Coorg Trip -- FEB 2012

SOOZ_PUNTO · Feb 8, 2012

Hi TAIs,

I am planning to have a trip to COORG from Bangalore on 23rd Feb to 26th Feb. Any Ideas regarding,

1. ROUTE
2. Places around COORG
3. Precautions to be Taken for my Punto and Us [:D]

As this is the first time I am going to drive more than 200 KMs at one stretch, please guide me the best way to reach Coorg. Anyone who completed recently a trip to coorg can provide some more idea on the route.

Any Homestays which is good??

Any other ideas are warmly welcome....

Vishwas · Feb 8, 2012

Hi Sujeet, good that you have planned for a long trip ,Coorg is a nice place to visit and luckily in February you won't have rains which ruins your entertainment,but Coorg is best to visit in rainy season.

Bangalore-Kengeri-Mandya-Srirangapatna-Hunsur-Kushalanagar-Somwarpet-Madikeri(Coorg)

Leave your place at early morning,so that you can avoid heavy traffic.
There are many restaurants from Kadamba to MCdees so breakfast wouldn't be a problem.

When you reach Srirangapatna,take a straight road towards mysore,then somwhere you will find the board showing Ranganatittu where you should take a right turn then proceed towards straight Hunsur road(this route is helpful because it avoids the entering the Mysore city.)

And then you will find a single lane road all the way to Coorg.

En route coorg, After Kushal Nagar you will come across Bailu Kuppe where there is a Golden temple of Buddhists(take a left at the arch),the golden temple is a must see place.

Then Kushal Nagar has good amount of hotels which can be selected by you based on prefrence.

Another place is the Nisargadhama which is a park,where many rare herbs are grown and the environment is awesome.

Afterwards head to the main destination The Coorg,after Somwarpet you will face the ghat section.

Coorg has too many places,so prioritize the places according to you from the list below:(the distance given is apprx.)
1) Raja Seat recreational park in Madikeri itself.
2) Abbi Falls around 30kms from Madikeri.
3) Talakauvery and Bhagamandala 50kms(Birth place of River Kaveri,and a
Temple)

The curves are too much from Kushalnagar,so be sure to drive carefully in those roads because our Pros Kstrcs will be in a hot pursuit so be warned from it.

The road condition till Somwarpet is good,but potholes will be your friend throughout the Madikeri.

Make sure you hire guides(if you need) is from the place where you reside only(Holiday homes)

You may find the best homestays in here:
Coorg HomeStay Guide

SOOZ_PUNTO · Feb 9, 2012

Thanks a lot Vishwas for all the information....Definitely it will help a lot

Here just one query, As I am a new Driver, will be very difficult to drive in those GHAT roads and approx. how many KMs I have cover in GHAT section?

Vishwas · Feb 9, 2012

SOOZ_PUNTO said:

I don't know the exact figures,but roughly around 50kms or so,
Be sure to honk before countering the curves,never pull off too much to the.Keep the speeds in limit of 40-50kmph.

auto_luver · Feb 9, 2012

one advice keep away from some of the reliance petrol pumps ( If at all they are still there ) after Mandhya . The petrol is contaminated , I lost my primary fuel pump in my santro after i filled petrol there !
The roads in the Ghat section are not that wide and as Viswas said be careful at curves.
have a nice journey !

Prads · Feb 10, 2012

I agree with auto_luver all the pumps on the highways are rigged or contaminated,my car would missfire at high rpm when i filled up at maddur.( @ auto_lover rumor has it reliance use to add some adulterants into there fuel but they have shut down now)

Take nice road if possible as the mysore road junction is always clogged for close to half an hour no matter what time(even early morning 6 & night 11)).

The Bypass Guide
The bypass(to avoid Mysore & save you time) is after Srirangpatna to your left you will find a resort entry called Amblee or Royal Retreat after which 100 meters later you will have to take a right(be cautious),you will cross a manned railway gate after 200 meters (to assure yourself your on the right road),
after a while you will pass KRS dam Road (you will get a "pure for sure" petrol pump just before that),after a few metres (there is some overhead railway bridge) make sure you go straight & NOT pull left towards Beml factory
you will now cross some power distribution center & arrive at hilwalla from there the road appears like Bangalore Mysore highway so you wont get confused.

If your planning to visit North Coorg like Madikeri ,Somwarpet,Kushalnagar follow the highway after Hunsur it will lead you towards kushalnagar & so on,you will get ghat section driving on this route towards Madikeri but nothing terrifying.

