[ashis79]

I had been planning for this trip for a long time but could not find the right time to execute it. We decided to visit Coorg on the weekend before Diwali to take a break from the routine life. Did some online research including the Team-BHP travelogues which had lot of information.

Could not find any hotel in Madikeri after some enquiry as most of them were booked till end of October. Got the reference of the site Welcome to Home Stay Kodagu which was having details of the home stays in and around Madikeri. I was referred to a Home stay called “Fields way” near Sunticoppa which comes in between Kushal Nagar and Madikeri situated in a coffee estate. Looked like a decent place and advance booking was done.

Date of visit : 25-26th Oct 08
Vehicle : Swift VXI
Total Distance Covered: 690 KM
FE : 14 KM with 90% AC

Day I:
I had already tanked up the Swift the day before and other preparations were through. The original plan was to start early morning by 4.00 am from Bangalore and to hit Kushal nagar by 9.00 AM. But somewhat got delayed by 1 hour and left Bangalore around 5.00 AM. I had earlier enquired about the road condition from Bangalore to Madikeri and the Owner of the home stay had ensured that the road till Kushal Nagar is in excellent condition. I was bit apprehensive about the weather since a cyclone had hit Chennai and it was raining heavily on Friday night but somewhat decided to go ahead.

Drive through the Mysore high way was a breeze as usual with intermittent rain and had a lot of company from other vehicles leaving Bangalore that morning. After Srirangapatna, took a right turn which connects to SH 88 after 20 kms. This 20 km stretch does have some bad patched in between but after the SH 88 starts, the road is smooth till Kushal Nagar. We were at Kushal Nagar by 9.15 AM the luckily the rain had stopped. We went to the Tibetan camp at Bylekuppe to see the Golden temple. This place has a different charm as the whole area is given to refugees from Ladakh with lot of Buddhist monasteries around. The Golden temple has gold plated Buddhist deities along with colorful designs across the temple. After visiting the Golden temple, had breakfast at a hotel in Kushal Nagar and proceeded for Nisargadhama. Had to remove Dubare elephant camp from my list of places because of the rain.

Nisargadhama is an island formed in Cauvery river with bamboo plantations and dear park in it. You have to go through a hanging bridge to cross Cauvery on the way to Nisargadhama. Cauvery was in full bloom due to heavy rains and crowd was really enjoying it. Gave a call to the Owner of the Home stay who came to pick us up from the main road before Sunti coppa and it was already 12.30 PM. The home stay is inside a coffee estate along with other plantations. The place had a soothing effect on us after months of hectic work and busy city life. Had a delicious Coorg lunch with traditional dishes and rested for a while.

In the after noon, went to Abby falls which is located in a private estate and lot of scenery around on the way to the falls. After Abby falls, went to Raja’s seat and spent a lazy after noon there enjoying the beauty of nature. The road to Abby falls is bit narrow and there are lot of curves. The stretch between Kushal Nagar and Madikeri is mixture of bad patches and reasonable ones. Before going back to the home stay, went to the near by Omkareshwar temple for a darshan.

Day II:

After Break fast, had a walk around the home stay with the owner. We were quite engrossed with the variety of vegetations in the surroundings. Had some snaps of the coffee estate and left the home stay around 9 AM.

After reaching madikeri, continued for Bhagamandala. The road to Bhagamandala from Madikeri is quite good apart from few patches and the scenery is awesome. Bhagamandala is a sangam where three river confluence and is a sacred place for Hindus. By the time we reached there, it was crowded with lot of people doing puja and taking a holy dip in the river.

Around 11 AM we started for Talacauvery, would bet that the view is breathtaking till talacauvery and you find lot of shops with honey and other local made products. Talacauvery is around 8 km from Bhagamandala and road condition is good.

I liked the way the place has been maintained. We decided to relax there for some time and then came back to madikeri town for lunch. After lunch spent some time at the madikeri fort which is converted as a Governement office now.

Did some shopping in the local market area and started from Madikeri at 4.00 PM to Bangalore. It took 5.30 hours to reach home from Madikeri.

[rex_varghese]

Those river pictures are great!

Regards
Rex

[whitesquall]

The snaps are fantastic!

[maddy42]

Beautiful pics man. Well am A non resident coorg now!!! And am missing home. Well badly waiting for the weekend to get home. So thanks for them
Could you post pictures of the homestay?

Here are some pics of coorg in the rain. Sorry for but couldn resist.

[ashis79]

Thanks Guys for the complements.

Maddy you are lucky to be from such a nice place . Here are some snaps of the home stay.

[ashis79]

Some more snaps of Coorg.......

[maddy42]

Great pictures buddy.

