The only thing unpleasant about a holiday to Coorg is the tedious journey to reach there from Mumbai. Coorg is 135 kms by road from Mangalore, which is the nearest airport while Bangalore is 250 kms away. We landed at Mangalore at 10AM .I had studied and memorized the mode of our journey to our resort, the Orange County, from here. The drive to Madikeri took around 5 hours by a KSRTC bus. Coconut, banana, palm, rubber and areca nut plantations could be seen on both sides as we passed a forest and a river on the way. Roads were bad and the afternoon warm.
From Madikeri, it was another one –hour bus journey to Siddhapur. This road was narrow and ran through villages and hamlets adorned with flaming red flowers presenting a beautiful sight. Coffee, pepper and spice plantations and giant silver oaks replaced the tall coconut trees. At 6 PM we were at Siddhapur. The last leg of our journey was just 7 kms. long and an auto rickshaw took us to Orange County cutting through dense coffee estates. We had covered a distance of 190 kms. to reach Orange County. The district of Coorg lies in south Karnataka and Madikeri is it’s capital . Coorg is called Kodugu in the local lingo and Madikeri is actually the local name for Mercara. It is said to have been the state’s best kept secret for long time to keep it out of the bounds of tourist hordes and irritating back-packers. Even today, it is not known to many tourists and most of my acquaintances expressed ignorance when I told them that we were going to Coorg. Most of them would ask me “How do you spell that?” The inhabitants of Kodugu are called Kodavas. The resort was set in a coffee estate located in the dense Dubare forest on the banks of the Cauvery.A heavy veil of darkness hung all over the resort. A few dim lights struggled to fight the pervading darkness. Crickets and cicadas chirped merrily in unison.Two of the activities that the resort provided complimentary were the plantation tour and forest treks. On the plantation tour we were taken for a walking tour of the plantation areas and shown the various types of fauna that grew here. Lush sugarcane fields, coffee plants, cardamom shrubs, jatropha were all around the place. We learned to identify birds that we had rarely heard of earlier like barbets, drangos, coucals and the majestic paradise flycatcher. Wooden boards stuck all over the resort had informed us of the names of the various species of birds that could be seen here throughout the year The forest trek was a separate activity and we set out for the same at 10AM from our resort. Our motley group of around 15 people along with our guide then proceeded into the thick woods. The forest grew denser as we ventured deeper into it. We walked this way for 2 kms climbing down trenches, scaling small mounds and warding of the tall shrubbery. Finally, we reached the Cauvery and its cool and bubbly flow calmed our nerves. The branches of the trees on the river bank plunged downwards to touch the waters. The flowing water, the various varieties of fauna and the azure sky overhead made a great setting indeed. All of us sat on the bank, mesmerized by the scenery.We spent two days exploring the attractions nearby our resort. The Dubare Elephant reserve houses around 12 elephants with ages varying from the ripe old 51 years to 3 years. At 11AM every morning these elephants are drawn out from the jungles and taken for a bath in the Cauvery and then fed their meals. This daily spectacle has been commercially exploited and tourists are charged a small fee for witnessing it. For an additional sum, you can even bathe the elephants with your own hands. We decided to watch from a distance. A short ferry ride across the Cauvery took us into the abode of the elephants and very soon we saw mahouts leading their elephants to the river bank for their bath. The sight of these giant creatures frolicking in the water and enjoying a scrub administered by their mahouts was something we were seeing for the first time. After the bath, these elephants were led back to land and fed giant ragi balls which they devoured hungrily.
The next stop was the Cauvery Nisargdham at a place called Kushal Nagar. This is a park which houses a deer and rabbit enclosure and where you can ride an elephant. Our final stop for the day was the town of Bylakuppe, which is the biggest settlement of Tibetans in Asia, outside Tibet. The Namdroling monastery also called as the Golden temple is the chief attraction here. The lofty monastery and the Tibetan priests give you a feel of being in Thailand. The Giant golden statues of the seated Buddha with two other gurus inside the main temple are really impressive.
Our next outing was to the city of Madikeri which is also an hour’s drive from Orange County. Nothing really impressed us at Madikeri – The Omkareshwar temple, the mud fort, which now houses government offices, the Abby falls and the Raja’s seat, a viewing point were nothing much to write about. The Madikeri market is an excellent place to indulge in shopping for local produce My most favourite activity during all our holidays is lazing around and doing nothing.At the magical twilight hour, we would seat ourselves on chairs in our verandah and watch the day give way to the night. The moment was so mesmerizing that I wished that time would come to a standstill so that I could capture its beauty in the window of my mind for ever. As the Sun set, the stars made their twinkling appearance and the resort lights were set aglow. Darkness fell on the jungles and hills surrounding us. Birds of all varieties flew back to their treetop residences and the crickets began to play their orchestra. We kept sitting and soaking in the stillness till it was dinner time. The most enchanting moments were when the power failed. Before the resort generator could switch on, we were plunged in absolute darkness for a few seconds. In this brief moment, the stars seemed to double in number as well as become brighter. But within moments, technology would assert it ugly power and the generators would bring the lights on. Walking the dark lanes of the resort in the late nights or after dinner was an elevating experience. Sometimes we would spot a mongoose scurry past or a glow-worm with its eye’s glowing green like headlights.Meal times were another attraction. The favourite and staple food of the Kodavas is pork curry which is eaten with balls of mashed rice called kadambattu.
During the day, we would walk and explore the resort property trying to spot birds, insects, strange plants and admiring the various flowers. As a chill descended on the resort in the evenings, everybody could be seen heading to the coffee lounge for some hot piping coffee made from freshly ground beans topped with cinnamon powder.The last activity that we indulged in at the resort was the coracle boating. Our boatman took us sailing on the placid mahaseer-infested waters of the Cauvery outside our resort and pointed out to us various species of birds and even a snake coiled up on the river bank. Here we spotted kingfishers in plenty.All things have to come to an end and so did our holiday to Orange County.Just a few days back before embarking on our holiday, we were so excited that we could not sleep. Now it was all over. Someone has very truly said " Sometimes the grestest tragedy in life is to get your heart’s desire".