If you want to go to South Coorg directly like Gonikopal,Ponnampet then keep your eyes peeled after Hunsur you will get a hotel to the right called Balaji Palace after which roughly 1 or 2 km later a deviation is there towards the left,the roads are narrow & potholes are common,you will reach a forest area after which there will be a gate,that is where coorg district starts,as you go straight through you will pass Titimathi Town & 15km later get Gonikopal Town(there are decent petrol pumps here,watch out for jeeps backing out blindly)

My suggestions to you is Full tank your car in Bangalore & keep your tire pressure some 2 psi lower (or to a comfort setting rather mileage oriented) than you usually do as you will regret it over the uneven roads in Coorg & check your spare tire is right,make sure you have enough cash with you as Atms wont work always & keep a torch with you as power cuts are a possibility.Let the homestay people know your food preferences well before arriving so that they can have all necessary items in hand,you mite have to carry your own liquor from Bangalore as some brands mite be hard to find in coorg.

Giving you some Home Stay links in addition to what Vishwas has provided

Home Stay Kodagu - Home Stays

Find a Coorg Homestay | A Guide to Homestay in Coorg | List of Homestays in Coorg

SOOZ_PUNTO · Feb 10, 2012

Thanks Auto_luver, Vishwas, Prads for such good informations...

Definitely, I will keep in mind these things before leaving. My plan is to stay in coorg for 3 and half days. So can I cover both South and North Coorg? And which will be better if I want to start from Coorg on the 4th day afternoon so that I can reach Bangalore by late evening?

Prads · Feb 10, 2012

The journey back will be swifter from North Coorg side by some 20/30 min in comparison to South Coorg,If one leaves after lunch like around 2 pm you should be in Bangalore at 6:15 odd,with a heavy foot you can say 5:30 (getting past slow moving trucks/bus having drag races with Tata Ace/truck hence blocking everyone),Once your in Bangalore traffic then time can be anyones guess.

Tip- When you see cars switch on there Hazard lamps it means there are some Barricades or speed breakers ahead,its a common thing on this route !

SOOZ_PUNTO · Mar 1, 2012

Hi Guys,

I have completed my first Looong drive to Coorg successfully.
Start Date: 23-02-2012
End Date: 25-02-2012
Total Days: 03 Days
Total KM Covered: 746.3
Avg. FE: 18.3 with A/C, (22.0 without A/C)
Destination: Coorg (Madikeri)

All the preparations were made in advance. Accommodations were booked in advance, Tyre pressure checked, Tank filled, bags packed, Maps on place and we are ready for our trip.

I have kept one extra led Torch, Vehicle Kit, Extra Tyre with proper Pressure, lots of dry foods and snacks.

Places Covered Day-wise,

1. Day-1 Golden Temple, Home stay Plantation visit and Raja's Seat, Night Trekking in Forest
2. Day-2 Dubare Elephant Camp, NishargaDhama, Abby Falls, BhagaMangala, ThalaCauvery and Some places shown by driver (local person)
3. Day-3 Coffee Plantation morning walk and return to Bangalore

