Achyutha Estate
At 17:00 we had Boost,cakes and biscuits at Achyutha Estate . The estate had a lovely garden full of flowers. A walk around the muddy paths of the coffee estate was fun .spotted a couple of oranges hanging eventhough it was off season for oranges .The orange was sour but that didn't keep us away from eating it :).
Earlier ,Six of us started off from bangalore at about 11:00 , Much later than what we planned. The drive was mostly smooth except for the initial city hiccups and some bad roads
we set off to the place where we was to spent our night, a home stay 2 km's away . It was a Coffee Estate with an outhouse which served as home stays for the guest.
There were three spacious rooms one had 3 beds and a toilet another had two rooms (4 beds and a toilet) we occupied 2 of them .The rooms were well maintained and inviting. We had a night to spend , a lazy rainy nite in coorg amidst coffee plantations.We set off to the nearest town to buy (My Cousin, who lives at Achyutha Estate was the guide ) cigars and drinks The nearest town was Siddapur and was about 10 km's away. It was dark outside and visibility was poor due to a bit of mist and drizzle.
By 08:00 we were back to the place. A quick round of freshening up and we were all set to start off the most interesting part of it (Boozing offcourse) .
The home stay had a separate spacious area outside where we could sit and talk ,have food /booze. The rooms had a common Balcony and chairs and table as well.
The experience of sitting there away from the bustling city and traffic and lights, hearing the sounds of crickets and the rain drizzling down all the while was unique and unforgettable.
We were served hot rice and sambhar and Pickle and more pork for dinner. We let the servant leave and told him we will take care of things . He showed us how to light the petromax in case power went off. We sat there chit chatting till about 01:00 and theh arranged the plates and glasses and went to bed. Guys were already talking of honeymoon at coorg by then.
Morning we were served coffee in bed and we got ready quickly. We set off for the site seeing after a quick breakfast (Bread ,Butter,idly Sambhar and more pork). A walk around the place and a couple of snaps by the pool side (not a swimming pool) we paid the house owner and said good bye.
The first Destination was Abbey Falls. It was still drizzling and was rather cold outside.
Abbey falls was inside a private estate but was open to public. There was a stone laid path leading to the falls. The roaring sound of falling water could be heard from a distance.Abbey falls was in full flow due to continuous rains and going anywhere near it would be inviting danger. A few shots in my camera and lens got clogged with tiny droplets of water which made it difficult to take more photographs had to be left idle for the next hour to get it dried up. We crossed the hanging bridge across the falls and climbed up a steep path to distance "just for a horror :)" . We then tried getting near the falls we reached as close as we could got a few snaps and came back. Out of the private Estate , a cup of hot Coorg Coffee and set off to to or next destination, Nisarghadhama. It was an island sorrounded by cauvery in its starting stages. Inside it there were deers, elephant ride and also spotted a bamboo tree top hut.
It was still raining as we set off to our next point which was Dubarey, Dubarey has elephant ride and rafting to offer. We didn't do either of them as no one was interested.
Next destination, was golden temple at Kushal Nagar. Golden temple was built by Tibetan refugees in Kushal Nagar. They also have a lot of handicrafts and agriculture which keep them engaged and provide them with a means to live. All their products were on sale in the shopping mall a few meters away from the temple. The architecture of the temple was unlike the traditional hindu temples. It was more modern and looked like they have spent a fortune on it.
There were a lot of kutti (children) Tibetans studying(praying may be) inside the temple
Then it was time for some shopping. Gifts for girl friends and people back in Bangalore and something for us to keep as a memento of the whole tour.
Reached Bangalore by about 11:00 , Dinner at paramount and a nice sleep.
The Curly roads in the rain ,the walk through the coffee estate, the home stay , the chili pork, the team , everything was just perfect Only thing i would ask more of, could be time.
There is more to cover in coorg apart from Abbey falls,Nisagadhama,Dubarey and golden temple. Tala Cauvery, madikeri, Iruppu falls,Thadiantamol.. the list goes ....
all that can wait for another weekend or may be more than a weekend.
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