KAR.-> Kodachadri & Mookhambikay Temple (Kollur)

Kodachadri (Karnataka, India) is a famous trekking cum religious spot in the Shimoga district. It is religious as it has been one of sage Shankaracharya’s many meditation-sites and a temple of Koduchadri is there at the hill-top surrounded by only a hamlet of priests, and it is trekkers’ haven as it is a dense Mookhambikay Wildlife Sanctuary interspersed by grasslands and openings to provide panoramic views of forested valleys and lakes.

Koduchadri is accessible from nearby town of Kollur (Karnataka) by a jeep-road (15 km), though the trekking option is more popular and I with my pal undertook it.

KOLLUR - The base-town for the Trek
Kollur is a religious town some 2.5 hours away from Udupi town. Udupi is a prominent town on NH-17 in the stretch between Mangalore City and Karwad. Buses are destined to Kollur every 15 min from the private (SBI) Bus Stand in Mangalore (134 kms, 4 hrs, Rs 67). Thus, we arrived at Kollur at noon and headed for the main Mookhambikay Temple (Closed between: 1:30 – 3 pm). Mythologically, the Goddess had killed the Mokhasur demon and hence the name. As all the temples set up by sage Shankaracharya have the priests of his sect, hence the Malayali influence is noticeable.

Karikatta - The Trek begins from here...
The trekking starts from a point or a bent in the road called Karikatta - 20 kms from Kollur. From Kollur, the buses to Karikatta leave around 2, 2:30 and 3 pm. Hence, by 2 pm, we had seen Mookhambikay Temple, done Lunch and had replenished all stocks and viands – water, fruits, mosquito repellants, batteries etc. as the journey onwards were to be a solitary one. We boarded the bus and reached Karikatta at 2:45 pm. This point is unmarked and uninhabited and hence very difficult to spot for the uninitiated, but for the bus-conductors. Fortunately, two more Malyali pals (from the Kerala state) also got down from the bus and four of us then entered the jungle trail. It is a dense Mookhambikay Wildlife Sanctuary through which this jeep-track winds its way for 4 kms.

Santosh Restaurant - is halfway, and climb begins from here...
At the end of this jeep-track, there is a lone restaurant, quite a landmark for this place called Santosh hotel. We had tea here and refilled our water-bottles from the rivulet.Now began a rather steep climb for another 4 kms. It was the most exhausting thing I had ever undertaken, and perhaps in a way, my ignorance about this sheer climb was bliss or else I might have baulked earlier. While the beaten path was clearly visible, it was narrow and riddled with slippery stones, broken trees and fern-leaves which may cause skin-rash. During rains, it is muddy and full of leeches as well, but not now. Still, we had packed some salt with us. The route went through inspiring forested and mountainous landscapes, dense jungles, open grasslands and hair-raising precipices, while the sun fumed on our heads. Managing a very sporty pace, we reached temple by 5 pm. Eight kms in 2 hours!

KODACHADRI - The Temple

A small PWD guest-house has two arrangements here next to the Temple: rooms at Rs.250 and sleeping mattresses on floor for Rs.25. Since, we also had our own bed-sheets, the latter suited us well. After booking the arrangements for night, I thought we were headed for the nearby water-falls and hence departed bare-footed like all others but our Malyali pals suddenly changed plans and decided to watch sun-set over the mountain-top, which meant another journey of 1 km to the mountain peak. Bare-footed climb over sharp and tooth-sawed earth, it was the single most excruciating experience I have gone through in my life. Nevertheless, the sunset was inspiring and several teams of trekkers enjoyed it. The night fell swiftly over the valley so that the descent of even a km took time.

The next morning was the most auspicious day of Shiv Ratri and the entire temple complex was cleaned and festooned with banana leaves. We rose early to capture the sun-rise in our cameras and hearts. How the sunlight dispels the mist and how pristine is the valley that lies further! A quick breakfast and we descended back from Koduchadri the same way, bidding adieu to our Malyali pals. The return journey is more treacherous as one has the sight of ruthless fall over the precipices as a frequent companion. A small slip at the wrong place and Mohit was an adventurous and a bright young man, beloved by all. The descent too took 4 hours (the same time as climb)!! Throughout the descent, groups of local boys and girls dressed in their best clothes were making for the temple in the morning and a few jeeps also came our way. Today was the restaurant’s day of the year.

