Coorg : One day visit to ' Scotland of india '

Hi friends
        we made a recent visit to Coorg ( Kodagu ) , a district in karnataka known for its natural beauty, misty hills, coffee plantations and ecotourism.


Team : Neethu, Nikhil, Joby , Nitha, Aswathy , Lissy, Anna, Noah ,Joshua and myself


Date : 08.03.2015



Highlights : Madikeri Raja's seat, Abbi falls, Dubare elephant camp, Nisargadhama, Golden temple tibetan monastery



Travelogue :

              Ideally coorg is a place to be covered at least in two days and night stay is a must to do to get the feel of kodagu. we had only one day and i planned to cover maximum in a day. so here we go for a one day trip to coorg ; the Scotland of India.............

                                       We started from Kannur, Kerala by around 5 am in morning and my uncle and family joined us from Iritty a place on the way. We were a team of 8 people and two kids which fit in our recently bought Scorpio. We crossed Koottupuzha bridge to enter karnataka and passed Virajpet to reach Madikeri the capital town of Coorg. On the way we had our break fast which we brought from home and there was great fragrance of coffee flowers through out the journey. The road condition was excellent through out.

a lake view on the way

8.30 am : Raja's Seat
                     
                           It is a signature view point of Madikeri ( mercara ). It has a well maintained garden with a view point to watch valley and sunset ( entrance fee - Rs 5 per person ). we had a long photo session there and had few nice clicks ( Note : my wife was really happy ). Kudos to the tourism dept to maintain it well. Ideal time to visit is evening and watch sunset and musical fountain.

madikeri ; Raja's Seat

Raja's seat view point

                                    It is also attached with a toy train station and chidrens park. we had a ride, back to child hood and enjoyed it ( Rs 10 per person ).

Toy train Raja's seat madikeri

we left the place by 9.30 am.



11 am : Dubare Elephant camp

                           As per our plan next destination was Abbi falls but as we were late and there was little water now, we moved to kushalnagar to visit dubare elephant camp.we travelled through a coffee plantation with white charming coffee flowers with a sweet fragrance all around which is worth mentioning.

Coffee plantation with flowers

I included this place for our kids department but contrary to my belief there was a large number of vehicles parked there. we have to cross the kaveri river either by boat or walking through rocks and shallow water.

kaveri river

we went by walking through water , lot of people were enjoying bathing in river but in middle of the river we saw a board " beware of crocodiles".

walking through the river

The ticket counter was closed due to cloudy climate but i got one from a group who will miss their flight if they wait for elephant ride.The ticket rate was Rs 100 per person for less than a 5 min elephant ride !!!!.  It is worth for kids or if you have never done it or love it very much. We had 4 tickets so 4 people with kids had a ride. We saw elephants grazing in the field and drinking water from river very close.

Other activities there :

                   Bathing elephants ( Rs 100 per person )
                   Feeding elephants
                   Rafting through kaveri river ( more attractive in post monsoon season )
                   Horse riding ( Rs 60-100 per person depends on horse!!!)

Boating and Rafting

Note : Timing at dubare elephant camp
                                                                    9am - 1pm
                                                                    4pm - 5pm

we left the place by 1.30 and moved to our next destination.



1.45 pm : Lunch
         
                   we had lunch from a hotel in NH (thali meals ) and was average. I had a plan to eat the kudagu traditional preparation of pork but was not available there. ( worth trying once from my previous visit ).



2.15 pm - 3.30 pm : Nisargadhama
             
                      It is an island in the kaveri river with bamboo trees and other trees like sandal wood .. I took tickets from the counter ( RS 20 per person ) and we crossed a hanging rope bridge to enter the island.

hanging rope bridge : Nisargadhama

Bamboo trees : Nisargadhama

There are lot of large fishes under the bridge , you can see and feed them if you want. There is boating through kaveri from the island which we were not interested. The first thing which attracted us was beautiful paintings over the trees depicting animals and other sceneries.

One of the painting on trees : Nisargadhama

we walked through the bamboo trees to the deer park. There are lot of tree huts where you can climb , sit and chit chat enjoying nature. there are lot of deers in the park whom we fed with cucumber available there.

deer park : Nisargadhama

On the way my wife tried a Zipline adventure which she had planned after seeing my picture from previous visit ( Rs 100 per person for a very short ride ). you can also have elephant ride from here ( Rs 50 per person comparatively cheaper !!!). There is a small rabbit park and love birds attracting kids.



