Coorg and Kodavas

Kodagu (Coorg is the anglicized name of Kodagu) is one of the most picturesque district in Karnataka. It is famous for its dense forests, coffee plantations, oranges and honey. It is the home of Kodava people. Popular belief is that Kodavas are descendents of Greek soldiers. While, I am not an anthropologist, all that I can state with confidence are that Kodavas are quite distinct from any other South Indians - in physique (they are fairer, attractive and well built), language (Kodava Takk), lifestyle and in customs they follow. They have a distinct dress too -  Men wear Kupya, a sort of black robe and women drape their saree with the pleats at the back.

Most people mistake Coorg for Madikeri. Madikeri is the capital of Coorg district. Coorg has following important tourist circuits

1. Madikeri and surrounding areas 
2. Siddapur and Pollibetta. (Pollibetta is famous for Tata Estates)
3. Kabini - Nagarhole National Park
4. Virajpet
5. Kakkabe ( There are interesting homestays in Kakkabe and Kakkabe is the base station for Tadiyendamol trek)
6. Kushalnagar and Dubare elephant camp

We had decided to focus only on Madikeri circuit

Reaching Madikeri

To reach Madikeri, you need to take the Mysore Highway. Since, I started early in the morning, the highway was empty and I drove at a break neck speed (by my standards, I am a very cautious driver).  To reach Madikeri, you need not go till Mysore, there is a right turn to Hunsur, immediately after Srirangapatna and that is the road you need to take to Madikeri. Road is excellent till Kushalnagar.

Enroute to Madikeri are two important destinations : Bylekuppe and Cauvery Nisargadhama

Reaching Madikeri by KSRTC Bus

Service Type	Departure from Bangalore
Airavath Volvo	07:00
Rajahamsa	08:30
Rajahamsa	10:00
Airavath Volvo	11:30
Airavath Volvo	14:00
Airavath Volvo	16:00
Rajahamsa	17:00
Airavath Volvo	21:00
Rajahamsa	21:15
Rajahamsa	21:35
Rajahamsa	21:45
Airavath Volvo	21:45
Rajahamsa	22:30
Rajahamsa	23:00
Rajahamsa	23:00
Airavath Volvo	23:10
Rajahamsa	23:15
Rajahamsa	23:30
Rajahamsa	23:55
Rajahamsa	Midnight 12 PM

If you are driving down, you need to visit Bylekuppe and Nisargadhama enroute to Madikeri

Bylakuppe
Before Kushalnagar enroute to Madikeri from Mysore is the Tibetian town of  Bylakuppe. It is one of the largest Tibetan settlement in the world and looks like mini Tibet too. The camp is very well maintained and that can be judged the effort they have taken to maintain the lush beautiful green lawn.

The major attraction at Bylakuppe camp is the Golden Temple. The entrance to the main temple is through two gigantic red doors with golden handles. The walls of the temple are full of richly painted buddist murals depicting life of Buddha in his various avatars. There are three large golden statues (of Sakyamuni Buddha, Padmasambhava and Avalokitesvara.) placed on the platform in such a way that they face Tibet. The huge deities, colorful paintings all around are mesmerizing. The main temple at the complex is apparently based on the one that existed in Tibet. Unfortunately, the original temple does not exist anymore.

Outside the temple, you will find a handicraft shop selling Tibetian shawls and interesting artifacts. At Bylakuppe, you can savour authentic Tibetian cuisne. I would suggest Tibetan tea, Momos (steamed meat-stuffed dumplings) and Thuk-pa, a kind of soup. If you really want to savour Tibetian culture, you should opt to stay at Bylakuppe and attend the early morning prayer. I am told that shapten (prayer) starts by 5 am at Sera JeMonastery and witnesses more than 2000 monks in attendence.

Cauvery Nisargadhama

Again this is found enroute to Madikeri before 3 Kms before Kushalnagar - just look out for the Karnataka tourism yellow board.Nisargadhama is breathtakingly beautiful small riverine island, formed by the river Cauvery. You will have to cross a wooden hanging bridge to reach Nisargadhama. There are plenty of walkways in the island where one can spend endless hours (The place gets a bit crowded on weekends). Interesting things to do include a short elephant ride thru the bamboo groove and pedal boat ride across a small stream. The most interesting part of Nisargadhama are the machans that are built on the banks of the river. The view from the machan cannot be explained in words and is best experienced.

Cauvery Nisargadhama closes by 5:45 in the evening for day trippers. (It opens by 10 AM in the morning). We also got to know that there are Forest Department cottages in Nisargadhama. I will certainly stay in one of those next time around. Booking them might be a pain as one has to do it thru' Forest department and send DDs in advance.

