Coorg Weekend Getaway

Mid-July, Snubnose and I took a short weekend break with my work friends to Coorg. True, it is right in the middle of the monsoon, and we fully expected our trip to be a washout. However, though it rained off and on, the weather was overall very pleasant, and we ended up having a great time.

This time, we spent a lot of time in Coorg proper (Madikeri) and nearby places. We stayed at the Coorg Heights resort, which is a nice resort up slope, with sweeping views of the hills and valleys around.

The resort was beautiful and lush. However, there wasn’t too much to see or do at the place, so after a hearty breakfast on Saturday, we set out for a day of exploration.

The resort guy suggested that if we wanted some great view points, we should skip the popular Raja Seat and instead head for Mandalpatti. The road wouldn’t be too good, but the views would be worth it.

So off to Mandalpatti we went.

Our resort friend had not exaggerated either about the condition of the roads, or the views.

The roads were winding and steep, and towards the end, we had to get down from our bus, and board smaller jeeps and off-road it for a while. By the time we reached, we were all pretty shaken and stirred, and yes, slightly sick as well.

But Mandalpatti was beautiful.

We couldn’t really get great views as such, because it was pretty foggy, but we loved the bracing fresh air and the glimpses of the hills and valleys when the fog cleared.

Past the nausea-inducing drive back down, we explored a bit of Madikeri, stopping to take a few photos of the Madikeri Fort.

We didn’t go inside the fort as a friend told us there’s nothing much in there, and we were hungry and generally feeling very tired (we had taken an overnight bus to Coorg, and hadn’t had much sleep).

Instead, we settled down to a long, leisurely lunch at The Fort Mercara. I’ve always struggled with food during my previous visits to Coorg, being a vegetarian. However, The Fort Mercara was good serving ample variety of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. A big plus is that they serve both authentic Coorgi cuisine, but also regular stuff for the non-adventurous diner.

The afternoon was then spent souvenir shopping – mostly a lot of spices, and home-made chocolate. I was hoping to get some good home-made wine (Coorg is famous for this), but unfortunately I lucked out in that department.

By then it was late evening, and we settled down for drinks, and a gathering at the bonfire. A lot of drinking and dancing later, we all headed to our rooms to bed.

The next day dawned lovely and pretty. So pretty that we ended up breaking into smaller groups, and doing our own things. Snubnose and I went for a short stroll early in the morning, and then just hung around the resort until leaving time.

On the way back, we made a stop for lunch at Mysore. Usually, we go for the traditional fare, but this time we tried Jungle restaurant. A jungle-themed restaurant, it was a fun affair with the kids all running around the place trying to spot the different stuffed animals. The food was excellent, but what was really unexpected was the lovely swimming pool on the terrace, and the Ayurvedic massage offered as well. Again unfortunately we were running out of time – needed to be back home by sunset, and ready for the Monday back at office/school, and so we couldn’t linger on at Jungle like we wanted to. Next time, I assured Snubnose.

After lunch, it was time to clamber on to the bus again, and make full speed back home. That is of course until we hit South Bangalore, after which it was an agonizingly slow and bumpy ride all the way back home.

Note: This is probably our umpteenth trip to Coorg, but one of the nice features of the place is that there is always something new to see. Even though I’ve been here several times, I’ve never actually repeated an itinerary. See some older posts on Coorg here and here.