Coorg

We visited Coorg in Sept 2012, when my parents had come over for a visit. I didn't get around to make this post since then; and now, with all the time lag, its going to be just a picture post ....

Spectacular Pines

Cauvery - almost at a standstill

Supposed to be a riverside resort. Though this was all we could see of the Cauvery - and not with ease either.

Sunset

 Misty Mornings ...

Toy train in a play area near Raja's seat. Couldn't get any clear pictures from Rajah's seat viewpoint due to the haze.

Abbey Falls

The pathway at Abbey Falls

 Around the resort ...

 

Pepper vine - climbing up a tall straight tree.

 

Pepper

Coffee Bushes

Dragonfly or moth?

The area being all green and wooded, there were lots of insects ...

 ... specially spiders .... big and black and scary!

Flowers/seeds/nuts? of pine ...

Cardamom - buds grows along the roots of the plant

The Cardamom Plant

Hmm ... some notes on the trip that I remember ....

The resort advertized itself as being located in Madikeri. And apparently Google maps (oh, how we rely on it nowadays!!) showed its location at a desirable point. And we were totally misled! We drove along the main Madikeri road, which was a very good road, and then tried locating the resort. Turned out that Madikeri is a huge area, and the best route to all places is not along the main road. We should have taken a detour almost 40-50 kms back. We could either go back all the way and then drive to the resort almost 30 kms. Or go along an interior road for almost 30-40 kms. Looking at the distance we chose the second option, and we were in for a very bad time - the roads were pathetic, and at places, there was no road to speak of. So, we ended up driving for almost 50-60 kms and 2 hours extra.

Then the resort didnt turn out to be what was expected either. It called itself a riverside resort, with "by the Cauvery" in its title. Totally misleading. All we could see was a small bend in the river, where it was almost at a standstill, and even to see this we had to go down a difficult mud path which was inaccessible for kids and elders. Disappointing is an understatement!!

And then, we couldnt visit Taal-cauvery - the origin point of cauvery river because of the time and parents' health constraints. The resort was situated too much into the interior, and driving to Taal-cauvery and back would have been too long and exhausting. 

In all, a nice place, with all the plantations and greenery around, but the experience was not very good because of the resort. I would like to visit the place again, but stay at a better location, near the main highway.

More flowers from around home.

Back with some more flowers - clicked in the apartment complex I live in - that had been lying on my disk, waiting for more than 2 months to be posted.

 Come rain, and lilies start blooming all around!

Golden Trumpet (Allamanda)

A solitary mustard sprig

Sky flower (Duranta)

Canna seed pod

A couple of yellow lilies in midst of white 

(yellow ones are relatively rare, and pink are rarer)

A "Blue"

 A "Sulphur"

Shivansamudram falls

Located about 150 kms from Bangalore, Shivansamudram falls offer a spectacular view of grandeur of nature. The first view of the falls that you get from a watch-tower at the top of a small hill is majestic. You can go down to the point where the water falls down, through a steep flight of stairs. It is not just a spectacular view, but also an amazing feeling to be close to nature. Though the space at the bottom is quite less (logically so!), and rather packed with the visiting humans, and resident simians. The stairs are well built, though a bit difficult to get down, due to the incline. Climbing up was a lot more tougher! 

We also passed by an ancient temple, and made a stop there on our way back. Though it didn't look quite so ancient from outside, once inside we could see that the idols and the original shrines were really old.

We also crossed the river Cauvery, and at one point the bank was quite accessible from the road. We saw quite a few people stopping there, and Sid made us stop there (and had a lot fun in water)! At this point, along the concrete bridge, there was an ancient stone bridge, apparently no longer in use, but in a remarkably good condition - they don't make them like that any more!!

Though we chose the wrong time - of the year (it was post monsoon, so the flow of the water was not at its peak, but it could not be helped) - and of the day (we reached only around noon, and it was pretty hot by then). It was still a rewarding sight, and I'd love to go there again some time, for two reasons. From what I learnt, these are actually two falls, Gaganchukki and Bharachukki, and I think we visited only one of them - the other one is a few kms away (though I am little unsure of the facts here). Also, close by is Talakkad (Talakadu), a place that boasts of ancient abandoned stone temples by the bank of river Cauvery.