A date with nature @ Coorg

A signboard in Coorg said "Take away nothing but memories". And Coorg has been very generous to give us such fabulous memories. For me I had a sense of deja vu as the greenery and the climate of Coorg reminded me of North east

After planning for this trip for almost a year ,we started off for Coorg from Bangalore on 19th June Friday night at about 1. We reached Nagarhole National Park at abt 5.30 after a nice journey . Since the park was not open till 6 we passed time clicking snaps. At 6 the park opened and we drivved through it and the drive was an eventful one. We saw herds of deer and elephants and ocasionally we spotted peacocks but since they were a bit camera shy we couldnt shoot them. Our most interesting encounter was with a bear as a result of taking a wrong turn on the road. We saw him basking in the early light of dawn taking a morning walk. And leaving him on his own took a hasty retreat.

Nagarhole National Park

We then had our breakfast and left for Irupu falls. We reached Iruppu falls at about 8. After a nice half a kilometer climb we reached the point where the falls have started. It had a splendid view and we spent sometime enjoying the serne beauty of the falls.

Iruppu Falls
After that we left for Madikeri town and reached there at about 1.30 pm. after checking into a hotel and having lunch we left for Fort. It had a small museum with various sculpture and painting. Our nest stop was Omkareshwar Temle which is a shiv temple inside the city. And then we left for Raja Seat. There we got a misty view of the town that was simply amazing .

Raja Seat

In the evening we tried some Coorg cuisine that included rice noodles, rotis made from rice flour, chicken curry and bamboo shoot. Coorg is famous for its pork but me being a non eater had to mis it

Abbey Falls

The next morning after having a good nights rest we left for Abby falls en route to Bangalore at abt 10.30 . These falls were also v beautiful but were not very well mantained.

Duubare Elephant Camp

Our next destination was the Dubare Elephant Camp where we reached at about 12.30. There many activities that can be done there like elephant ride, boat ride, rafting , elephant bathing etc but since we reached a bit late we could only go for boat ride and elephant bath. It was a nice and unique experience bathing the elephant though initially i was a bit apprehensive.

A Rabbit in Cauvery Nisargandha

At about 2.00 our next spot which was Cauvery Nisargandha. This was actually an island surrounded by river Cauvery. There were bamboo groves in this island and we happend to pass by a group of monkey who were showing their gymnastic skills to us After that we left for Bylakope Tibetan Monstery post lunch and reached there at 4.00. The tibetan monastery was inside a tibbetan colony entering which we felt we have reached a diffrent p;lace becasue everyone there was tibetan. The monastery had a very peaceful ambience with the dedicated lamas dedicately doing their own work.

Bylakope Tibetan Monstery

And then at 6.30 we left for Bangalore. Even the journey with 4 tired people and beautiful old songs playing in background was a memorable one and finally we were back home at about 12.30.

To say this trip was an enjoyable one would be an understatement.I would just say that I was lucky to spend two daus in the lush green hills of coorg and if you are staying close to Bangalore or Mysore , do plan a trip. You will enjoy a lot......