Return Journey
We soon reached Kollur and then caught a bus for Udupi town where we lunched and headed for the Malpe beach. Along with Ullal / Summer Sands Beach in Mangalore city, this is the beach with the most facilities in all of South Karnataka with a youthful crowd from nearby Manipal Medical College and Surathkal REC to boot! And we were soon kissing the surf, only to dry the clothes lying on the bench for another 1 hour. The island of St. Mary is near and the boat for it can be boarded from the nearby docks (1.5 km) but unfortunately as we realized, only before 4:30 pm. So we returned for the Mangalore city

KAR.-> Coorg -> Madikeri & Kushalnagar

KODAGU (Karnataka, INDIA) also known as Coorg, is a hilly district nestled between the states of Karnataka and Kerala. It is known for its coffee, spices, mountainous beauty and gallantry. It is also special in that the natives are not belonging to the local stock and have their own customs and heritage. The district HQ (earlier the capital of Bristish estate) is Madikeri.

The picture to the right is of Namdroling Monastry, Kushalnagar, Coorg

MADIKERI: District HQ

Madikeri was earlier known as Mercara. It is 110 kms from Mysore, 140 from Mangalore and 250 from Bangalore. Madikeri commands a towering view of the faraway valleys from its vantage point over a mountain.

Fort is at the heart of the city. This small fort has been entirely converted for administrative purposes. There is only a Church converted into a small museum, inside the fort complex for public viewing. The district jail and a reverred temple is at the base of the fort. A Britishers installed commommeration statue is also at the fort's base in memory of the valour of soldiers during World War II.

Rajah's seat & Park- is half a kilometre further from the Fort. It is a picturesque garden with a small canopy at one end (dimly visible in the picture), from where the Rajah had the panormic view of the valley below. Today, the people throng the beautiful garden in the evening for the sunset.

Gaddige is a kilometre away from the city-centre in another direction. It is the royal burial ground. There are two identical big tombs with staircase up to the top.

Talacauvery (origin of river Cauvery) and Bhagmandala are other must-see points in Coorg district. They are 1 hour journey from Madikeri, part of which is on the route to Mangalore city. Personally I could not visit these.

KUSHALNAGAR: A better night halt than Madikeri

Before we realized, it had grown quite dark in Madikeri. As the plan was to see the herds of elephants early up in the morning in Dubare Elephant Camp, we enquired for a taxi to there, which is some 45 kms far, and also if hotel was available there. At once, the taxi-driver opened the door which was how we became suspicious in the first place. Oh, so he expected us to offer Rs. 600 to him (and without even being at gun-point) as the return journey too has to be paid like it or not, and besides there is no guaratee that rooms will be vacant in the only hotel there is at the camp. We thanked him for the information and cut the chase to nearby govt. Bus Stand and headed for Kushalnagar Around 19:30 pm, the bus arrived and me managed to find space enough to stand. Kushalnagar is another town 35 kms to the north of Madikeri, though smaller in size. It is in the plains and hence travelling is faster and smoother. This town is approached first when one is headed to Madikeri from Bangalore or Mysore and hence is well-connected too.

We reached Kushalnagar and had an excellent dinner and checked in a hotel (Rs 250 for double-bed room). Next morning we began early to take advantage over the tourists which will be swarming in bigger numbers in cars and buses from Madikeri. And here is the advantage of Kushalnagar over Madikeri, as the night halt. It is cheaper, more accessible by road, and nearer to some scenic locales such as the following:

Namdroling Monastry is 3 kms on the other side of Kushalnagar. It is the biggest community of Tibetans in South India. The temples are simply awe-inspiring and the culture is so unique. The main temple has gilded statues of Lord Buddha in the centre (60 ft) with Guru Padmasambhava and Guru Rinpoche (both 58 ft) on left and right of him. Besides, the elaborate paintings of 25 disciplines of Guru Padmasambhava, adorn the walls. Many a tibetan tales are told in the form of paintings. We paid a visit to their library and all books and manuscripts are covered in ochre cloth and bound by strings. The academy has several students coming from their nearby hostels in red dresses , and reciting their morning lessons in the classrooms.

Nisargdham Park is 3 kms way and is on the banks of Cauvery. Covered with Bamboo forests, it offers pedal and row boating, long hanging bridges to cross, wooden platforms and tree-houses to explore, elephant-rides to be enjoyed and herds of deers to feed.

Dubare Elephant Training Camp - is 12 kms further from Nisargdham. Here a herd of 15 elephants come for the bathing by Cauvery between 10 - 12 am and then again turn up between 4 - 5 pm. In other times too, one might be lucky to catch a glimpse of a few elephants coming over for food and bath. The tourists too get to splash around in the shallow-flowing Cauvery river, gently tumbling over the rocks. Elephants can be bathed personally and jumbo-rides are also arranged. One point in mind: the road to the elephant camp is quite broken in certain patches.

Hirangi Dam is some 7 kms from Kushalnagar but I personally did not go there as it was the dry season. The Dam's beauty is in post-Monsoon season in the months of September or October.