Some history about the bathing ghat shown in picture
This is the place called Bhagamandala. Its the confluence of 3 rivers. Look at the pic where you can see 2 of them. One which comes under the bridge is sujyothi and the one which is coming from the left side is cauvery. This is the place where people can see the river after it exits from the tank in Talacauvery. The 3rd river is a mystical one or a stream by the name of kanika. Its a spring to be exact.
This is the place where pilgrims offer pind to their ancestors by performing pooja on the banks of the river.
There is a temple on the banks. Its got stone carvings and also was visited by one of the Raja's whose signature is there in this temple. Ask the temple staff and they will point it out to you. Renovation of this temple is going on.
Some of the carvings which are disfigured was due to the attack of one of the raja from mysore who wanted to get this place under his rule after capturing the people. His way to talacauvery was thwarted about a KM from there by a Swarm of Wild bees due to which the temple at Talacauvery is intact.

PS: This waterfalls is abbey falls and looks good in the rains. But for all visiting there Please Dont step into the waters here. DONT ENTER THE WATER HERE.

@ashis79 Nice car buddy. Is it a Vdi? And thanks for the homestay pics. Nice place. Next time you could try our member Princezahed's place maybe

[ashis79]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Great pictures buddy.

Some history about the bathing ghat shown in picture
This is the place called Bhagamandala. Its the confluence of 3 rivers. Look at the pic where you can see 2 of them. One which comes under the bridge is sujyothi and the one which is coming from the left side is cauvery. This is the place where people can see the river after it exits from the tank in Talacauvery. The 3rd river is a mystical one or a stream by the name of kanika. Its a spring to be exact.
This is the place where pilgrims offer pind to their ancestors by performing pooja on the banks of the river.
There is a temple on the banks. Its got stone carvings and also was visited by one of the Raja's whose signature is there in this temple. Ask the temple staff and they will point it out to you. Renovation of this temple is going on.
Some of the carvings which are disfigured was due to the attack of one of the raja from mysore who wanted to get this place under his rule after capturing the people. His way to talacauvery was thwarted about a KM from there by a Swarm of Wild bees due to which the temple at Talacauvery is intact.

PS: This waterfalls is abbey falls and looks good in the rains. But for all visiting there Please Dont step into the waters here. DONT ENTER THE WATER HERE.

@ashis79 Nice car buddy. Is it a Vdi? And thanks for the homestay pics. Nice place. Next time you could try our member Princezahed's place maybe

@ Maddy - This is VXI model. I was not aware about Princezahed's place in Coorg but will defintely try that next time.

[saleem_k]

Hi Maddy,

I have been to Coorg and I'm well aware of how beautiful the place is. Although we say that we can't capture the real beauty in a cam, your pics prove otherwise. They have captured the beauty of this place to a great extent. I thoroghly enjoyed viewing the pics and recalling my stay there earlier in April this year.

I also liked your description of Bhagamandala, which I couldn't visit during my trip.

Overall great pics and information. Thanks dude!

Regards,

Saleem.

[saleem_k]

Hi Maddy,

Inspired by your pics, i'm posting a few taken during my trip. Mostly of Tala Cauvery. No intentions of sabotaging your thread, I just wanted to share my happiness with my friends here.


Views from our Home Stay




Tala Cauvery - Origin of Cauvery River.


views of Temple area at Tala Cauvery.




Steps leading to the hill top adjacent to the Tala Cauvery temple.


View from the top of the hill at Tala Cauvery.


Another view from atop the hill at Tala Cauvery.


Abbey Falls - Quite crowded on Weekends I guess.


A serene lake located a little away from our homestay.




Hope people here like the pics!

[maddy42]

@saleem this thread was started by ashis70 so all the credit does go to him fully. SO the thanks you said was for him.

@ashis79 am sorry for hijacking buddy. Great thread.

[saleem_k]

Oh guys! I'm so sorry for messing up identities here! Ashis, thanks for the wonderful thread and pics. Maddy i take back the compliments from you will give them to Ashis.

[ashis79]

Originally Posted by saleem_k

Oh guys! I'm so sorry for messing up identities here! Ashis, thanks for the wonderful thread and pics. Maddy i take back the compliments from you will give them to Ashis.

Never mind saleem. The snaps you have put are very good and depict diversified beauty of Coorg.

By the way, where was your homestay located, can you please post some picture of it.

[saleem_k]

Ashis, I don't remember the name of the homestay as it was booked by one of my friends. I will try and find out from him. In the meantime, i'm posting few pics of the homestay. I don't have the pics of the interiors, although I can safely say the place is perfect for 1 to 2 couples.

Entrance to the Home Stay.


Front View of the house we stayed in. It has all the facilities.


Open-area on one side of the house, it is a steep slope and touches a road that leads to the entrance.


One more view of the area where bonfire was arranged. You can see a brick place where bonfire is placed. It was a wonderful experience.


We arranged two beds outside near the bonfire. Stayed there till midnight, it was very very cold but the bonfire kept us warm. Great experience. Wifey enjoying the bonfire.

[9tMax]

Beautiful shots.
Ashis & Saleem - can you people share the tariff details of your respective home stays?