The statues of Padmasambhava, Buddha and Amitayus at Namdroling monstery.
We reached Madikeri by noon and checked into the hotel. The town looked filthy and crowded. The labirynth of narrow and one way roads made the matters worse. There are a very few vegeterain hotels in Madikeri and the service is pathetic and the cleanliness is the last thing to expect here.Post lunch saw us at Abbe falls, 8 kms from Madikeri. A narrow road continuously goes down and the final 400 mtrs has to be covered by foot. The falls is in a private coffee estate. The skies opened as soon as we reached the falls and people started running for cover. The umbrellas saved the day for us. The falls was in full flow and looked great.
We then went to Raja’s seat in Madikeri town. This is where the Kodagu kings would view the sunsets. Due to the misty weather, we could not see much of the views.
The next day started with the drive towards Bhagamandala, a temple town, 40 kms from Madikeri. The best part is the scenic drive through the coffee estates.
Bhagamandala is the confluence of three rivers, Kaveri with Kannike and Sujyothi rivers. The temple is simple, built with Kodagu architecture.
We then started towards Talacauvery, the birth place of Kaveri. It is situated on the slopes of Brahmagiri hills. The drive towards Talacauvery has a couple of beautiful view points.Birth place of Kaveri river.
Near the temple, the steps lead up to the Brahmagiri hills. But when we reached there, the rain started and we were drenched in a few seconds. The visibility reduced to a few feet.
We were back to Madikeri for lunch and the rains ensured us to stay indoors for the rest of the day. Watched ” Galate Aliyandru” on the TV.Next day, we visited Omkaraeshwara Temple in Madikeri. The temple is built in a mosque style with dome and minarets.
We then started back to Bangalore. We took a detour for Harangi dam. The dam looked great with its gardens and scenery. It was pity that photography was prohibited here. This is what I could capture.
The last spot was Nisargadhama, a nice spot with a deer park, elephant rides and boating. The rope bridge was great. The elephants were missing and the boats were lying on the ground unused. Kids would definitely like that place.Rope bridge at Nisargadhama.
Kaveri river at Nisargadhama.
The remaining part of the journey to Bangalore was uneventful and continuous rains till Mysore slowed down the speed.Route:Bangalore -> Srirangapatna -> Hunsur -> Piriyapatna -> Kushalanagar -> Madikeri -> Bhagamandala -> Talacauvery.Distance:
Bangalore – Srirangapatna : 125kms
Srirangapatna – Hunsur : 50kms
Hunsur – Piriyapatna : 20kms
Piriyapatna – Kushalanagar : 20kms
Kushalanagar – Madikeri : 32kms
Madikeri – Bhagamandala : 40kmsBhagamandala – Talacauvery : 8kms
Kodagu
30th September – 2nd October, 2006
A long weekend and i became restless. I thought of a place to spend those three days and decided to visit the Madikeri and Kushalanagar belt of Kodagu. Due to my Taiwan visit, I could not plan early, and by the time I decided for Coorg, all the rooms were full. Finally, I could book a room in a hotel in Madikeri.
As usual, we started at 6 on a Saturday morning. The Bangalore-Mysore highway was almost completed and the great road allowed the speedometer of my car to touch 115km/hr. That was the maximum i could achieve, as my car will not go beyond 115km/hr. I had to watch the CRV’s and Innova’s overtaking my car with ease 🙁 Breakfast was at Maddur Tiffanis.
After Sriragnapatna, i took a Mysore bypass road to Hunsur, passing through Ranganathittu and KRS. The Mysore – Madikeri road was OK…. except for a stretch of 20-30kms due to road widening.
The first spot in the itenenary was Bylakuppe, a Tibetian colony near Kushalanagar.
The Namdroling monastery at Bylakuppe.
Avinash
maja maaDu maga.. :).. nice fotos..