4.15 pm - 5.30 pm : Namdroling Tibetan Monastery ; The Golden temple

                                               
                                 After reaching kushalnagar , headed towards Bylakupe to reach the Golden temple monastery inside the Tibetan refugee colony.

Golden temple ; Tibetan monastery

I felt it as another country inside India. The main temple has three large statues of Lord Budha, Guru Padmasambhava, and Budha Amitayus made of copper which are gold plated. The holy Aura inside can't be explained in words. We were lucky to watch part of there prayer which looks like a new world for us.

the three golden statues 

They have kept the garden outside very beautiful. ideally you have to spend 2-3 hours there but due to lack of time we left the place early. You can buy some tibetan handicrafts from there.



8.30 pm : Reached kannur well in advance to our 9.20 train to Kottayam.



The places we missed : Talakaveri, Bhagamandala, Iruppu falls, other water falls - unchalli falls, Abbi falls, chelavara falls, burude falls ( monsoon season ), madikeri  - fort , omkareshwara temple, golf club, mandalpatti view point, Nagerhole national park, Brahmagiri hill.

Through the scenic beauty of Thekkady and panoramic view of Ramakkalmedu

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I am also sharing my small travel experiences here. Please do comment or send feedbacks to improve my travelogue !!!!!!!!!!



Team : Neethu George, Anna Neenu George, Aswathy Jose and Myself


Date : 08.02.2015


Highlights : Thekkady boating, Grape garden, Ramakkalmedu windmill farm and view point


Travelogue :

we were planning this trip for few days as a one day trip of 5 members but Aju my cousine couldn't join due to his change in work schedule. So we four planned to start in early morning (our first trip together). Another hidden interest was to explore my new Canon EOS 1200D which i bought recently.

5.30 am :
         
         We started from our home at Pala, Kottayam, Kerala 30 minutes late as per my plan in our Alto K10.  We entered KK road ( NH 220 ) at Kanjirappally and headed towards Kumily to reach there by 7.30 am.


6.15 am : Unexpected startling view road side

          We ( not only we but all the travellers there) were forced to stop our car at the road side to see a beautiful valley fully covered with dense mist. i am short of words to describe.... here we go with a picture

On the way near peerumedu : a road side view

near peerumed

Pardon me for poor focus and quality of pictures as a first time SLR camera user

7am :

Stopped for a cup of black coffee and moved forward. we passed beautiful places like mundakayam, kuttikanam etc to reach kumily by 7.30 am. we then drive to thekkady which is around 4 kms from kumily. There are a lot of budget and luxury hotels ,home stays and resorts in kumily and kumily thekkady route.


7.40 am:

We reached entrance gate of  Thekkady Peryar tiger reserve forest and paid entry and parking fee. ( Rs 33 per person and parking fee Rs 75 for car ) make sure about the number of people as this ticket is needed for booking boating ticket. in case of any discripancy we have to come back all the way here again to take ticket.
                                                      we entered Periyar tiger reserve forest and has to drive for around 1.5 kms to reach the parking area. As always it is mind cooling to drive through the forest with cold breeze coming through the windows.


8am :

 We parked our car and we (me and my wife) walked to the boating ticket couter which is 600 m away . but to my surprise there was no rush at all in contrary to my two previous visits (once i couldnt do boating as ticket was not availabe). Ticket charge was Rs 225 per person . booking starts 90 minutes before each trip. You can also book ticket online from www.periyarfoundation.org . the boat timings are as follows

Ticket counter at Thekkady - boating timing and fare 

 we then went back to parking areato have our breakfast which we brought from home. It was really tasty chappathi and chicken curry which my sister prepared. you can always expect some of our ancestors with no respect to grab your plate. there were afew watching us from tree top but didn't turn up may be they knew it was made by my sis. Better to have food from kumily if you plan some other way.



9 am :

We moved to the boating areaby walking. i was very much enthusiastic to take few snaps with my new camera but had to delete most due to my great camera skills. Another thing worth mentioning was that the whole place was kept clean and tidy But......... don't use toilets near the boating ticket counter especially ladies .use the one near parking area ( people responsible should be prosecuted ).


