Upcoming Travel: Ride to the Mocha Mountains!!

Tomorrow morning, five of us start our weekend ride to the coffee hills of Coorg. It has been a while since I last went on a motorcycle ride. Its been so long that I don’t remember the last ride. Well, coming back to this upcoming trip…4 bullets and one pulsar plan to take the Bangalore –> Maddur –> Mandya –> Srirangapatna –> Hunsur –> Kushalnagara –> Madikeri route.

We hope to reach Madikeri for lunch. And then spend a relaxed afternoon. The plan is to see if we can visit Madikeri fort, Abbey Falls and the city centre. And may be other interesting places or spots that we may come across. For the night, we will check into some budget hotel.

The next day, we plan to take it easy and do sightseeing till early lunch. Post lunch, we plan to take the scenic Madikeri – Virajpet road that winds its way through coffee plantations, paddy fields, tropical forests and mountain streams. This route passes through Siddapur and Kakkabe and is one of Kodagu’s most beautiful spots. From Virajpet, we plan to take the Gonigoppal route to Hunsur and Srirangapatna and then back to Bangalore. We aim to be back in Bangalore latest by 8 pm.

More on this when I am back.

P.S. I know that my pictures from Sri Lanka and Tadoba Tiger Reserve are being waited for and I promise to roll them out in a week or two.

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Aura of Coorg’s Coffee Estates

It is these coffee estates that attract most tourists to Coorg, the tropical hotspot in the Western Ghats of Karnataka in India. And it is these coffee estates that offer a mystical aura during the monsoons.


The misty surroundings, the slight nip in the air, the coffee estates, the spice plantations, the colourful plants and flowers and the dense tropical trees all around make you want to spend your holiday in this tropical paradise with a cuppa of hot steaming coffee in your hands.


In this instance, I had recently visited Honey Valley Estate, a 56 acre homestay located in the Kakkabe side of Coorg. There was a consistent drizzle during my stay here, but that is the fun of visiting such tropical places in the monsoons.

 
A relaxing walk through these coffee estates can be quite interesting. In fact, every time I go on such walks, I feel I am taking a botany class.

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Coffee in Coorg

Coorg, one of the hottest bio-diversity hotspots of India is known the world over for its aromatic coffee. In fact, the entire Indian nation swears by the Coffee from Coorg, the area which produces most of Indian Coffee.


It is a surreal experience to holiday in this mocha paradise. The sloping coffee estates and the spice plantations add to the charm. And if you are in Coorg (Kodagu) during the Coffee picking season, then you can savour the sweet aroma of coffee in the air and be totally captivated.

 
The authentic cup of coffee here has no added chicory in it, which makes it 100% coffee and even without any sugar, it tastes a little bit sweet. But, the aroma, the fragrance, the colour, the taste and the caffeine powers make this brand of Coffee a very potent combination.

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Lovely Tea Plantations of Chembra Estate

One has to cross hundreds of acres of tea plantations to reach the starting point of the Chembra trek. But, in all the excitement of the trek, you tend to just glance at the immaculate tea gardens and then respond ‘WOW’.


In fact, the Chembra estate is so beautiful that you can comfortably spend at least a couple of days exploring its large area. The Chembra estate is primarily made up of tea estates.


But, along with the tea estates are the coffee plantations at slightly lower altitude, which co-exist with betel nut trees, pepper climbers, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla climbers, turmeric and other exotic spices.


This exotic concoction of landscapes and plantations is situated in the Wayanad district of God’s Own Country – Kerala. It is located about 7 kilometres from Meppady and about 20 kilometres from Kalpetta, the district headquarters of Wayanad.

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Backpacking through the Western Ghats – Day 5: Kemmangundi – Kalahatti Falls - Mangalore

Day 4 was spent amidst coffee plantations and soaking in the sight of the Grand Hebbe Falls.

It was an early morning for us as we completed our morning activities, packed up our stuff, had breakfast and walked down the slope of the tar road towards Kalahatti Falls. The descent was quick and we completed 10 kms in no time.

 
At Kalahatti Falls, the water was not thundering like that of Hebbe Falls, but it was ideal for a proper shower. And thus, we had our first royal bath in 5 days. After having a relaxed bath, we had sumptuous lunch at one of the nearby shacks and boarded a bus that took us to Lingadahalli. Here we waited for about 30 minutes before we boarded a super crowded bus that took us to Udupi. From Udupi, we caught a bus to Mangalore, our destination for the day. It was about 10:30 pm by the time we got ourselves into a decent budget hotel. All this after spending half a day at bus stands at inside rackety buses.

Total Trekking Distance: 10 Km
Trekking Time: 2 hours

To view the entire set of photos, click the album below.

Backpacking through the Western Ghats of Karnataka, India

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