Friday, May 4, 2012

Trip to Coorg-Wayanad

It's time to cover yet another beautiful city of Kodagu district in Karnataka - Coorg. Situated on the Western Ghats, it is also known as 'Kashmir of South' due to its serene beauty and exotic locations. Dense green forests, lush green valleys and famous for chocolates, Coorg holds a special place in any traveler's heart who's been here once. I ventured on this hill city with four of my friends - Abhishek, Abhilash, Rahul & Sushant.

Coorg-Wayanad : Day 1

We reached the Coorg valley around morning 9 A.M. on 29th of April after booking a cab from Bangalore. The journey from Bangalore to Coorg was an overnight one, a 5 km straight drive. After reaching Coorg and freshening up, we headed for our first destination - Tibetan Monastery.







This monastery housed around 7000 monks. There were 40 ft tall golden statues of Buddha, Padmasambhava and Amitayus.





Spot me here..!!
The walls were painted with colorful paintings depicting gods and demons of Buddhist mythology. Outside there were shopping and food centers.
 After the monastery, we headed for Dubare National Park. Not much variants of animals you would see at this park except some wild species of deer and elephants. We spotted deer and took an elephant ride which were at nominal rates. After this, it was time for some lunch and snacks. Dosa and Idly were famous in the area, so no other option.






After fulfilling our tummies, we proceeded towards Abbey Falls. During the rainy season, the falls becomes one of the most violent ones. But in the dry season when we visited, the flow was considerably slow. Nevertheless, we enjoyed visiting the place.




Bhagandeshwara Temple, Bhagamandala was our next spot of visit in Coorg. this temple is famous for its location near the confluence of two rivers- Kaveri and Kanika.















After this, we ascended towards TalaKaveri, the most famous temple of South Karnataka. From this temple originates the Kaveri river.









Also, there is a mountain situated near the temple which offers scenic beauty of the entire valley.









After spending some 2-3 hrs at the TalaKaveri, we decided to call it a day off and check in to a hotel for next day's triumph.


Coorg-Wayanad: Day 2

The next morning welcomed us with dense fog and light rain. It was cold. We couldn't that imagine the day before was so hot here. Now we felt what Coorg really was.










Today we had to reach Wayanad to begin our next part of the journey. Wayanad lies in Kerala state so the journey from Coorg to Wayanad took about 2 hrs. Kerala is called as God's own Country and it really is. No other state can match the beauty of Kerala. After coming to South, it has been my favorite tourist spot. I can go to Kerala as many times as possible.


Our first place of visit in Wayanad was Pookkode Lake. You can roam around the lake and explore the thick bushy pathways around the lake or you can try Zorbing in the lake which is really interesting or you can try the fresh homemade chocolates that are sold here.










Next we headed towards Banasura Sagar Dam located on a tributary of Kabini river. It is one of the major tourist spot of Wayanad. We enjoyed a boat ride also here.













It was growing dark and we had to cover our last destination of the journey - the Soochipara Falls. Upon reaching the place, we had to bribe the guard as it was already late and he had to close the gates for the day.

Somehow we managed to reach the falls. The falls were located in the valley and we had to descend down for it. The pathway was fully covered with dense trees and thick and thorny bushes.














We could hear the howling and growling of wild animals. It really gave us goosebumps and ran a cold shiver through us.

Nothing more could have ended this adventurous trip than a plate of Maggi served right in the middle of forest at hilltop. Believe me, it was really sumptuous.








Then we headed back to the hotel.

Coorg-Wayanad: Day 3

Today we had to leave for Bangalore. The road leads through the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.


We could only encounter some deer and elephants and also a boar. The highway was also a beauty but we couldn't hold our tiredness for too long and fell off to sleep.










The next we woke up we were nearing the Hebbal Electronics City and thus the Bangalore.