The department meeting was at its peak when suddenly I could feel the vibration of my mobile. Since most of the chat groups of my friends are put on permanent mute I knew this was something important. Sliding out the mobile from my pant pocket I managed to catch a glimpse of the SMS on the screen. “Finally, I am getting married” was the only few words that contained a historical milestone for my childhood friend Dev. We just did not grow up together but rather became human from a pair of monkeys. Right from school, college, extra classes you name it he was there. Even when my elder sister was getting married he was there for nearly a week in my house for God knows why.
For some reason, all our common friends including me were married with kids except Dev, for some reason or the other he could not get the girl of his dream and finally when he was getting hitched it was not only a big celebration for me but for my family also.
The day finally came and he got married, my whole family including my parents and my sister’s family were present to witness such an important landmark. Dev had recently shifted to Bengaluru so within days he went back along with his newly wed, he had some urgent pending work thus the entire concept of a honeymoon was completely skipped.
After a few weeks, I get a sudden call from Dev that he had recently been to Coorg for a short trip along with his wife. I spent a significant time of my childhood in Bangalore but unfortunately never managed to visit Coorg, even after I started writing travel blogs somehow I just could not make any plans to go back to Karnataka.
I was honestly envying him since for so long I wanted to visit this hill station. Without wasting time I immediately called him over Skype to get the full details, not of his honeymoon but of Coorg.
To start with Coorg is not Coorg anymore but now it’s known by its original name of Kodagu. It’s around 260 kilometres from the state capital of Bengaluru making it an ideal weekend destination. Either you can take a bus or hire a car to reach this picturesque hill town.
Bengaluru to Coorg Route Map
Coorg is situated in the Western Ghats of India which obviously means lots and lots of hills accompanied by ample of greenery. On the way if you are lucky you will be able to spot herds of elephants, deer, and other wildlife.
While here one thing you will notice most vividly are the coffee plantations. If you love your morning cup of coffee then this is highly likely the source for that. You can always go around the plantations and get the first-hand view of the entire process right from the plucking to the final product.
Luckily for me, Dev was kind enough to get few bags of varieties of coffee and also managed to get the organic variety. He has promised to courier me some of them but honestly, I don’t believe him so I will have to keep reminding him every day.
Coorg Coffee Plantation
Finding a descent place to put up in Coorg is quite easy since this place has some of the finest places to stay along with some beautiful homestays. Along with being pampered with star service you get the fantastic view of the Western Ghats. For Dev obviously, he wanted the best resorts in Coorg that this town could offer and was extremely happy with the service.
Namdroling Monastery
I was more interested in the sight scenes that this place offers and surprisingly this place is a bag full of surprises. To start with we have Bylakuppe, the moment you step in you will feel that you are somewhere in Ladakh or Tibet. There is a good Tibetan settlement here and they have a fantastic monastery. Known as Namdroling Monastery this place is a gold mine if you are into art and architecture. The walls of the monastery are beautifully painted in Tibetan style.
Dubare Elephant Camp
If you have not been able to see wildlife while on your way from Bengaluru to Coorg then do not worry you have Dubare Elephant Camp where you will be able to see elephants being trained and tamed. Take some time when you visit this place since you might have the opportunity of a lifetime to bathe elephants. And if it happens to be a baby elephant then your trip will be all worth the every penny.
Coorg is the best place to do some short treks but since Dev was in no mood for treks thus he skipped this part but was courteous enough to get all the details for me as he knows when I visit Coorg I will surely take the route not taken by most.
Rajas Seat Coorg
If you like to take a shower outdoors then the best place would be at Iruppu Falls, I am quite prone to cold thus will surely skip this part. A place which has to be a must in your Coorg is “Rajas Seat”. As the name suggest this is the place from where the king used to sit and see the sun set behind the hills of Western Ghat. You will not get the grand chair of the king but what you will definitely get is a fantastic view of the place from a vantage point.
Talakaveri
Coorg is also quite significant for another reason, it’s the birth place of the river Kaveri locally known as Talakaveri, and this place also is home to a temple where pilgrims come to take a holy dip.
What my friend Dev suggested is to actually get in touch with the locals when you visit Coorg as this place has much more than what the guide books offer and the best bet would be to visit some offbeat places. This was just like a teaser for me I guess and Dev is more interested for me to finalize my booking for a short family trip to Bengaluru so that we all can go to Coorg. He refused to tell me more and promised that there is much more that what he has told me over Skype and I have to visit him to feel the magic of Coorg.