Coorg Travel Guide: Coffee Estates, Waterfalls and the Kodava Hills

Kodagu, known to visitors as Coorg, covers 4,102 sq km of the Western Ghats in southwest Karnataka, and its headquarters is Madikeri. The district administration notes three wildlife sanctuaries, Brahmagiri, Talakaveri and Pushpagiri, and the Nagarhole National Park, and a landscape of paddy in the valleys and coffee and pepper on the hills. Karnataka Tourism calls the Kodavas a warrior community that gave India Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa and General K. S. Thimayya. Sights are spread across the district, so group them by distance from Madikeri: the district puts Abbey Falls at about 6 km, Mandalpatti 18 km, Bhagamandala 39 km and Talakaveri 46 km.

Madikeri, Raja's Seat and the Omkareshwara Temple

Raja's Seat, a park a short way from Madikeri's bus stand, is where Kodava kings and their consorts are said to have spent their evenings, the district says; it looks over green mountains and valleys and is the town's sunset point. The Omkareshwara Temple, built in 1820 by Lingarajendra II, mixes Kerala tiled roofs with Islamic domes in an Indo-Saracenic style, close to the bus stand and, Karnataka Tourism notes, a stone's throw from Madikeri Fort.

Abbey Falls

Karnataka Tourism says the water drops about 70 feet over wide rocks here, about 6 km from Madikeri. You reach it through private coffee plantations, and a hanging bridge gives a view from above. Bathing and swimming are not allowed, and parking is limited. It is wide rather than tall.

Mandalpatti viewpoint

About 18 km from Madikeri on the way to Abbey Falls, Mandalpatti looks over the grasslands of the Pushpagiri forests, and its local name, Muguli-peth, means market of clouds. The district says the Forest Department encourages visitors to take the 4x4 jeep ride up, and that the viewpoint is known for sunrise and sunset, so go early or late in the day.

Talakaveri and Bhagamandala

Talakaveri, about 46 km from Madikeri by the district's count, is the birthplace of the Kaveri: a small shrine with a silver Shiva linga marks the spring, and Brahmagiri peak rises beside it. On Tula Sankramana, which usually falls on 17 October, thousands come to see the sudden rise of water in the spring, so expect crowds then. Bhagamandala, about 39 km from Madikeri, is the sangama of the Cauvery, Kannike and Sujyoti rivers, with the Bhagandeshwara temple, built in the Kerala style with red tiled roofs.

Iruppu Falls and Brahmagiri

Iruppu Falls, also called Lakshmana Tirtha Falls, drops about 170 feet in the Brahmagiri hills, Karnataka Tourism says. A narrow forest trail of about 1 km each way leads past the Rameshwara temple, which draws pilgrims at Shivaratri. Swimming is not recommended because of strong currents and sudden drop-offs, and the falls are least impressive from December to February. The longer Brahmagiri trek, about 15 km and of moderate difficulty, needs an entry permit from the Forest Department, and guides are available at the local forest offices.

Tadiandamol and Nalaknad Palace

Tadiandamol is the highest peak in Kodagu and the second highest in Karnataka, at about 1,750 metres. Karnataka Tourism describes a trail of about 7 km each way from Nalaknad Palace, rated easy and done in a day. Camping is not allowed on the peak, so trekkers must come back before sunset. Nalaknad Palace, built in the late 1790s as a refuge for the Kodava ruler Chikka Veera Rajendra, is the starting point, and the Padi Igguthappa temple, to the deity the Kodavas worship as giver of grain, is a main attraction on the hill.

Dubare and Harangi elephant camps

Dubare is the Forest Department's elephant camp in Kodagu, and the district says a newer camp opened at Harangi, in the reservoir backwaters, to which 15 elephants were moved from Dubare; Harangi also has a tree park and pedal boats. After a visitor died during a bathing session at Dubare, the Karnataka Forest Department issued rules for its elephant camps that ban visitors from touching, feeding or bathing the elephants and require a distance of at least 10 metres. Confirm with the Forest Department what a camp allows before you plan around it.

Namdroling Monastery, the Golden Temple at Bylakuppe

Karnataka Tourism describes the Namdroling Monastery, popularly the Golden Temple, as one of the largest Tibetan settlements in India, at Bylakuppe, about 5 km from Kushalnagar. Statues of the Buddha, Amitayus and Padmasambhava stand inside, visitors may turn the prayer drums, and it is a working monastery, so keep voices low and ask before photographing monks.

Coffee estates and the Coffee Board

Coorg is one of the Coffee Board of India's named coffee regions. The Board gives its estates an elevation of 750 to 1,100 metres, growing both arabica and robusta, with pepper, cardamom, orange, banana and arecanut grown alongside, and its production table puts Kodagu ahead of every other district, most of it robusta. Ask an estate or homestay whether visits and tastings are open.

How Coorg coffee is grown

The Board says India grows all its coffee under shade, in a two-tier canopy of about 50 kinds of shade tree, so the estates are wooded rather than open. Its table of growing conditions lists blossom showers of 25 to 40 mm, in March and April for arabica and February and March for robusta. The Board's Mysore Nuggets Extra Bold grade is washed arabica from regions that include Coorg, and its Robusta Kaapi Royale grade is robusta from regions that include Coorg.

The district administration says rainfall is intense in July and August, with showers often into November, and that some areas can see more than 4,000 mm in a year. It gives an average temperature of 15 °C, ranging from 11 to 28 °C, with the highest temperatures in April and May. Karnataka Tourism calls Coorg a favourite travel spot throughout the year, and gives three days as the ideal stay.

The rains change what you see. Karnataka Tourism says the sight and sound of Iruppu Falls is most invigorating in the monsoon and that it is least impressive from December to February, and mist can hide the viewpoints. Talakaveri is crowded around 17 October for Kaveri Sankramana. The Coffee Board lists the blossom showers that start the coffee flowering in February to April. For the other hill station people compare it with, see our Coorg or Ooty article.

Karnataka Tourism says Madikeri and the rest of the district have numerous homestays, budget hotels and luxury resorts. Madikeri suits a first night, because most of the sights are a drive from it, while an estate stay gives the coffee and the quiet. Without a railway, the practical way around is a hired car.

• Brahmagiri needs a Forest Department entry permit; camping is not allowed on Tadiandamol; bathing is not allowed at Abbey Falls.
• Swimming is not recommended at Iruppu Falls, for its strong currents and sudden drop-offs, and Karnataka Tourism calls Chelavara Falls unsafe for bathing.
• Check IMD's district warning before long drives in July and August.
• Elephant camps change their rules; follow the Forest Department's instructions.