Monsoon 2N/3D getaway from Bengaluru to Coorg

After all the delays due to heavy rains in that region causing commute issues, finally the time had come for me to travel to my desired monsoon destination “Coorg”! Got weekday offer at Amanvana Spa Resort (Amanvana 8 island resort) in Kushalnagar & it seemed like a good offer for Rs. 15,975.00 for double occupancy with breakfast for 2N/3D. Only places we had in mind to see were the nearby Dhubare, Chikilihole dam & Nisargadhama. The plan was to spend most of our time in the resort itself. Booked our bus tickets from Bengaluru for 30th Sept 7:00AM in KSRTC Volvo Airawat online and then it was off to Coorg!!

We reached bus stop by 6:45 AM & to our surprise, the conductor said they were waiting for us as they wanted to leave early since the bus was already 95% full. Thank God we booked the tickets in advance, otherwise we would have missed this bus. Wondered if ever our transport will leave as per its exact schedule :-)?

B’fast stop was near Ramanagara. It is one of Kamath’s outlets & food is same as its Yathrinivas restaurant but no ambience, more like a dharshini. Driver announced a 10min stop…We rushed thinking it is “real” 10mins and annoyed the heck out of the waiter by rushing him to serve us quickly and then for the bill. He later commented to us before we left “Ayyo, why are you rushing me like this, see your driver is still eating :-)” time sense in India is something I still haven’t gotten used to! Finally, bus left after 25min & next stop was Mysore. Most of the folks got down here and very few continued on to Coorg.

Mysore looked all decked-up & pretty for Dhasara. It started raining after we left Mysore & luckily it stopped by the time we reached Kushalnagar at 12:30 PM. Road from Mysore to Kushalnagar was not bad as we had expected. Conductor said the road from Mangalore to Coorg was the one that was badly damaged due to rain. Our resort was just 3Km from bus stop, hopped on a rick for Rs. 80.00 and reached resort in no time.

After the welcome drink and usual intro to the property etc., we walked towards our bungalow admiring the garden... it was beautiful! Seemed like every inch of the property was landscaped & it was very well maintained. They call each unit a bungalow and not cottage – very nicely done! Our bungalow was very cute with its own gate and a small private garden with a lotus pond.

Amanvana

It had windows all around overlooking nothing but green surroundings. After freshening up we went to their restaurant to try some Coorg food – had Coorgi style akki roti & kodava curry, very yummy! Ambience was cool with the sound of birds & Kaveri flowing, and a view of the garden, what more can one ask for…we thought we will rest for a while before our 3:30pm water trek arranged by resort to 8 islands right behind their proprty. 

Bungalow

Kaveri

We were asked to meet the trek guide where Kaveri flows thro’ the resort. They also told us to wear comfortable clothing as we would get wet below the waist and absolutely not carry anything including camera, money, keys, etc., & that trek would be for 2hrs.
Luckily it was a small crowd for this trek; there was the two of us and one other family with 3 children. We had worn tracks as it was just walking in knee deep water to reach each of the small island thro’ water crossing (well! that is what we thought). Walk to the first Island was via a floating bamboo path (like a floating carpet) on water, only our feet got wet! Next was a knee deep water crossing and at the end of the crossing guide asked us to hold hands of each other & pray for Kaveri river with our eyes closed and before we knew… they splashed water all over us and, with 3 kids & young guides, it was riot! We were drenched and added to that next crossing was very deep and given the monsoon, the force of the flow was high, we had to cross holding a rope tied to trees on either side, this was an experience! The next one was even more exciting; we had to hold a huge old fallen branch to cross. Each crossing was lot of fun…the 2 guides were great and we all spent some time sitting on a rock with water flowing on us like what you can call as natural Jacuzzi. What a 2 hours it was! Later that night there was a movie playing at their open air theater. It was a nice setup but we had to walk out after 10min…, they were playing some typical Bollywood movie and 10min was about all we could tolerate :-)

Birds

View from dining hut

 Next day got up early for a walk thro’ the property enjoying the flora & fauna. As it had rained in the wee hrs of the morning, everything looked so fresh. I simply sat by the river enjoying the beautiful nature. Viji with her drawing tools started sketching. Around 8:30 we had our b’fast, which was a good Indian b’fast spread. Later, we left for our ½ day taxi tour (Rs. 900.00) at 9:40 AM for Dhubare & Chikilihole dam.

Dhubare

Dhubare, Chikilihole & Nisargadhama:

Dhubare is only 13km from Kushalnagar, a well known elephant training camp! It has about 20+ elephants and is run by Karnataka Forest Dept. 

Jungle Lodge has cottages there if one prefers to stay there. If you want to bathe elephants or enjoy seeing elephants in water, you need to go there between 10:00 and 12:00.Since it was Dhasara time many elephants had gone to Mysore. There were only 3 elephants in the water. You can feed them and there are elephant rides as well for a nominal fee. This camp also has many dabbas if one does a day trip from Mysore. One of the elephant showed me my place, when I tried to walk closer to him without a mavutha…He got angry & scared me away :-( actually, it was very stupid of me to have done this.

Chikilihole 

Chikilihole dam

From here we proceed to Chikilihole dam which is 5km from Dubare & about 15km from Kushalnagar. It is a picturesque place. It is a small dam built across Kaveri River. The construction is very unique & funnel shaped. The landscape with backwater & mountains make it a feast for the eyes. Since it was monsoon season, it had lot of water. We were back at the resort at lunch time. Had tasty food by the river (Shavge, thopu fry and soup). After lunch, Viji found a good spot in the garden with a full view of Kaveri and parked herself to sketch. I walked around the property which also has a nice veggie & herb garden. This place is so calm & peaceful; you can just sit for hours doing nothing. 

Nisargadhama rope bridge

Later in the evening we visited Nisargadhama which is 5min walk from our resort. It is a 64-acre island formed by Kaveri. It has bamboo groves, sandalwood and teak trees and surrounded by the Kaveri River. The island is accessible through a hanging rope bridge. There are deer & rabbit parks inside. We just walked one complete loop of 2.5km and it was unfortunate all the entrance to water area was blocked (may be due to heavy rain). This is a popular spot for college trips and family picnics and hence was very crowded. When we got back to resort,  we were tired and just wanted to relax…, lucky for us, we got coupons for foot & head massage at the Spa as the pool was closed that day. It was niceee... later that night we opted for Neer dosa with Coorgi side dish! Hotel staff were nice, I guess we were the only 2 asking for Coorgi dishes every time although veggie choice is limited in their cuisine, we got some extra attention :-)

Next morning was yet again another lovely one, waking up to birds singing & hearing to water flow. Saw some colorful butterflies! Just chilled out for rest of the morning and left for Bengaluru by 2:00pm bus. Luckily, it started raining only after we got on to the bus. It was a great monsoon getaway! It rained at perfect times - never when we were venturing out :-) 

Viji's resort landscape sketches that she did while I was busy doing nothing :-)

A lovely relaxing & rejuvenating holiday …true to what this resort advertises as “ Rabbit hole for the soul”. Total cost per head for 3D/2N came to Rs 10,500/- and was worth it!