Coorg (Kodagu)

Overview

Coorg is the name most visitors use for Kodagu district, a hill country of the Western Ghats whose headquarters town, Madikeri, stands at about 1,170 metres. A Coorg tour is shaped by weather more than by almost anything else. The district averages roughly 2,700 mm of rain a year, and Madikeri alone is reported to see about 3,200 mm, most of it in July and August, so waterfalls, forest paths and road conditions all change with the month you choose.

The people matter as much as the landscape. The Kodavas are the district's indigenous community, known for a warrior tradition, a long record of service in the Indian Army, and their own language, dress and cooking. Meals here can include pandi curry, akki roti, kadumbuttu, noolputtu and bamboo shoot curry. Several of the year's key festivals are Kodava ones, built around weapons, the rice harvest and family hockey.

Madikeri makes a practical base. In town you can walk to the Raja's Seat viewpoint, see the old fort and the royal tombs called Gaddige, and drive about 5 km to Abbey Falls. Iruppu Falls lies to the south, near the Brahmagiri range. For a long day on foot, Tadiandamol is the district's highest peak at 1,748 m. The easy trail runs about 7 km each way from Nalaknad Palace, and overnight camping is not allowed, so trekkers come down before dark. Talakaveri, the source of the Kaveri, stands at roughly 1,276 m on the Brahmagiri hills.

Away from the peaks, Dubare has an elephant camp on the Kaveri's bank, and the state tourism board lists Nagarahole National Park among Coorg's wildlife draws. Guided estate visits explain how coffee is grown, picked and roasted, and some visitors stay in Kodava family homes or on plantations.

Most travellers reach Coorg by road through Mysuru and Kushalnagar. Two or three days is enough for the main sights, and a longer stay lets you add a trek or a quieter river stretch.

Known for

With the fort and the Gaddige tombs