Madikeri Accommodation

We reached Madikeri by 5 in the evening and we had not made any prior accommodation arrangements. I had to scout for a hotel. Homestays in Coorg is an excellent and popular option. Typically, you stay in an estate along with the family of the estate owners. My wife was keen to stay in one of the estates, but I dissuaded her. Good decent homestays start at around Rs. 2000 per person and I felt that it was way beyond my budget. 

The politically right reason given to my wife was that this was our first trip to Coorg and therefore we need to do a fair amount of sight seeing. Estate stays are good when one plans to spend most part of the stay in the estate and indulge in treks and long walks. Anyways, I could convince my wife that a good budget hotel at Madikeri is the best option and we checked into Hotel HillTown . Journey was tiring and we had a quick supper and went off to bed.

Madikeri and Abbi Falls
Madikeri is the most important town of Kodagu district. There are many “places to visit” near Madikeri. After a sumptuous brunch at the hotel, we headed to Abbi falls which is 10 Kms away from the hotel. The road to Abbi falls passes Raja Tombs (mausoleums built for the Kodagu royalty). The drive to Abbi falls is very pleasant drive as the road is flanked by private coffee estates and cardamom plantations. Abbi falls, per se, is in a private estate. The water plunges down a height of 21m, hits a huge boulder forming a thick mist which is a great sight to behold. I personally feel that this place can be improvised a lot. – especially the approach from where one parks the car, the viewing platform and the suspension bridge.
We had planned to catch sunset at Raja seat at Madikei. However, the trip to Bylakuppe meant that by the time we reached Madikeri, the sun had long set.

Omkareshwar Temple
This temple fuses many schools of architecture - Indo-Sarcenic and Kerala . I had never seen a temple with dome and minarets before. The temple opens at 6:30 in the morning and we must have been one of the earliest visitors to the temple.  

Talacauvery
We then headed to Talacauvery which is at a distance of 48 Kms from Madikeri. Enroute to Talacauvery , is  Bhagamandala – a very important religious centre. Legend has it Bhaganda Maharshi installed Shivalinga at Bhagamandala. Bhagamandala is famous for  "Triveni Sangama" – confluence of river Cauvery, Kannike and the mythical river Sujyothi. The Kerala style temple at Baghamandala is really interesting and popular belief is that one needs to first take a bath here and then proceed to Talacauvery. KSTDC Yatri Nivas near Bhagamandala is a good option for budget travelers and I have already filed that for my next visit.

Talacauvery is around eight kilometers from Bhagamandala. For Kodavas, Goddess Cauvery is the presiding deity and Talacauvery is the birthplace of Cauvery. River cauvery begins its life as a small pond called Brahmakundike. The water at Brahmakundike  is considered holy and people are not allowed to touch. There is a small tank built specially for pilgrims who want to take bath at Talacauvery. Talacauvery witnesses huge crowd on Tulasankramana day (mid October). On this day, at a pre determined moment water, gushes miraculously as a fountain at Brahmakundike. Kodavas believe that Godess Cauvery herself appears as a spring on that day.

Interestingly, I was informed that Talacauvery and Baghamandala were renovated recently. Going by the facilities and general state of these places, I am not sure what were renovated or improved. Nature has blessed Kodagu abundantly, but the facilities for tourists are the same as you would see in any other place in India (which has not gone for renovation and recent make over!)

Kodava Cuisine
We returned back to Madikeri and we were dying to try authentic Kodava cuisine. I am a bit of foodie and had heard a lot about the uniqueness of Kodava cusisne - pandi (pork) curry  and kadumbuttu. Though non veg dishes of Kodavas are popular - mutton is an integral part, they also have a rich fare for vegetarians too - Nool puttu (noodles,) votti (rice rotti,) and bembla curry (bamboo curry) are popular Kodava dishes. I checked with many people to find the best Kodava restaurant in town and a local gentleman suggested “Coorg Cuisinette”. The name looked promising and we decided to check out the restaurant. It is on the second floor of a non descript building near KSRTC bus stand. Food was just about average. I would be happy if some one can guide me to a better restaurant for Kodava food in Madikeri. If truth be told, I had tasted better fare at a Kodava food festival organized by a hotel in Bangalore.

Post lunch, we headed back to Bangalore. It was a hectic but wonderful weekend trip. I plan to go back to Coorg again and stay at one of the estates (Coorg Homestays as they are called). Coorg offers excellent trekking opportunities and an estate stay might be a better way to experience real kodagu culture, especially the Kodava Cuisine

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Contribution by Mr. Manohar Shetty. Manohar works in a leading IT services company in Bangalore. In his words - "I  am more of  home-body and not given to much travel. When I do  travel, I try to imbibe the local culture and note every small detail that might help others planning a trip. I hope this travelogue does help you to get more out of your Coorg holiday."

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