My Visit to Coorg : Last part

The Golden Temple: Our next destination was Bylakuppe. It is the location of Tibetan refugee settlements. The main attraction here is Namdroling monastery, famously known as the Golden temple. It is just half an hour drive from Kushalnagar [around 220 Km away from Bangalore]. As you approach, you can feel the change of environment, like Buddhist monks moving around in groups or road side eatery bearing name Lhasa restaurant etc. When we reached the monastery it was almost dark. The entrance led us to a small piazza, surrounded by the residential complex of the monastery. Baby lamas were frolicking around [no occult game...only the ordinary games

games I used to play in my childhood :o) ]. We had to cross another gate to reach the temple complex. The main temple is surrounded by couple of small ones. The temple hall is big, with colourful images of gods and goddesses in the side walls and ceiling and three huge golden idols at one end. Some sort of Tibetan music was playing at the background. What was my feeling ? In single word, ECSTATIC. Moreover, the place is a photographer's paradise. No camera fee, no restrictions and plenty of subjects around. We strolled around the complex and the nearby [just outside] Tibetan market for an hour or so and relished momos [mouth watering] and thukpas [Tibetan name of noodles]. Exhausted, we decided to call it a day and headed to Kushalnagar. It was time for “Nidrang (sleep) sharanang gacchami”.

Talacauvery : Day two began very early and by 6.30 we were heading towards our next destination, Talacauvery [located in Brahmagiri range of western ghats, 1,276 m. above sea level and 48 Km away from the district head quarter of Coorg, Madikeri, 1525 m from sea level and 250 Km away from Bangalore], the origin of the holy river Cauvery. The road passes mostly through coffee plantations and forests, with small half awoke localities here and there. The weather was gloomy; clouded sky, nagging drizzle and misty surroundings. Half an hour past Kushalnagar, the road started climbing, occasionally turning or bending sharply and in another half an hour we were at the doorsteps of Madikeri. Another hour of non-stop drive took us to Bagamandala [7Kms away form Talacauvery], the “Triveni Sangama” of Cauvery, Kannike and Sujyothi. The holy [and bitterly debated] river originates from a small spring at Talacauvery and disappears almost immediately, resurfacing again at Nagatirtha near Bagamandala, where the sangama takes place. The Bhangandeshwara Temple is situated on the bank of the river. The next stop was Talacauvery. The car parking is 100 – 200 m away and you have to traverse the stony path barefoot to reach the holy pond, where you can take a devout dip in the shallow water [though we were content with sprinkling the holy water over our head]. Vigored by the divine water, we decided to climb the steep steps [sometimes it is painful barefoot] to reach the summit of Brahmagiri hill. You get a breathtaking view of the variety of greens in the surrounding hills and the valley down. But thanks to the mist cover [may be divine intervention as we did not take the holy dip :o( ], we missed most of it.

Abbi Falls : This remarkably beautiful place, surrounded by coffee plantations, is situated just 7 Km away form Madikeri town. A huge stream roaring down on the stony bed, creating mist in the process and flowing away in a great hurry for the rendezvous with Cauvery [that's the best (or rather worst) I can describe the scenic beauty :o( We could afford to spend very little time as we were also in a great hurry to return to Mysore. It's time to say adieu to Coorg. Unfortunately we missed two places, Raja's seat and the Fort at Madikeri.