Coorg at its absolute best !

[NIP]

Lucky me. My wife is from Coorg and i never miss a chance to get there whenever possible. Coorg is aptly called the 'Scotland of India', and it only be explored with a vehicle that can get off the tarmac. This travelogue is about an area in Coorg called 'Chelavara'. The route:

Bangalore->Mysore->Hunsur->Tittimatti->Virajpet->Kadnur->Cheyandaney->Chelavra [Total Distance approx. 280kms]

Once you make the deviation from Cheyandaney to Chelavara, you are on a jeep trail and a few kms on this road and you can see the Chelavara Falls. This place really takes my breath away everytime. Its the most picture perfect waterfall I have ever seen ! ALso, the intensity of the waterfall varies a lot with the weather. I have seen this in many states from totally dry to a raging mosnstrous thundering waterfall !! During peak monsoon, this whole area is teeming with rivers and rapids and waterfalls !



Further up the trail, the road gets really nasty and you need a capable 4x4 to get up to the top of the mountains. The coffee plantations end,and you are in the proper Shola Forest terrain that are endemic to the Western Ghats. A Safari or Scorpio (2x4) would do when the weather is dry, but if it has rained, you will definitely need a 4x4. I have heard of people getting to the top even in cars, but that must have been years ago...the trail is filled with loose rocks and boulders now. I have failed to make it on top on my Scorpio once, although last weekend, the trail was fairly dry and the Scoprio made it to the top. If you do attempt this, be warned, your vehicle takes a proper thrashing !! A regular Mahindra Major would do perfectly in any weather.



Once on top, you are almost sure to be in the clouds no matter what time of the year you go there. I'll let the pictures do the talking from here



















The closest places to stay from here would be Virajpet (hotels) or Kakkabe (home stays/resorts). In case you need a jeep to get to this place, you can hire one from Kakkabe (15kms away) for about 400-500 bucks. There are lots of home stays around Kakkabe like Jungle Mount, Honey Valley, Misty Woods, Kings Cottage etc. You can PM me if you need details about these places. Also places to visit nearby are Tadiyandamol (highest peak in Coorg) which is an awesome 5-6hr trek. En route to Tadiyandamol, you can visit the Nalknad Palace and if its raining, many small waterfalls on the way up ! Oh yea...before I forget, we had another name for this place...umm..i forget...ah yes ! LEECH LAND !

[s0uljah]

I was wonderign why you hadnt mentioned the leeches... then saw your closing statement

Id seen this pics on your puter earlier.... brilliant!! Great seeing them again.

[NIP]

thanks for the nice words souljah...we're planning a camping trip there this month...i spent last two weekends here i can never get enough of this place...

[rjstyles69]

Hey NIP nice trip man..I was there last weekend and honestly like you mentioned its pretty evident that if you do the trail from the Nalknad palace to the adjacent mountain itself you car will take a sound beating.

If things work out, will try to make it to this place sometime soon.

[akroy]

Nice pics NIP.... Looks like Coorg is at its best now....

Abhi

[NIP]

Thanks rjstyles & Abhi...yes this is a good time to go to coorg. The rains are just setting in and its beautiful. rjstyles, yes you HAVE to make to to this place. Its a the perfect weekend getaway...when the weather is a lil dry, its camping heaven

Here's some pictures of the same waterfall in two completely different states. Sorry about the quality as these are extracted from a video. Here's a picture perfect waterfall:



ANd here's how it looks when its raining:









Some pictures of the jeep trail from a video I shot in 2006:

[s0uljah]

Wow Wow wow!!! You have been doing this for a long time na?? Since the gypsy days.

Must be some thrill navigating through the fury of the water

[NIP]

heheh...yea souljah ! i really explored S.India in my Gypsy. Man...those were the days

[benbsb29]

Nice pics there NIP. Coorg does look lovely in those snaps.

[ballkey]

Wow - that trail in the last photo looks scary. Can you get any traction through that slush? One slip and the valley has you..

[hydrashok]

Really nice photos NIP! You're making me want to go to Coorg

[spider77]

Great post NIP Iam planing fr this trip , Is the route u mentioned is theonly route?

I love the pictures, really Awesome
Thanks
Karan

[hondadude]

Awesome pics. One wouldn't find Chelavara on a normal tourist map. Too bad I didn't know about this when I visited Coorg a couple of months back.

Thanks for sharing.

[NIP]

hondadude...nope its not on any map...and the treacherous roads keep the tourists away i guess. I'm praying this place doesn't get commercialized.

Karan...the route i've mentioned is one way to get there...other way is:

Bangalore->Mysore->Hunsur->Kushalnagar->Madikeri->Murnad->Napokul->Kakkabe->Cheyandaney->Chelavara

I guess the distance will be the same..say +/_ 15-20kms. i havent used the hunsur->madikeri road in a while and i heard its good now. it was being fixed...so i guess this should be ok too...this route is more scenic and fun to drive too btw...theres a homestay called Kabbe Holidays on the way up to the mountains in Chelavara. I dont know much about the place, but you could hit it up on Google. I've heard some nice things about the folks who run it.

edit: here it is Homestay in Coorg, India - www.kabbeholidays.com

[kpzen]

Wow..!
Fantastic pics...! Now i'm surely gonna visit this place next time i'm in south.....