On the 4th of October 2019, we had planned a family trip to the Southern part of India. This year in July, I completed my college and have been home for a few months since then. My family trip was due. I along with my parents, flew from Raipur to Bangalore where my younger brother is undertaking his college course. From there on, it was all road trips till Bangalore again. We reached Bangalore past midnight and were welcomed with pleasant and chilly weather. The next morning, after a belly full of 'dosa and idli' (South Indian food), we picked up my brother from college and began our road trip to Coorg.
Three hours on the road with coconut plantations on the sides, sun beaming in between rains and villages passing by, we made a spontaneous stop at a Jain Temple situated on a hilltop. It was my dad's idea to climb up which felt like a million steps with the sun over our head. Well, I and my father made it to the top and saw a gigantic monolithic sculpture of one of the gods. From the starting point, the temple and the sculpture are not even visible. It took us around two hours to make it back and forth.
Starting point to the hilltop temple.
We reached our hotel in Coorg at around 8 in the night. We drove through tall trees on the side up the hill to reach in the dark. That was pretty fantastic for me. Because the view we saw the next morning was unforgettable.
Morning view from our hotel's tree-house.
Our stay was pretty comfortable. Good food, coffee plantations all around and a tree-house overlooking the forest. The hotel had this cutest fireplace.
My dad enjoying the view from the tree-house.
Morning walks up & down the hill
In the evening, we went to a fort which was built during British rule in India. The fort was pretty decent but I liked the architectural remains because they were different from the Indian architectural style of the time.
My brother sitting on the wall overlooking the city.
One of the tourist places here, was 'Raja's seat', a sunset point from the top. It is known as the place where King use to come in the evening to enjoy the sunset at the time. It was a popular place hence over-crowded. But the view was truly fantastic. For me, the plantation valleys and roads felt more beautiful than the sunset.
Stops in between the valley.
Family fun time definitely includes playing cards. I mean, that's our thing :P
We stayed here for two days and one night. For most parts, we tried to avoid touristy places and were very specific to what we wanted to see in our limited time. For me, the best of Coorg lies in it's not-so exploited greens. My favorites were the walks up & down the hill, valleys and playing cards while listening to old Bollywood songs that my parents like while sipping chai.
Next Post - Ooty (second destination)
Have a nice day :)