Day-1

We(Me and my wife) planned to start at 5:00AM in the morning but due to laziness and fond of sleeping, started at 6:45AM from home. All the parameters in TRIP set to zero. In one stretch we covered upto Mandya on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. The traffic to my luck was not that much. We had our breakfast at 8:30 AM in Kamat Restaurent. On the way you can see lots of Kamat Restaurents, McDees, KFC and many local breakfast shops. They served with very good idlis which were coverd by some leaves and glass kind of structure. We are astonished and happy also to see that kind of idli. Halted for 30 mins and started for next stretch. After we crossed Shriranga Patna, we followed the bypass suggested by TAIans. In this road you have to follow the main road only, no need to follow any narrow road. We after 20 to 25 mins drive, joined the Mysore-Madikeri road. On the bypass, you can find a Railway crossing, then a TREE on the middle of the road which can be taken as land marks. The road of the by pass is not that great but still not that bad either with some pot holes in between. The Mysore-Madikeri highway is really good. Though I was tempted to drive more than 100Km/hr but controlled my speed within 100 Km/hr as this was my first long drive and we two were there. We took some help from our GPS too which helped us to find some ways but I think that was not required. Before 7 Kms from KushalNagar, we asked for the golden temple and people were very helpful in directing us. We took the left turn from the arch and headed to Golden temple. The temple was hardly 15 mins drive from the main road. The temple was really good and worth to have a halt over here. Took some snaps and started. The main road was quite straight forward to KushalNagar. We took our lunch over there and it was around 1 PM. There are many good hotels are there in this place. So food is not a problem at all. We took our food at a hotel called Green Leaves. It was good and food taste was awesome. Still we came to know later that one hotel called Carvan also is a good one. These hotels come on the left hand side of the road only and on the main road towards Madikeri, so no need to take any turns. After food went straight towards Homestay called Honey Pot Homes which is situated around 7 Kms before Madikeri town. The curve road starts after KushalNagar but not that much ghat road. The curves are sharp and have to control your speed. But as a new learner I completed safely, so expecting everyone should enjoy driving these wide and very good road. The roads were like a black snake ...Haha. We reached our homestay around 2:30 PM. Our homestay was really good and situated inside the coffee plantation. The place is well known as Sandal Card Estates. There were four cottages and we were offered to stay in a cottage called ORANGE. It was duplex kind of stuff but was really cool. The owner came introduced himself as the owner of the whole estate and asked me about the plans of visit around Madikeri. As I was interested in North Coorg only. I explained everything and he guided me the way what should be good for me. As this was the first anniversary for us, he asked me do we need some special thing and I said yes. He told, he will take care of it. At 4PM we were taken into the coffee plantation by their Jeep and showed us the plants, coffee manufacturing process. I was lost in the forest view and sounds of the birds. Such a calm place I enjoyed in a long time. Then we started our trip to Raja's seat which is in the Madikeri town only. The directions were informed by the estate owner and we reached without any problem. The roads in Madikeri is not that good but manageable. We parked our Punto outside Raja's seat for Rs.25 and headed for ticket counter. The ticket charge was Rs.10 for two people. I was amazed by the price :). The place consists of a small garden followed by a view point and it was awesome. At 7:30 PM they arranged a water laser show and we enjoyed the toy train train too. The train ticket is again Rs.20 for two people. It's a 1KM track and finishes in less than 5 mins :). Then we roam around for sometime and came back to our Estate. While returning, it was already night and I could not find the exact way. I asked traffic police and he guided me the way to Kushal Nagar route. As soon as We opened the door, the arrangement was simply awesome. We enjoyed the candle light dinner and a gift also provided by the estate people. Than at 9:30 PM we went for night trekking with the Estate owner to locate the flying squirrel. Wow , the experience was simply superb. Though we identified the squirrels, can not see them flying :(. And after 1 Hr came back to our cottage. That's how our first day went off. Next Day will post soon.Now some Pics to tell you guys more....

mukeshus · Mar 1, 2012

Wow sooz-punto, you refreshed my memories of Madikeri.

Even i did the Hunsur-Hassan route recently.

In Madikeri i hope you would have visited East-End Hotel, they serve you best food in that region.

Road to Dubare camp is a small road that leads you to a river, with farming land in between.

SOOZ_PUNTO · Mar 1, 2012

mukeshus said:

Thanks Mukeshus
I did not find time for East-End, though i heared about it.
On day 2 I covered Dubare camp, will write on that soon.

Vishwas · Mar 1, 2012

Whoa you covered a lot in just three days!

These were all the must see places glad you visited all of them

And please do elaborate your experience in the night trekking [:)]

Serrao · Mar 2, 2012

Nice write up Sooz punto! you have covered a good distance on your first long drive. Missed this thread, or would have given some suggestions on homestays. Coorg is best during rains and hot during summer. Do post some pics of your ride and homestay. And btw, Happy Anniversary [thumbsup]

ToughGuy · Mar 2, 2012

Very good write up SOOZ_PUNTO, pics are also nice. Congrats for such a lovely trip enjoyed your log thoroughly.

Prads · Mar 6, 2012

Good to see you enjoyed your trip SOOZ_PUNTO! I too left to Coorg One day before you 22nd Feb & returned on 5th March(explains my absence from the forum),I left at 7 odd in the morning & had breakfast at 9:30 in Hunsur,it was a wonderful drive,unlike on my return trip heavy traffic(since it was afternoon) & slow rude cabs who overtake you(by cutting you off) & keep you stuck behind them & was crawling in 1st gear for half an hour as a jam had occurred thanks to a truck breaking down a few km before nice road junction.

Anyways for almost everyday past 12 days in Coorg i would traditionally go out at 8 pm & since there is no light pollution you can see Mercury & Venus to the west & bright red Mars to the east very clearly,its amazing how much you can spot with your naked eye. Oh i guess half of the Mahindra Thars sold in Karnataka must be in Coorg spotted tons of them when i went there this time.

Anyways i managed to take a pic of a ransacked Maruthi 800 on the bypass road
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/road-safety-driving-sense/32-pictures-automobiles-involved-accidents-79.html#post141151

Coorg Trip -- FEB 2012

SOOZ_PUNTO

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Vishwas

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SOOZ_PUNTO

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Vishwas

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auto_luver

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Prads

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SOOZ_PUNTO

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Prads

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SOOZ_PUNTO

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mukeshus

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SOOZ_PUNTO

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Vishwas

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Serrao

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ToughGuy

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Prads

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