Coorg Chronicle
We had been planning a trip for quiet some time now. By we, I mean myself, Sooraj,Deepak and Sharon (from IVS),Arun (REUD),Asif(RETL),Shameer(SI),Ancy(IHLD),Shyam(CSPD) and Vidya(E&R).It kept getting postponed for some reason or the other,but everything kind of clicked for December 15th. .Ten became nine as Vidya had to drop out due to personal reasons...and the rest of us set out in the
early hours of December 15th. Our destination...Coorg!!!
A Tavera is really cool for long distance travel. We hit speeds of 120kmph and we didn't even notice it. With those kind of speeds coupled with a great road, we reached our first stop within two hours...the Tibetan settlement at Bailakuppe. The place was amazing. It was as if we entered through a warp and was transported to Tibet. The highlight was ofcourse, the Golden Temple with its spacious,cool interiors and the beautiful giant buddha statues. An ideal place for soul searching and meditation. Another feature of the settlement was its discipline and silence. The serenity of the place would make anyone spiritual.
A short shopping spree at the settlement and a breakfast of vadas,dosas(a (surprisingly) 4 feet long paper roast for me) and coffee later, we were enroute to our next destination, the Nisargadhama wild life park. The entrance was through a long suspension bridge which was rickety. The river roared below. Then it was acres of jungle for us. We had a nice time climbing onto tree houses and taking pics. In the middle of the park was the Deer Park. The deers were surprisingly docile and they readily came to our extended hands, expecting goodies. Next was the high-light of the park trip...we got onto two elephants and enjoyed a short bumpy ride!!!After another round of pics and more chatty loitering on the jungle paths, we decided it was time to move on. The next on our agenda was the beautiful Abby Falls.
I had once been to Abby falls during a college trip. It was at a decent altitude and the road leading towards it had a lot of hair-pin curves and a view to die for. We had to go down a flight of stairs to reach the falls. And also, we were allowed to actually take a dip in the lake,right under the falls. Bringing an extra pair of shorts had been a great idea, but our hopes of getting into the water was squashed when we came to know that the authorities had stopped allowing people to take dips since 2005. So we had to satisfy ourselves by just admiring the beauty of the falls from the suspension bridge right across it.
After lunch at Coorg town, we proceeded to the final destination of our trip...Talakaveri, the place where the river Kaveri originates. The journey was mostly uphill and it took us nearly two hours to get there. We knew there were some of Coorgs famous orange estates on the way, but unfortunately they were not situated on the regular vehicle route...one had to hitch-hike if they wanted to see it. Talakaveri had a temple and a small shrine to mark the birth place of Kaveri. Just beyond the temple was a flight of around five hundred stairs which took us to the pinnacle of the mountain. The climb was labourious but the view from the top was simply breath-taking and was well worth the effort. It was again picture time and we had a nice time taking a lot of Titanic inspired snaps.
As we descended the stairs and made our way to our Tavera, we were all aware that what was to follow would be the last salvo of our trip...the nice time we had would be ending soon. Inspite of that, we still had a great time singing,cracking jokes and having fun on the return trip. We even made sure that we brought home a few packets of coorgs famous coffee and tea powders. We reached back to base at a little after 10pm...everyone exhausted with the fun we had and the trip safely imprinted forever in our memories.
Before I end this travelogue, I would like to say that the trip would have been even more enjoyable had it involved the original ten. We all missed Vidya and would like to dedicate this trip and travelogue to her.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!!!!
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early hours of December 15th. Our destination...Coorg!!!
A Tavera is really cool for long distance travel. We hit speeds of 120kmph and we didn't even notice it. With those kind of speeds coupled with a great road, we reached our first stop within two hours...the Tibetan settlement at Bailakuppe. The place was amazing. It was as if we entered through a warp and was transported to Tibet. The highlight was ofcourse, the Golden Temple with its spacious,cool interiors and the beautiful giant buddha statues. An ideal place for soul searching and meditation. Another feature of the settlement was its discipline and silence. The serenity of the place would make anyone spiritual.
A short shopping spree at the settlement and a breakfast of vadas,dosas(a (surprisingly) 4 feet long paper roast for me) and coffee later, we were enroute to our next destination, the Nisargadhama wild life park. The entrance was through a long suspension bridge which was rickety. The river roared below. Then it was acres of jungle for us. We had a nice time climbing onto tree houses and taking pics. In the middle of the park was the Deer Park. The deers were surprisingly docile and they readily came to our extended hands, expecting goodies. Next was the high-light of the park trip...we got onto two elephants and enjoyed a short bumpy ride!!!After another round of pics and more chatty loitering on the jungle paths, we decided it was time to move on. The next on our agenda was the beautiful Abby Falls.
I had once been to Abby falls during a college trip. It was at a decent altitude and the road leading towards it had a lot of hair-pin curves and a view to die for. We had to go down a flight of stairs to reach the falls. And also, we were allowed to actually take a dip in the lake,right under the falls. Bringing an extra pair of shorts had been a great idea, but our hopes of getting into the water was squashed when we came to know that the authorities had stopped allowing people to take dips since 2005. So we had to satisfy ourselves by just admiring the beauty of the falls from the suspension bridge right across it.
After lunch at Coorg town, we proceeded to the final destination of our trip...Talakaveri, the place where the river Kaveri originates. The journey was mostly uphill and it took us nearly two hours to get there. We knew there were some of Coorgs famous orange estates on the way, but unfortunately they were not situated on the regular vehicle route...one had to hitch-hike if they wanted to see it. Talakaveri had a temple and a small shrine to mark the birth place of Kaveri. Just beyond the temple was a flight of around five hundred stairs which took us to the pinnacle of the mountain. The climb was labourious but the view from the top was simply breath-taking and was well worth the effort. It was again picture time and we had a nice time taking a lot of Titanic inspired snaps.
As we descended the stairs and made our way to our Tavera, we were all aware that what was to follow would be the last salvo of our trip...the nice time we had would be ending soon. Inspite of that, we still had a great time singing,cracking jokes and having fun on the return trip. We even made sure that we brought home a few packets of coorgs famous coffee and tea powders. We reached back to base at a little after 10pm...everyone exhausted with the fun we had and the trip safely imprinted forever in our memories.
Before I end this travelogue, I would like to say that the trip would have been even more enjoyable had it involved the original ten. We all missed Vidya and would like to dedicate this trip and travelogue to her.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!!!!
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