9.30 am :

We were seated in Vanajyosthna boat in the lower deck. to get tickets in upper deck you have to book online or ask specifically at ticket counter.Wearing life jackets was not mandatory but i felt should be made mandatory ( we need tragedies to happen to make rules strict). The life guards Mr Shinu and Baiju were really helpful explained about birds animals and the history of the place and dam in detail which i found as an improvement from my last visit.


9.40 am : 

we started our boating, it was beautiful to watch the scenery, birds and animals but i was more interested in taking pictures. The photo courtesy to the life guards who taught me various features of my camera and allowed me to stand outside to take photos

another boat in thekkady lake

Palace of Sree Chithira Thirunal raja : now run by KTDC

Classic view of Thekkady boating

let me finish it first !!!!!!

Elephants.........

wild pigs

11.10 am :

We finished our boating ( 90 minutes) and was planning to move to our next destinations. Those who want to stay in thekkady for one day there are myriads of activities in and around like

• Treckking ( various packages available in official websites )
• Jungle jeep safari
• Elephant safari ( bathing , feeding and photo sessions )
• Stay at various hotels / resorts with lake or forest views
• Evening programmes like kathakali, magic shows , martial arts like kalari etc
• Ayurvedic kerala massage and treatment ( make sure you select original centres )

There are lot of agents outside showing various nearby places which you can go yourself without paying them in your own private vehicle.



11.45 am :

Our next destination was to visit a grape garden which none of us have seen. So we head towards kambam a town in Tamilnadu . there are lot of grape gardens on both sides of the road but on enquiring local people we were totally disappointed as they told us that they just had harvest season and you can't see ripe grapes. But we moved further for few more kms and decided to come back but one person asked us to go 2 km further and here we go ( Romba thanks Annai.....)

It's a different feeling to walk through the garden with ripe grapes above you will love it !!!!!
We bought fresh grapes (needless to say yummy ...), crushers and juice from there. This place was around 7 kms from kumily.

On the way to this place we also saw huge penstock pipes carrying water from mullaperiyar dam hydroelectric project and also a monument in the memory of Colonel John Pennycuick who was the British engineer behind the Mullaperiyar Dam

1.45 pm:

None of us were hungry due to load of eatables in our car and snacks from road sides. so we decided to go to Ramakkalmedu a major destination of this trip. actually we could have gone to kambam and then to Ramakkalmedu via kambammettu but we returned back to kumily and headed towards Ramakkalmedu

3 pm: Ramakkalmedu windmill field

        

                  
                                   It is worth watching hundreds of windmills rotating just close to us in the background of scenic hills and valleys

3.30pm:

we reached Ramakkalmedu view point. five years back when i visited this place there was only one shop at the base but now there are several tea and snack shop and a hotel being under construction. the place has two hills one with the stone sculpture of kuruvan and kuruvathi which is called kerala view point and the other hill which is more picturesque called tamilnadu view point.

at the base of Ramakkalmedu

We had a cup of tea and snacks and decided to climb first view point.  i heard this story while climbing up from a co traveller that Lord Rama kept his feet at the tip of Ramakkalmedu to search Ravana the King of Lanka who abducted his wife Sita hence this name. 
                                                              "How narrow is the gate and how constricted is the road that leads to life, and there aren't many people who find it!" i was thinking about this word of god from bible which is so true to this place the heaven in this world !!!!!!!! which is there on the top of this hill. 
                  It gives a panoramic view of Tamilnadu places like Cumbum, Theni, Kombe, Thevaram, Uthamapalayam, Bodinaykannor and Vaiga. constant wind blowing at 35-40 km per hour makes us wander in wind and cool our body and mind. the area is fully covered with beautiful rocks and greenery. we could see the kuruvan and kurathi statue on the top of other hill.

 Rock Sculpture of Kuruvan and Kurathi @ Ramakkalmedu

classic view of Ramakkalmedu

a hill top at ramakkalmedu : you reach the top of that

another view

View of Tamilnadu from top of Ramakkalmedu

View from top of Tamilnadu view point Ramakkalmedu

make sure you reach there before 6 pm to climb the hill.

7pm :
     We headed back to pala and on the way we had dinner from a thattukada near mundakkayam and reached home by 9 pm.


some thing extra : www.periyarfoundation.org , www.keralatourism.org,