We are preparing for the upcoming TravelWise tour to Coorg with lot of research and information. While we are at it, here are some stories from Coorg area that Lakshmi and I had written for Deccan Herald.
Lakshmi writes about some intriguing stories of the kings of Coorg in Tuesday issue of DH.
As the Vijayanagar empire crumbled, Veeraraja, who dreamt of establishing his own dynasty was looking to exploit the weakness of local kingdoms… Disguised as a jangama or a priest with healing powers, he established a small group of followers in Haleri. He slowly overthrew the local Nayakas, including the formidable Karenbahu of Bhagamandala and Talacauvery, and went on to become the lord of Kodagu with Haleri as capital.
My story about my repeated treks to Thadiyandamol peak appeared in DH a few weeks ago.
Never before has a place beckoned me to return so many times. My second visit followed just a few months after the first. The third and fourth did not take very long either. I had made six visits at the last count and yet, each time I think of Thadiyandamol Peak, I ponder on making another journey soon.
Finally, here is another story I wrote a few months ago about the trek to Brahmagiri.
Wildlife is plentiful on the grasslands above the forest bungalow. Sambar deer, nilgiri langur and wild gaur are commonly seen along the hills. Elephants can be occasionally sighted grazing on the slopes. Lucky ones may see lion tailed macaques hopping from tree to tree in the shola forests. Tigers are known to exist, but sightings of the big cat are not common.
I made a quick visit to Coorg last weekend, driving past some well known and some less known places in the hilly district. I was there on work,designing a story telling tour on the nature, history and culture of Coorg for TravelWise. Most of the time was spent talking to a few home-stay owners, checking out road conditions and measuring time taken to travel from place to place. I had seen most of these places during my half-a-dozen or so visits to Coorg earlier, except for Omkareshwar Temple and the tombs of the kings. Also, I was going there now after having gone through a lot of material on history, nature and culture of Coorg.
File photo of a stream passing through a private land. Picture from one of the places we visited last weekend.
I was instantly captured by the beauty of the Omkareshwar Temple with its large kalyani and the indo-sarcenic architecture. The temple premises were very quiet and there were just a handful of people besides us. It is located in a quieter corner of Madikeri where there is little traffic and very few tourists coming in.
Omkareshwar Temple, Madikeri
Gaddige is an array of tombs of the kings of Coorg – Dodda Veeraraja, Lingarajendra and a few courtiers. Located on a small hillock in a grassy plain, the tombs look grand and beautiful from outside, though the interiors are plain and simple.
Gaddige or the Tombs of the Kings in Madikeri
Some of the other things we are working on for the tour are possible short nature walks, visit to Talakaveri and Bhagamandala, insights to growing coffee in Coorg, insights to the distinct culture of Kodavas with a visit to their ancestral house and a few more things. We also met a well informed and well travelled Kodava who gave us a lot of dope on the culture and history of Coorg, told us of the less known stories of Igguthappa and about an ancient trading route to Kerala through the hills. Of course we saw some of the best of the nature in Coorg, seeing a very tall waterfall in a private land and passing through coffee estates into a small meadow to the views of Kabbe Hill and the ridges around Thadiyandamol.
It was a quick visit, but well worth the journey.
Also see:
I will be posting a few more details on the upcoming trail in Coorg.