Advertisement
Published: October 8th 2014
Nagarhole national park
Beware of those bushes, who knows what comes out of it? By Vishnu.
Have you ever Coorghed? If you haven’t, do it now. It doesn’t matter whom you go with- its a place of Liveliness, happiness and craziness. Very recently, I (Vishnu) traveled to Coorgh with six of my besties in Innova. Due to the long weekend (October 2
nd to October 6
th, 2014), Coorgh would obviously be crowded, but my experience was amazing nonetheless. It all started on October 2
nd. I started with six of my friends from Bangalore (they deserve to be named here- Harsha, Varma, Roopesh, Chaitanya, Anil and Muni.)
Our trip started at around 11 in the morning after a small McDonald’s brunch on the way to Mysore. We reached Mysore at around 3'o clock (we underestimated the traffic, because of the long weekend.) We also had lunch at Parklane hotel in Mysore; they served good biryani, despite a late serving time.
We intended to reach our stay point (near Kutta) by nightfall, which was 100km from Mysore. In the route map we saw that we have to pass through the Nagarhole National Park (a stretch of deep forest and animal sanctuary for 52 km), which we later found out that the forest department
Deer Sightings
Thank god, their prey isn't here! won’t allow any vehicles into the forest after 6pm. We had to race to reach the gates of the Nagarhole forest and rather cinematically we were there by 5:58 pm. After a little convincing, we entered the forest. It was already getting dark, and our Innova seemed to be the only vehicle in the forest. We were warned by the officials. "Don’t get out of the car, don't sound horns and don't project lights etc." Apparently, elephants might get mad and we could die in the stampede. Where is fun if we don't defy authorities; we stepped out of the car, took more than a few pics.
There were some alarming animal calls as the night progressed, and we followed the sounds, only to find large masses of deer, Bison and baboons. Dusk broke down into deep darkness and chilling breezes; the distant sounds of birds, animals and crickets dominated our engine sound. That was when we saw a loner elephant at the side of the road, which thrilled us (fear might be a better word ;-)) There was no signal in our phone, no sight of man and no light nearby. It was something
Early morning View
Paradise, Heaven, Eden, Nirvana..you name it! that should be experienced. We reached the finish point of the Nagarhole National park at around 8.30 pm, and like we expected, the gate was locked. We feared we might be stuck there in the forest until the next morning. Fortunately, we found the guard sometime later. Despite of the whining and bribery, he unlocked the gate and we reached Kutta in no time. From there we came to our stay point, Ramcad Guest house. Temperatures dropped to 17'c, and a silhouette of humongous hill loomed over our guest house. It was very dark, and we couldn’t see where we are. We didn’t get a signal here either, except for limited airtel coverage. We settled down and had homemade Non Veg dinner,just outside the cottage in a wooden shelter (like a kiosk) amidst a lavish garden. Coorgh is famous for Pork, and our cook made it deliciously. And after a card game, we rested for the night.
It was only in the morning, we fathomed the real meaning of beauty in the nature. Thick Fog enveloped the guest house, and the greenery was exceedingly beautiful. The huge hill casting its shadow over us might have inspired the CGI in
White Water Rafting.
"Jingalalla Jingalalla..Oooh aah, Oooh aah.".
Barpole Theme song! Disney films. "You would forget all the troubles, and peace will be at your feet", is an understatement here. Our guest house is set up amidst a lush garden of flowering plants and huge trees, stationed on a small hill, from which whole of the area was visible. Waking up at 6 in the morning has its own rewards, as we took an early morning walk into the surroundings and it definitely was a Walk To Remember. French toast, Dosas and Idlis comprised our breakfast.
We booked us for Rafting at the nearby Barpole River at 11 Am. The river was 10km from our stay point and located in Tata Tea estates. Once we got there, a Guide ushered us to the rafting point in his jeep, where we geared up for the adventure. Life jackets, Helmets and Oars to steer our raft were given to us, along with rowing commands and safety briefing. We garnered our efforts and strength to row the raft in the white water. (Caution: You will become wet, so gear up accordingly)
Water levels that time were not high, but okay. We rafted
Tata Tea Estates!
You don't like tea? See the pic, and tell me again! through four frothy white rapids called as- Mickey Mouse, Wicked Witch, Band of bushes and the Big Bang. We loved the wicked witch rapid, for the fall was deeper than others. I don’t know about other packages, but our 'Acepaddlers' rafting gave us a pretty good surprise. The guide stopped us at midpoint in the river, and told us to jump. He didn’t even ask us, he commanded us. We had our life jackets on and so we didn't even blink twice to jump into the water. An Amazing unforgettable swim that was. That Rafting proved worthy of the time and money we spent.
Then we spent some time taking pics at a tea plantation, miles and miles of foliage stretched over the hilly areas, all along the road back to Irupu falls. Irupu falls was heavily crowded, with couples and families massed upon. We hiked up 2km inwards to the falls, and it had a good flow. We decided to bathe (we were already wet from rafting, so no issues there.) in it. The water almost gave us a vagal shock due to its numbing coldness, and still
Irupu falls, level 3 ??
Milky white color, Numbing Cold, Shooting droplets.. we dived into water. One of my friends induced an allergic reaction at the falls (No reason to worry though, it mitigated on its own sometime later.) and so we left the falls and reached the guest house by nightfall.
