Chaitanya casually mooted the idea, I jumped at the opportunity, and started the planning in
right earnest. We gave ourselves a week to plan for the trip and decided to leave for
Madikeri, a week before Christmas, to avoid the festival crowd.
The plan was to start at 5:30AM on Saturday, the 19th of December, and try to accommodate
Igguthappa temple and Nalnad palace before heading to Madikeri and visiting the local
attractions. However, office issues, and in some cases, friday night revelry meant that it
was 7:30, by the time we left from Bangalore. We were all ravenous and stopped for an
elaborate breakfast buffet at Kamath Upachar(Rs.70/-). The drive after that was amazing,
till we took a right at the Ranganathittu sign post, shortly after Srirangapatna. The road
from here is bad, for about half an hour till you reach the Mysore-Hunsur stretch at Yelwal.
If you get an early start, Nisargadhama and Bylakuppe can be covered on the same day, en
route to Madikeri. After Bylakuppe, take a right at Gudde Hosur junction, on the road that
leads to the signpost for Dubare elephant camp, which is to your left. If you are here on a
weekend,try to reach the camp, before 8:30 in the morning, to beat the weekend rush. In our
case, even though we took the route mentioned, We couldn`t follow this plan, since one
member of our group, who hadn`t seen these places, wasn`t able to join us on Saturday, and
could join us only on Sunday. The road from Gudde Hosur junction to Madikeri, is a very
picturesque one, and winds through some beautiful scenery. The driver unfortunately, will
need to give the beauty of nature a miss, and concentrate on the road, since vehicles on
this road are driven at great speeds, and as we found out in our case, without the use of
the horn.
An impromptu waterfall enroute
What`s so funny, chaps?
Vignettes of nature.
We reached Madikeri, at around 1:45 in the afternoon, and checked in at the Hilltown hotel,
which is a 5 minutes walk from the KSRTC bus stop. Driving there was a bit of a pain though,
as the road leading to the hotel had been closed for maintenance. We had to take a narrow
road, and ask the locals for directions, all of whom, were very helpful. This is a trait
that is shared by all the locals here, and comes in very handy, when you are struggling for
direction at crossroads, that have signposts corroded away by the rains.
If you are looking to savour some authentic Coorgi cuisine, my guidebook, and a lot of sites
on the net, recommend a place called the Coorg cuisinette. It is a small eatery near the
Madikeri post office, located on the first floor. Nothing flash about it, except the food,
so keep your eyes peeled for this one, or you are likely to miss it. The Puttu and Pandi
curry, is a delicacy here, and something that should not be missed, if you are a pork-lover.
We finished our lunch, by 3'o clock, and decided to head for Abbey falls, which I later
learnt was a misnomer, since 'Abby' is the local name for 'Falls'.
Abbey Falls:
Ask the locals for directions to Abbey falls, and do not hesitate to follow up with another
person, since a wrong turn could mean, getting completely disoriented here. The drive to
Abbey, is on a pot-holed road, that leads through verdant green valleys that leave you
feeling rejuventated. The descent from the car park to the falls, is through a path in the
forest, from which you can hear the rumble of the falls. Getting into the water is
prohibited here, as there have been quite a few deaths in the past, as a signboard at the
entrance points out. There is a bridge at the falls, from which you can take pictures. We
were unlucky to be here on a Saturday, which meant that we had school kids keeping us
company. Their incessant chatter meant, that we couldn`t enjoy the beauty of this place to
the maximum extent. One thing that you should try are the oranges here, which have a tangy
masala coated on them. Our next agenda was to vist Raja seat, which is known for the view of
sunset that it provides.
Abbey falls..70s "ishtyle"
Roaring away to glory
Raja seat:
This place, located at the centre of the town is where the Rajas used to come to catch a
view of the sunset. The Rajas have now been replaced by tourists, but the charm of the place
still remains. Make sure you are here by 5:00PM, and if the skies are clear, you`ll be
rewarded with a glorious view of the sky turning crimson, as the sun descends below the
hills. There is also a musical fountain that plays here, which definitely is worth a dekko.
All in all, there is a carnival atmosphere here, with the locals and the tourists mingling,
which is a refreshing experience. By the time, we decided to drag ourselves away reluctantly
from Raja seat, it was almost 7:30. I`ll allow the pictures to do the talking here.
'Raja' Chaitanya, at the seat. ;-)
Various hues of the sky at Raja seat.
Omkareshwar temple :
The last stop for the day, was Omkareshwar temple.
The unique thing about the Omkareshwar temple is that it has shades of Islamic architecture
to it. Linga Raja, a local ruler, constructed this temple, in order to placate the spirit of
a pious Brahmin, he had killed. A Shivalinga brought from Kashi was installed here, and
Poojas performed to pacify the vengeful spirit. The paintings of various Indian Gods, on the
inner walls of the temple are really beautiful and worth visiting for. It was close to
closing time(8:00PM) when we reached here, and we couldn`t linger much longer. However, the
serenity of the place, which is bang in the middle of the town left me impressed.
Bharat : O, my friend Ganesha. :-)
By now, we were all dog tired and decided to call it a day. We had a royal dinner at the
in-house restaurant at Hotel HillTown. The food was delicious, and unlike in Bangalore, did
not burn a hole in our pockets. With a contented sigh, we headed to our rooms and crashed on
our beds, dreaming about the Dubare elephant camp, which would be our first stop on day2.
Read more...
