It was 2008, when I and my husband reached the place in the evening, it was chill and cold and the dancing clouds were slowly covering the blue sky. Usually this is the weather on a rainy day. Believe it or not, every evening in summer season, one can enjoy such a nice weather in Madikeri also known as Mercara which is a beautiful hill station in the Western Ghats of Karnataka. Madikeri or Mercara -- popularly known as the ‘Scotland of India’, is the headquarters of Coorg District that has been enchanting millions of travelers with its mist-clad hills, lush emerald green forests, vast coffee plantations and breath-taking views. An overview of this lovely location: History: Since 1600 A.D., the Lingayat Kings ruled over Coorg and established their capital at Madikeri where they built a mud-fort. Location: located in the Western Ghats at an altitude of 1,170 m above sea level, 252 Km from Bangalore and 120 Km from Mysore. Route: Nearest airport – Bengaluru (Bangalore); Nearest Railway station – Mysore. Best time to visit: October to March and also mid summer. Culture: The natives - Kodavas are of distinct origin and have a unique style. Men wear ceremonial wrap-around attire called Kupya and the women folk wear sari in a distinctive style with the pleats at the back. Stay: Apart from lodges and hotels, there is a convenient way of comfortable stay known as Home-Stay. A portion of a house or a house is let out for a comfortable stay at a reasonable rate. That’s what makes the place an ideal home-like holiday resort. Early in the morning, Mother Nature will be at its best. We were awakened by the sweet and melodious chirping of birds. The beautiful nature combined with serene atmosphere filled our hearts with joy. We enjoyed our bread and coffee and lost ourselves for a few moments amidst the lap of nature which was indeed refreshing as well as recharging the body and mind -- far from the maddening crowd, literally! The weather made us forget temporarily the heat wave of mid-summer reeling in other parts of the country. We made our visit to the local deity Omkareshwar and offered our prayers. This is a Shiva temple constructed in 1820 by King Vira Raja, who blended the Gothic style of architecture with the traditional Islamic Dome and minarets at each corner in the construction of this temple. This unique temple structure is an excellent example of communal harmony. From there we proceeded to the famous Abbi Falls which is 10 Km away from Madikeri. The narrow road to the waterfalls is a combination of steep ups and downs, twists and turns, wriggling through the green and dense foliage of surrounding coffee plantation. Abbi Falls is a breath-taking waterfall where river Cauvery cascades down and forces the water down the mountain slope, splashing hard against the huge boulders with a gushing sound. A hanging bridge across the gorge offers a good view of the waterfalls. Other attractions in and around Madikeri are the Madikeri Fort - a 19th Century fort, Nagarhole National Park, Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri Hills which is the origin of River Cauvery and Bhagamandala Temple which is at the confluence of rivers Cauvery, Sujyothi and Kannika. The next day evening we visited the Raja's Seat which is the most sought after tourist attraction in Madikeri. This place is worth mentioning as it is unique for the view of captivating sunset over the Western Ghats. The seat was built in a small pavilion with a lush garden of flowers surrounding it and offers a beautiful view of the green valley of the Western Ghats. The Karnataka State Tourism Department [KSTD] provides several entertainments for the tourists such as a joyous ride in a toy train and the musical fountain—which is the centre of attraction for a large number of tourists. One can enjoy the musical fountain as also the loud cheers of young and old who keep dancing to the popular tunes of A.R.Rahman's Vandemataram and Dhoom Macha Le, along with the fountain waters. The KSTD is also making several efforts to provide facilities to the tourists. Madikeri is a must-see tourist place. People from all over India can visit this place which is easily accessible by bus. A visit to this lovely locale which is not so expensive helps one in recharging of one’s mind, body and soul as well. There are many such beautiful hill stations in India that are well worth a visit. A visit to such places helps in developing the tourism and economy of our own country.
Hi, Nice to read your travelogue .... really wonderful (could picturize from your words). I have been to Kukke Subramaniya temple...but not to this place. Will try to make a trip to this place in near future. Thanks for sharing the snaps...
Dear skchivu I visited Coorg along with son and my mom in the summer of '07 and we were astounded by its beauty. When we arrived there without prior hotel booking, we came to know about the bed and breakfast places. At first apprehensive, later were bowled over by the hospitality of the hosts. She made sure my mother was comfortable. I can't forget her akki roti and other special foods she made for us. They also took us to their pepper and coffee fields and packed us cardamom,pepper, honey and vazhaithandu from her yard. We visited Thalaikaveri, although shivering in the rains and the Omkareshwara temple. I also remember the elephant sanctuary, a mini train ride around the park, and the Buddha temple. I was surprised by the giant Buddha statues and the temple structure. This is one place which I would love to visit again.
Dear skchivu You have written so nicely about madikeri. We were driving from Banagalore to madikeri. The roads from Msyore to MAdikeri is sheer pleasure, superb to drive and all greenerys both the sides. In 2008, May, i went there with my husband and kids. Really it was a beautiful place. We stayed in hotel, (some plantation owner has build houses amidst his plantation, and started hotel service ) where everything is solar based. No TV, No internet or cable. It was really good. Infact the rooms were amidst the plantation. We could see all types of trees, nutmeg, pepper, cardamon, avacado. In the morning as u said, sweet chirping sounds of birds were so sooothing to hear. Since we went in summer, abi falls was dry. We went to bagmandala, talakaveri. There is one big tibetan Monastery, it is really good, worth seeing. I forgot the name though now.
Never had a chance to visit coorg so far. Reading your travelogue makes me do so. Hopefully next India trip I'll try to make it. Nice to see those pictures. Guess you had a great time there BTW, did you type 2009 as 2008 or was the trip made in 2008 only. Never mind just thought of asking it. -Uma
We visited Coorg during a summer, still we enjoyed the trip a lot.. Visited talacauvery, the hills were awfully hot and our feet literally got burnt in the sun while we visited the temple there. Nisargadhama, Dhubhare elephant camp, golden temple - all were worth visiting and the trip was so refreshing.. The memories of the trip are still fresh!!