We could have a bon fire, but we actually forgot the very idea of it. We bought snacks and drinks from the nearby Kutta; we hollowed through the night playing Anthyakshari, Dumb Charades and French Bid under the open shelter, through which cold breeze battled with hot food, giving us a rich experience of a Chilly Night. That was the last night at Ramcad Guest house, so we made a pact to come back to this same place again within 6 years. (This is a bachelor trip, mind you! We don’t know where we would be in the next 6 years.)
The next day we planned to go to Madikeri (70kms from kutta), to pick up another late joining friend. We woke up early at 5, and rode up the hilly areas of Coorgh to reach Madikeri. It was a sight to the sleepy eyes, as fog made us to focus on the road; it was
Enroute to Madikeri @5 AM.
"Fog, as thick as wool"...See, i don't exaggerate! as thick as wool, but also it was a spectacle to our ‘summer-eyes’ (In Nellore, Fog is a luxury we can’t afford). We picked our friend, booked us a room at VanVihar homestay, just outside Madikeri. We checked in and refreshed, and started off to Mallalli Falls (under the footsteps of Pushapagiri hills), 60km from Madikeri. ‘It was called as newzealand of south’ my friend quoted.
It was 1’o Clock as we reached Mallalli Falls. We didn’t know we had to walk 3km to see the falls (view point), and trek down further 2km from the view point to get wet! The narrow and rugged pathway to the view point allow some vehicles (small cars and jeeps) to travel through; there are also paid jeep services to get you to the view point, but if you want to get wet, you have to climb down the hill.
The view of the falls exceeded our imagination; Kumardhara River gushing through the valley and falling into the 200 feet deep gorge, the sights of which were surrounded by cloud topped
Mallalli falls (Newzealand!!?)
Imagine Seeing this, after a painful 3km walk in the sun. Beauty has a new meaning= Relief! green hills. Piqued by its beauty, we couldn’t help ourselves but decided to get wet. One has to be cautious in the monsoons about the leeches, poisonous insects and snakes that inhabited the place. The flow of the river nearly threw us off the course while swimming, but we managed to have fun; we thought we deserved it for all the walking we did. It was almost dark, as we walked back to the parking spot. No security was provided there by the government, but it was advised to come back around 6, due to dangers of the forest and drunken men. We were tired, and with another homemade chicken and fish buffet, we ended the night, sleeping early. We earned that right too, coz we didn’t have enough sleep last night and the physical demand was too high for us at Mallalli falls.
Slept early and woke late, got ready and waved bye to the Van Vihar homestay. On the way to Nisargadhama (27km from Madikeri), we shopped at Coorgh spices for tea, coffee and other local made goods. Nisarghadhama, an island formed by Cauvery River, was a park area
Swimmers (who don't know swimming ;-P)
You can see the flow and its rage..Look out for the slippery stones too (especially you /\!) with lush bamboo groves, deer sanctuary and elephant riding spot. We didn’t spend much time here, and it was crowded too. The hanging rope bridge, tree houses, orchidarium, and boating were some of the other things we saw inside.
From there, we arrived at Tibetan monastery in Bylakuppe, 6kms from Kushalnagar. The golden temple was an astounding architecture, and the first thing we would see on entering. We passed through Tibetan monk settlements and small shrines, which portrayed rich Tibetan culture. Upon entering the ornate golden temple, you will be amazed at the sudden vision of three large golden statues- Buddha at the center and two gurus on either side. There was history painted on the walls of the temple, which would enlighten us about the importance of those magnanimous statues.
Outside, there was also a beautiful garden and many shrines where monks meditate, a Tibetan restaurant (We wanted to eat, but time wasn’t our friend that day) and a flea market. We bought laughing Buddha key chains as souvenirs from the market, but then we learnt that if you give that
Budhha statues.
About 30 feet long..Elegance at its best...It must have cost them a fortune to make them in gold.. keychain to somebody you love, they will live a prosperous and happy life. So we gifted them to ourselves in a circle, so that everyone would get one from the other friend.
We journeyed back to Mysore at 3pm, saw Mysore palace before it was lit. From there, again underestimating traffic, we reached Bangalore at 11pm in the night, and had dinner at Meghana restaurant (Koramangala), one of the best biryanis in the city. The day ended with two of our friends leaving to Tirupathi by bus. On fifth day, the rest of us stayed in Bangalore to see a movie and to eat at Truffles and KFC. By the night, we were in our homes, reminiscing this awesome five day trip; thoughts of which would haunt us forever into the beauty of friendship. I know that I would remember all the jokes, all the counter-jokes and all the silly fights that encountered in this trip. Every moment of it would turn nostalgic as time passes by, and I am grateful for my friends for making me a part of it.
Anyway, I hope
Laughing Buddhha Keychain.
Souvenir! I am not sure how long it stays as a souvenir though. this blog explains you of everything you need to make this trip. Coorgh is best to travel in monsoons, but in our five day trip, we didn’t have any rain. Researching before planning helps too. You will find every place, every cottage and everything else in Google (duh!) But don’t forget one thing- It’s a trip into the nature, so don’t let your modern life with all your gadgets, interfere with your trip. And hey, Bon Voyage!
NOTE: More Pictures Can be seen below. Don't forget to comment.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.074s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 9; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0327s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Allen
non-member comment
Switzerland of India
The best place to visit in India, cool climate conditions makes you go crazy. http://travels-update.blogspot.in/2014/10/travel-in-india.html