The Scotland of India - Coorg!

In October, my dear friend and partner was planning to move cities, we decided to accompany him and help him settle down. I decided to take this opportunity and visit the coffee capital of India - Coorg or Kodagu. We decided that we will stay for 7 days in Coorg and then visit Mysore on our way back home. 

This was not going to be my first trip to Coorg, we had been here before and we kind of knew what to expect, but boy was I in for a ride! The stay this time around was so much more relaxing and energising. 

We started off in a cab from Mysore to Coorg, on the way we saw a beautiful sunset.

Sunset On The Way To Coorg

We had booked a traditional homestay in middle of dense 30 acer coffee plantation. It was called 4C's Little Paradise. Its clean, cozy and very comfortable. The family that runs this place is very loving and we felt like we were living with our extended family! 

4C's Little Paradise

The View From Our Room

The pictures do not do justice to the beauty of this place. The mornings were blissful and enchanting. We could hear so many birds, it was almost as if they were welcoming us to their kingdom. 

That blue thing is a swimming pool

The place is almost 1KM off the main road. That road cuts through coffee estates on both sides. We regularly walked that path and it was always energising. 

Path To the 4C's

For a coffee lover like myself, its heaven on earth. Looking at acres and acres of coffee plantation is mesmerising.

Every coffee plantation you would see these tall trees covered with black pepper creeper.

Pepper covered trees

At the entrance of the 4C's estate there are these two giant African trees, they looked huge and majestic, they remind me of The Gates of Argonath from LOTR

I just could not capture both of them in one picture frame - my bad.

Next to one of the tree there was a hug log, we though it was a fallen tree trunk, turned out it was just a fallen branch from this humongous African tree!

If you look closely in the above picture, you will see the parts of the broken branch. 

During the weekdays we used to work from our homestay, they had fast broadband connectivity. Over weekends we visited some of the places in and around Madikeri. 

We traveled like a local, didn't hire a cab, we went to to different places in public transport and rickshaw. On Saturday we visited Abbey Falls and Raja Tomb.

Abbey Falls

Raja Tomb

Raja Tomb is a beautiful monument with beautiful sculptures all around the place.

Next day we visited Mandalpatti. To go there you will need to hire a Jeep, its best to hire it from the Madikeri Bus Stop. The journey is an adventure itself, the jeep has to go through rough rocky path. The ride is fun, but the view from the hill top is well worth the effort. 

Mandalpatti

Here, weather keeps changing very fast, one moment everything is clear and another moment you cannot see the person standing next to you.

After that we visited Kote Abbe Falls. 

Kote Abbe Falls

The water here is so clear that you can see the floor clearly. We dipped our legs into this cool stream and got free natural fish pedicure.

Can you spot the tiny fish?

What can be better than having a nice warm camp fire after a long trying day? 

The time seems to run fast when you are having a good time, before we could realise, our 7 days at Coorg were over and it was time to go to Mysore. 

We didn't have a lot of time in Mysore but in the few days that we had we got a glimpse of the city. One evening we managed to visit a small carnival in the city, it refreshed some of my childhood memories!

 Next day we visited the Chennakeshava Temple in Somnathpura. Its temple build in the 13th century and the intricate stone carvings in the temple are very beautiful. 

The temple is situated away from the hustle bustle of the city. Being there and sitting there for a while installs a feeling of calmness in you!

We created many lovely memories that we will cherish for our entire life!