coorg experience.........

subabu2002

hi IM members,

i am suresh from erode, tamilnadu(india),i,my wife,and my son(3.5yrs)were went to
madikkeri and surroundings(coorg) by our wagonR.

i am interesting to share my experience of coorg travel with you all,
hope this will help a little to new budget visitors like me to coorg..

day 1:we were heading to mysore and then to khushalnagar. A 95 km road from mysore
to khusalnagar is not like a lot of U bends or uphills what i expected like ooty or
kodaikkanal.the roads were plain.the first 60kms is good and easy to drive and
last 35 kms road were damaged in lot of places.finaly we reached at 5.00pm.
we already booked a cottage at nishargadhama(3km from kushalnagar on the way to
madikeri).it is a bamboo jungle on the banks of the river cauvery maintained by
karnataka forest dept. we need to cross the river to enter the cottage on hanging bridge.
there were 6 cottages are available. on that day, only 2 cottages were booked. we
searched for food in nisargadhama,one canteen was there,but we disliked the location of
canteen.so we decided to eat dinner in kushalnagar.in kushalnagar there were so many
hotels available.we returned after dinner at 8pm to nisargadhama. only at 8pm,we are very
much afraid about our lonelyness. only 5 members were stayed in whole jungle. we slept
with fear on whole day .at morning,we waked up earlierly. on morning only,we came to
see our cottage clearly.it is very very nice cottage. the river water sound,birds sound.
a wonderful experience.we walked up over the jungle.there were deer park,rabbit park
but we dont like it very much .we took photos.any way it is good
location for big family or friends.not for a single family.if you are a single family,go and
stay on holidays.

day:2:at 8.30am,we went to DUBARE elephant camp(14kms from nisargadhama).we
reached at 9.00am. here also we must need to cross the river to enter the DUBARE
ele.camp.but this time we crossed the river by motor boat.this location is also good
like mudumalai(ooty).DUBARE is an elephant camp in forest.here the camp is for bathing,
feeding and riding the elephants.those elephants are used for the famous DASARA
festival in mysore.those who want to see this camp will need to enter here before 9.15am
they charged some amt.below rs.100(i forgot).for watch the bathing,feeding and riding.
we can also bath the elephant in river.my son enjoyed very much.we took small riding in
the jungle.but it was not so good riding.
at12.30,we vacate from nisargadhama and then went to BYLEKUPPE. 7kms down from
nisargadhama on the way to mysore. BYLEKUPPE is a budhist monastry(india`s second
biggest monestry).in this monastry,a big golden temple is maintained by monks.there were
over 5000 monks were living. from the age of 10 to 70. we visited the budha temple.the
statue is very big and coated with gold.we ate noodles in canteen at temple campus.it is
very nice and different.we saw a prayer in temple by monks was also different.
at4.30pm,we started towards madikkeri.it was 25kms from bylekuppe.the last 10-15kms
was uphill.the last 20kms was quite different locations. we searched for budget homestay
estates.but for our budget,we didnt find on late evening.so,we decided to stay in hotel
cauveri(kt.tourism).it`s very bad.dont stay here.we didnt like to spend in hotels.so,we
decided to search for good estate.

day:3:earlierly we waked up and had breakfast at hotel athiti.we asked someone for
estate for stay.they recommended so many estates.our desire is to stay around coffee
estate.they recommended to search on the way to siddhapura road.so,we searched on that
road.we find one estate at 5km from madikkeri to sidhapura road.the name is
CAPITOL VILLAGE.we were very much satisfied with that estate.slightly interior from
road , surrounded with coffee,pepper,paddy plantations and small pond.they charged
rs.1250 per day.the price was also very reasonable we felt.we took rest for 2 hrs.and
decided to visit ORANGE COUNTY resort at sidhapura.it was 20kms from capitol village.


from the way from madikkeri to sidhapur, on this road were fully surrounded by
coffee estate.climate also very good.from sidhapur to orange county took 4 kms ride.
in orange county,we took shopping(they sell quality honey,cardomomn,pepper etc.) and
took photos.we walk around 2-3 hrs in orange county resort.my son enjoyed on riding
battery car(like golf cart)often operated for resort holidayers. we bought TULIP plant
for our house in orange county.orange county is costly for staying,they offer pirce range
from rs. 6000 and above upto rs.12000.but it will worth for upper middle to rich class
peoples.but for my budget,it is too hot.any way i am happy with walk around the orange
county.

