biking trip from manipal-sullia-coorg-madikeri-nagarahole

hi guys i m totally new to this site, actually i wanted a favour from u guys. me and a couple of my friends are planning a biking trip in january-2009 to coorg-madekeri-nagarahole and back(but in a different route).

i need advice on

1.what places to visit in coorg, madekeri and nagarahole.
2.which road to take
3.cheap places to stay (since v are still studying)
4.some secret waterfalls or other places to explore
5. what activities in nagarahole.
6. to hire a forest dept jeep or a private jeep for safari
7. can v trek inside nagarahole

Hi Royster,

Welcome to IM ! I have provided my comments inline ..

General info :-

1.Madikeri and Nagarhole (Both are in Coorg district only) and the distance between them is 84 kms
2. From Manipal, the Route to take is Manipal - Mangalore- Madikeri-Gonikoppal-Iruppu falls -Kutta - Nagarahole NP
3.Two-Wheelers are not Allowed inside Nagarahole NP

1.what places to visit in coorg, madekeri and nagarahole.

In coorg District, the main places are madikeri [ For Abbey Falls, Raja's Seat,Raja's Fort,Raja's tomb] , Nagarahole NP [ For Wildlife, Scenic Drives], Iruppu Falls [For Scenic Watefalls and nice Brahmagiri Mountain Range], Polibetta [For Thadiyanmol Peak trekking] and Talacauveri [ Not only for religious importance and Birth place of Cauvery but for exceptional scenic drive and again to View Brahmagiri Moutain range]You could search in our wildlife forum with "Nagarahole" and you will get the complete info.


2.which road to take

Answered Above.

3.cheap places to stay (since v are still studying)

Near To Madikeri Busstand, there are quite a lot of private lodges where you could check with

4.some secret waterfalls or other places to explore

From Nagarahole NP [Kutta End], You could venture into Wayanad [Kerala] upto Thirunelli temple [Again Scenic with Brahmagiri Mountain Ranges] and Tholpetty WLS [Just 10 kms from Nagarahole NP..

5. what activities in nagarahole.

Forest Safari in Forest Dept Vehicle [For 165 Rs / Head] which will take around 1.1 hours OR Hiring a Forest Dept Jeep [Not sure on the cost ]
+
And If you hire Private Jeep, you could ask the driver to Drive from Forest Dept Gate [ Kutta End ]through the forests itself [ Not the Actual Safari] upto the forest dept gate in HD Kote End [This is 28 kms travel on nice road and we could see Deers /Elephants on this road itself]

6. to hire a forest dept jeep or a private jeep for safari

Answered above

7. can v trek inside nagarahole

Within Nagarahole NP, even 2 Wheelers are not allowed and hence trekking is not possible. For trekking, you could do Iruppu Falls visit [1 km trek] Or Bhagamandala to Talacauvery [ 8 kms trek] Or Thirunelli temple to Papavinasini river [1 km Trek]


Hope this helps & If you need more info please post !

your reply was very much helpful. also i have seen some snaps of a tibetian monestary is it in madikeri.

plus we were planning to take a different route on our way back so any suggestions.

Nice to know royster. Yes it's nearer to madikeri !

From Madikeri, take Mysore road and upto 23 kms it's hills and then you will be in plains and the Tibetan monastery is locally called as "Golden temple " and the place name is Bylekuppe.

Driving directions will be Madikeri-Suntikoppa-Cauvery Nishadharma-Kushal Nagara-Koppa - Take Right turn- Golden Temple

It is just around 40 kms from Madikeri ! .

If you would like to purposefully take a different route back to Manipal, May be.

Madikeri / Golden temple - Periyapatna-Hunsur- {Just before a place called Elivala , you need to take left and that's Hassan road and it's state highway and road is excellent) HoleNarsipura-Hassan-Mangalore-Manipal

If you have time and would like to take more interesting route ,

Hunsur-Holenarsipura-Hassan-[This is also excellent scenic State highway]-Chicmagaluru - Sringeri-Agumbe-Manipal !

Please Post if you need more info !

Have a nice & safe trip ahead !

thanx again, thanx for the alternate route its seems interesting.

i wanted this trip to be pretty fun,adventure and wild, do u know any place were we can get tents for hire or any place were we can stay in tents (except the costly ones like kabini and all)

also are there any tree-top house or anything of that sort available

@Royster,

Tree Houses are there in Wayanad Region as well as Coorg Region [Anyways I never had any personal experience with it] but I never heard any tree house < 1500 Rs/ Night [That too for 2 people] .. For "College Group" like you , not sure how much it will fit into ..

Having Said that, "Tents On Rent", You could try out in Mangalore and Even if you get tents, it's not advisable / next to impossible to stay on your own tents especially in South Coorg [ Read Nagarahole , Kutta, Iruppu Falls, Thirunelli temple, Tholpetty WLS as all these areas are highly forested with Much Animal population and with less Human presence as such ] ...

My Suggestion is :

1. You could check with Forest dept office [5 kms before Thirunelli temple] about any short trek Or Long Trek to Pakshisthalam [ 8 kms] and this will be in Scenic Brahmagiri Mountain ranges and forest dept guide will accompany you and stay with you for the night and even if that's not there, you could stay in the temple Accomodation and this place is not at all crowded and you could enjoy a lot ! I have shared the photos of this place in Post#9 out here -->

Hidden Temple

2. You could try out the same in the other end [Read Iruppu Falls] -- Nearer to Kutta [Photo I am sharing below]

3. Basically Thirunelli temple [Wayanad] and Iruppu Falls [Coorg]are almost like opposite to each other with Scenic Brahmagiri Mountain ranges in the middle !..

4.If you try out madikeri + Iruppu Falls + Nagarahole NP + Tholpetty WLS + Thirunelli temple, for sure you will get all that you expect out of your trip !

5. You could browse through our Indiamike photo Section under my user-id "pmvelu" you could see many a photos of what we are discussing especially on Nagarahole NP

Have a Nice Trip !

ya ill keep that in mind . i saw the webpage of the karnataka tourism dept in that the dormitory rates in nagarahole park seem very cheap, u have any idea of how to book it well in advance. i already have mailed then but no reply yet.

No idea on this... You could try calling Nagarahole Forest Dept office for the same !

okay, thanks a lot. u have been very helpful. since our trip vill be in january-2009, ill keep on refining the whole trip . if anything comes up ill post it. thanks again

No Problem Royster... Yes, For sure Please post any more questions in course of your planning and I Or Other IMer will pitch in with their experiences /suggestions....

Happy Planning

is it possible to reach this place (by bike or trek), its dandeli river rafting i guess, also do u know how much does white river rafting cost,