Coorg: Love for coffee

Coorg is heaven for coffee, pork(not for me:), and nature lovers.

After a week of binge eating & meeting a lot of people at a wedding in my hometown, it was time to get lost in nature. We drove down to Coorg from Bangalore(5 hrs drive). We stayed in the guest house(Wenge house) near the main city bus stand. It was a comfy & spacious house with all amenities. This is a good place for family & long term stay. The owners are there to guide you with all the things to do and eat in Coorg.

If you are in Coorg just for a weekend or a few days, it is highly recommended to stay at a homestay inside coffee plantations. We stayed at one such place — BB estate homestay. Nice quiet place with good home-cooked food.

BB Homestay: Nestled in coffee plantations and large old trees.

Things to do in Coorg:

• Grab some freshly brewed coffee at Ainmane(coffee shop). This is also a good place to buy some Coorg special spices, coffee & chocolates.
• Drive down to Abbey falls.

• Visit viewpoints like Raja’s seat. My personal favorite was: Kathlekad viewpoint. This was close to the coffee estate we stayed at. You can walk around the lush green pastures and get an almost 360º view of the beautiful Western Ghats.
• Highlight of the trip was the Tadiandamol trek. This is the highest peak(5,735 feet) in Coorg and the third highest in Karnataka. We started the trek at 7 am from Nalknad Palace(you can drive further ahead if you want). Check for the timings of the checkpost before you leave. It starts with the long path of spice, coffee, and areca nut trees. All through the trek, there are super views of the lush green hills, small streams of water & waterfalls. Unfortunately, when we reached the peak, it was super windy and foggy so we did not get the view there. But that was a different experience and a cooler temperature is always better during a trek. We ended the trek by 2.30 pm and drove down to the main city craving for some good lunch as there are not many options near the trek base point.

Views during the trek

Some tips for the trek:

• Carry some salt and Dettol spray if you are trekking during wet months as you will come across leeches.
• Carry snacks, dry fruits, fruits, and water. There are no shops nearby to get these before or after the trek.
• Start early and try to wrap up before 3 pm.
• Carry a light jacket as it gets chilly at the top or there might be some showers.

If you have more days to spare in Coorg, you can visit some places within 30–60 mins drive like Tibetian Golden Temple(Was closed due to COVID), Nagarhole National Park, and Talacauvery temple.

Places we ate at: Valley View(Great location), Coorg Cusine(near to bus stand & great for local food), Raintree(multi-cuisine), lots of Udupi hotels in the main town for breakfast.

Travel dates: Dec 3–8 2020, Weather: pleasant (23 C Max, 15 C Min)