we returned to capitol village at 4pm. evening we walked around capitol village coffee
plantations.

day4:early morning we took photos and again walk around the plantations and picked up
fresh pepper in plantions for pickle. at12.00,we vacate capitol village and took shopping
in madikeri town.then we returned to mysore.there we went to palace and zoo and then
returned to home with momorable dreams of coorg.

the things we missed are,abby falls,talacauvery,raja seat and temples.but we didn`t want
to spend those commercial places.

but interior places we missed were,kakabe honey valley estate,irpu falls,nagarhole wildlife
santuary.. there are interior place located in jungle.so,we didnt take risk and also didnt
have much time to spent there..

my recommendations,

1.visit nishargadhama and stay there atleast a day.very pleasent in morning
2.visit dubare elephant camp before 9am.watch elephants life.
3.stay in coffe plantations estate.plenty of estates available on the road to sidhapur.
4.visit and walk orange county.do some purchases also.
5.stay or visit honey valley estate(not for a single family).kakabe.
6.visit nagarhole and irpu falls.
7.dont spend a time in raja seat,abby falls and other commercial places.
8.dont stay in hotels.stay atleast outer side of madikeri.
9.visit bylekuppe golden temple monestry.

batistuta

Thx for the detailed report Suresh.It will be of help to fellow imers who wnt to go there.

Cheers,

shahronakm

Thanks Suresh for a nice trip report on coorg. It would be nice if you could post some pictures of the places you visited, especially of Nisargdham.

Ronak.

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Nick-H

Trip reports are always welcome. Thanks for posting

I hope to get back to this thread an read yours later on tonight....

<later>

Which I now have. Thanks

phantom

raja's seat is quite nice and not as commercialized as you think
dubare is nothing great.. just some domesticated elephants, you can miss it if you want.

You might want to spend that time on a ridge walk at vanchallu in madikeri. Its one of the most beautiful hikes i have ever seen !!

naturecrazy

Thanks for the detailled description.
Can you please give me the contact details of your homestay? "CAPITOL VILLAGE". Do you have any contact number?

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subabu2002

hi,

Capitol Village
5th Cross, Chettahalli Siddapur Road , Madikeri,
Kodagu - 571 201
Tel: 08272-225929, 75

capt_mahajan

Subabu, thanks. Useful information there.

Photos, please!

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nomad

may i suggest, honey valley
Honey Valley Estate
Yavakapady Village ,
Kodagu - 571 212
Tel: 08272-238339
Email: honeyvalley_2000@yahoo.com Website: www.momentum.freeserve.co.uk/honeyvalley
Tariff Range : Rs. 150/- to Rs. 600


or alath-cad.
they serve very good food. you will gain weight in a week if you stay there.


www.alathcadcoorg.com

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http://rverma.smugmug.com
www.pbase.com/rverma

nomad

or ram-cad
or hegh-falls

both near irrupu falls

naturecrazy

Thanks a lot!!! This coming long weekend (29th April) I was planning for a Coorg trip. TIP from "nomad" of gaining weight is really tempting, as I want to gain some weight desperatly.

Any idea about some local "Traditional Coorg Cuisine" other than homestays or estate stays in and arround this place.

salviadivinorum

will go with Nomad on this " Honey Valley Estate " nice place to spend few days, located way away from the deep into the hills.
Very friendly people n excellent food ...

Palace Estate on the way to honey valley aonther nice place to stay, located on the foothills of " tadiyandamol " ( karnataka 2nd highest peak ), this home stay gives u the best view of the mountain.
Contact # - 08272238446 / 91+9880447702

if you are coming from Vir raj pet , you have to get down at the Aramane stop which is before a place called Kakkabbe.

Have a good one..

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If you've planned a vactaion, just go there and let the universe guide u .....

naturecrazy

Thanks!!!

Well I called at all these homestays looks like, all these estates are already booked for the long weekend. Rooms are not available for a group size of 8. I found one cottage named "Thril Moutains". It has some 5 double bed rooms. Seems to be a good place and cheap too.

I also found some info about this homestay through google. Looks ok to me.

Have you guys heard about this place?

nomad

yes,
palace estate + tadiyandamol are a very good option. there are few groups that organize trek to tadiyandamol. get in touch with any of those. you will love it.

Salvia, I stayed at a farmers house near palace estate. very friendly people. we asked for permission to put our tent in their compound, they took care of all our need (food, drinking water, soap etc).
I will love to do that again.