Hill Stations in Karnataka: Coorg

Coorg or Kodagu in Karnataka, India is a very charming place with its range of hills, coffee plantations and the sweet oranges.

Coorg has a lot to offer if you love adventure as it has high hills and valleys and the right place for trekking.

You can approach Coorg from all the three different states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil nadu in India.

We travelled from Bangalore, Karnataka. It is about 270 kms from the place we live and it took about 5 hours to reach Coorg including the time taken for breakfast.

The natives of Coorg are Kodavas. When we travelled from Bangalore to Kodagu we could see men and women dressed in their traditional attire. Our guide in the hotel explained to us that the Kodavas are good at sports and martial arts and they traditionally joined the armed forces to serve the country.

The natives of Coorg dominated the coffee trade and we could see beautiful coffee plantations along the sides of the road up the hill. There were three types of coffee plants as explained by our guide; coffe Arabica, coffe robusta and coffe liberica. Coffee Arabica is said to have intense flavor. Coffee liberica grow tall and they are the less popular ones.

We could also see some poisonous snakes in the jungles of Coorg. Green tree snake and a viper resting on the leaves were beautiful sights. There were also cardamom plantations. Even in September, it was raining and it was fun to walk out in the evening when it was drizzling.

The atmosphere is peaceful and is very good as a getaway on weekends from the concrete jungle where you live in.

The place has reserved its natural beauty and you may come across beautiful creatures like snakes and lizards as you see in the picture below.

The evening trip to the nearby hills through the forest was fantastic. The trip was on a jeep hired from the hotel. A guide accompanied us in our trip to the hill tops. We had two stoppages one at 1300 feet height and another at 1900 feet height. The view of the surrounding hills was magnificent. We were surprised to see one or two houses living at such heights; children playing around. Hens and cattle were also seen at such heights.

Other activities you can enjoy in Coorg are trekking, exploring the plantations, river rafting etc. they have also started with horse riding. Elephant riding is possible in Dubare elephant camp. Dubare elephant camp gives the opportunity to go closer and watch the elephants and even participate in taking care of them like feeding and bathing.

The amusements did not end at the hill tops. We got this river which is flowing all frothy and beautiful on our way back from the hill tops. Our guide took us there. I could hardly see any other human being in the vicinity. The water was clear and cold to touch.

We stayed in Club Mahindra, Kodagu valley. It is a very secluded place away from the husle and busle of Madikeri town.

The entrance of the hotel has a “nadumuttom” in Kerala style. But the front office staff did not show any distinction though it is marketed as a five star resort. They were lacking personal touch.

The room had a small kitchen with a microwave oven and a small refrigerator. There were plates, spoons and other cutleries. The food prices were exorbitant. The room had a beautiful balcony facing courtyard. The misty mornings and the rainy evenings were romantic.

The micowave oven and the refrigerator helped us to prepare something on our own when we got bored with the restaurant food.

On our way back, we saw this beautiful sight of sheep being taken home probably after a whole day grazing at nearby fields.

We relished our stay in Coorg (Kodagu valley) as it was different in many ways; the weather, the people, the greenery, the smell of spices….