A trip to Madikeri

Six of us left for Madikeri from office at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, 31st March. We had dinner at Kamat Lokaruchi on the way at around 9:30 p.m. Then it was a smooth ride until we reached Hunsur via Srirangapatnam. The Mysore-Bangalore state highway is almost complete and is a pleasure to drive on. But from Hunsur, until we reached Periyapatnam, the state highway is being completely redone and hence the roads at present are in a pathetic state.

We reached Madikeri at around 2:00 a.m. in the wee hours of the night, stayed at Hotel Chitra, close to the Madikeri Bus Stand (this is a very nice, economy class hotel). All of us were tired with the long and bumpy drive and were off to sleep immediately. On Saturday, though we planned to leave at 6:00 in the morning, as usual, we had a delayed start and we left towards the Tadiyendamol peak at 7:30. It took a two hour drive to reach the bottom of the peak, with a small break for breakfast. Tadiyendamol is suppose to be the second tallest peak in Karnataka, about 1750m high.

On the way to the bottom of the peak,

The trek does not need any guide and path of the trek is well marked. Most of the six of us, were trekking for the first time in our lives. Though the first half of the trek was just a walk around the peaks in that area, the second half of the trek was really steep and it sucked out the last bit of energy in us. Some of us had to stop every 5-10 min. in the climb to take a 2 min. break. We managed to finish the trek in two and a half hours.

On the trek,

Throughout the trek we could hardly get a glimpse of the peak since it was covered by clouds most of the time.

The peak itself,

The view from the top of the peak was breathtaking to say the least. We were covered by clouds all around us and we could hardly see the peaks around us. We could see the turbulence inside the clouds as they passed over the peak and descended on the other side. They say that from the top of the peak, on a clear day we can see the distant Arabian Sea. I wonder when would a person ever get to see such a clear sky from the top.

At the top of the peak,

View from the top of the peak,

The trek path as seen from the top. You can also see another group of trekkers on their way.

We stayed on the peak top for about an hour, had some food and then started our descent. The descend was way faster. On our way back we met another group of trekkers who were planning to camp on the peak for the night. We were back at the foot of the hill before 3:00 p.m. We then headed back towards Madikeri, had a quick snack break at Hotel Athithi (this seems to be the only good veg restaurant in the city). We then visited the Fort (part of which is being used as a district prison now) and the very famous Raja's Seat to view the sunset. After which we strolled around the city shopping for coffee powder and spices.

On Sunday, we checked out of the hotel and headed towards Abbey Falls at 8:00 in the morning. The falls though beautiful, were surely nowhere close to their very best which is during monsoons. Being summer, the water did not have the rush that marks the beauty of any waterfall.

After spending 15 mins. at the falls, we left towards Kaveri Nisargadham. This is a small little island in between the river Kaveri, is covered by a lot of bamboo bushes and teak trees. It also has a small deer park and has elephant and boat rides. After a quick lunch at a nearby restaurant we visited the Golden Temple Monastery (also called Nyingmapa Monastery). The monastery is simply the most colourful place I have ever been. The three idols inside the main temple were a beauty. Any side you see, you will be greeted with buddhist paintings. We spent over an hour at the monastery and then around 2:30 p.m. started towards Mysore. We reached Brindavan gardens at 4:30 in the evening and decided to stay till they light up the gardens at 7:00 p.m. We got some beautiful photographs of the illuminated fountains. We left the gardens at 8:30 at night and reached back Bangalore at midnight.

Kaveri Nisargadham – Photos

Entrance of the Kaveri Nisargadham

The place is all covered with thick bamboo shrubs

This place has a small rabbit park and a deer park

Boating

Elephant Ride