoon, it could merely to be called as rafting, however, we enjoyed that too a lot. Water level was low when we visited. Still it was a good experience. The guides were friendly and professional.
In the evening, we went to Madikeri market for shopping. Coorg as we all know is famous for Coffee, Spices, homemade chocolates and honey. So we bought all of them in adequate quantity.
Late evening we spent at the Raja’s seat ,which was actually a sunset point cum park with a musical fountain.That was just beautiful to sit and soak up a stunning view.
Next morning we went to the Omkareshwar temple . The temple complex was big with beautiful paintings around it. There were some people in the sanctum but the whole temple was almost empty.It was great to take some pictures and spend some peaceful time at a temple.
Later we proceed toward Nishargadhama. There was a hanging bridge over the entrance, which was very enjoyable as it was shaking while walking. Though this place claimed to be a wild life sanctuary, we hardly found any animal other than deer.
Lastly in evening we started our journey back to Bangalore leaving behind Scotland of India and taking away sweet memories along with us .