The Land of the River Goddess

Posted on 09/19/11 No Comments

Get pampered by gracious hosts, charming bungalows, and mouth watering cuisine amid coffee and spice plantations, terraced paddy fields, and dense forests 

5days | All Year | Coorg | Coffee Plantations, Lakes, Elephant camp, Buddhist Monastery, Rafting, Hill walking, Cuisine

Day1: A Day with Two Cultures

Drive in from Mysore (100km) or Bangalore (280km) over silken smooth highways. Stop by a Tibetan settlement spread around an imposing Buddhist temple. Listen to the sounds of monastic life, complete with gongs and horns, view the brilliantly colored wall paintings around the immense prayer hall. Enjoy a lunch of traditional momos if you are up to it. Leave the monastery towards the forested land of the Kodavas, and check into a bungalow or a resort set deep inside coffee plantations.

Day2: A Day on Two Mountains

Take a morning walk in the dew-dripping plantations. After an early breakfast travel across Coorg to the sacred headwaters of a mighty river atop a windswept mountain offering panoramic views of Coorg and Kerala. Drive out to lunch at the colonial town perched on a misty mountaintop, and then enjoy the view from the Raja's gardens. Travel on to a vast sheet of rippling water on the backwaters of a dam, and settle down on the grassy bank for an enjoyable evening.

Day3: A Day of Elephants on a River

Get out early morning to an elephant camp on the river. Bathe the majestic pachyderms in the river and listen to a naturalist explaining the beasts. In high water season, get your adrenaline fix in a two hour express ride on the raging white waters. Else travel to another riverbank where you can spend the time angling or diving into rock pools, and enjoy a picnic lunch. On the way back stop by an enchanting little reservoir hidden deep inside plantations to watch the immense sky grow dark.

Day4: A Day on 4-Wheels and 2-Boots

Drive to a road head in the morning with packed lunch and snacks and in hiking gear. Board a 4-wheel drive vehicle that will inch it's way over a mud trail to take you high up on the grassy spine of a spectacular mountain range. Spend the day walking the meadows and taking in the view. Return after lunch to a late afternoon siesta.

Day5: Departure

Drive back to Mysore or Bangalore after an early breakfast to your flight or train or home.

Accommodations - Resorts or bungalows inside coffee plantations, or riverside resorts. Cuisine - All meals will be authentic non-vegetarian Kodava fare. Vegetarian food offered if preferred. Local fruit preserved and juices based on season. Logistics - End to end transport covered, with pick up and drop ex-Bangalore / -Mysore.
Inclusions - All meals from time of Arrival to time of Departure; ex-Bangalore / -Mysore transport; accommodation; Permits and Fees; Knowledgeable Guides. Exclusions - Personal shopping, entertainment, medications. Options & Extensions - Extensions into Wayanad, Malabar, Hassan circuit. Optional customized cycling vacation plan, or an enjoyable guided tour of Mysore.