Some call this lush green hill station ‘the Scotland of India’. We say Coorg is much more than what words can explain. One must physically get there to experience it all. That includes nature, rich biodiversity, delicious food, homemade chocolates, wines and most importantly COFFEE!! Here is a travel guide for you to explore the “real” Coorg if you are a fan of travelling in India.

Located in the eastern slop of the Western Ghats mountains Coorg is not a town or a city, but a district. Here, in the British era acres and acres of hilly slops were transformed into coffee plantations. Since then Coorg’s major source of income and economic growth revolved around coffee (in present times also tourism).

Quick Note:

  • Local Language – Kannada, Hindi, English. We found almost all the locals spoke English and Hindi well.
  • Local Currency –  Indian Rupees. Almost all hotels, restaurants, cab facilities and shops accept card payments and other Indian wallet payments such as Paytm, GooglePay, PhonePay.
  • Best time to visit – October to March, when it is cooler. Coorg gets high rainfall from April onwards. The chances of landslides and roadblocks are high during the monsoon season.

Getting there:

First thing to know is that Coorg or Kodagu district (as the locals say) specifically doesn’t have an airport or rail station or a certain bus stop named “Coorg”.

By Air: One can travel to one of the nearest airports and then take a cab to reach the location. The nearest airport from Coorg is Kannur Airport (Kerala) which is 113 Kms away by road.

But we have landed in Mysore from Hyderabad, and the connection was pretty smooth.We think the most convenient city to connect by air is Mysore Airport (Karnataka) which is about 120 Kms by road, and there are plenty of taxi and buses available to transfer from Mysore to Coorg.

Then there are Mangalore Airport (160 Kms away) and Bangalore International Airport (270 Kms by road). Driving from these cities would take approximately 4 to 6 hours. However, the roads are pretty good.

By Train: Mysore is the nearest rail station, and from there plenty of cabs and buses can be availed to reach Coorg. Better to take a cab, as buses may not take you upto the doorstep of your preferred accommodation, and believe me, it’s difficult to walk around the hilly slops of Coorg with a luggage.

By Bus: It is not recommended to take a bus at this point when the pandemic is still at large. However, when things get better you can take the KRSTC (Karnataka State Transport) deluxe volvo buses to reach Madikeri (the main hub of Coorg) from Bangalore, Mangalore or Mysore.

The beautiful bird-eye view of Coorg, © LifeofHoi

Getting around in Coorg:

Cab cost from Mysore to Coorg starts from INR 2100 (for a small car) and goes upto INR 2800 (for a comfortable sedan) or INR 3100 (for an Innova). If you travel in a large group, per head cost increases based on head count. You can always compare prices online and get a better deal.

We have booked our Mysore to Coorg car from mysoretocoorgcab and the price was INR 2100 for a one way transfer. However the cab they have sent was filthy and keeping the covid situation in mind, it wasn’t a great experience to travel in a car that looked like it wasn’t sanitised for weeks, plus the driver was 30 minutes late to pick us up from the airport. This is an honest review.

We have later changed our cab rental agency to South Coorg Travels for our daily transfers to visit different spots in Coorg. Our driver was Mr. Sujith who runs this company himself. He is an excellent driver/guide and he helped us with all our queries about the location, things to do, places to visit, food to eat and shopping needs. The daily cost for getting around in Coorg and visiting the different locations in Madikeri, Kushal Nagar and Virajpet was INR 2800 including all for a full day. The car provided was clean and comfortable.

We felt travelling in and around Coorg requires a car. There is no other public transportations available that we have seen in these scenic mountains, except for the centre of Madikeri, which was quite crowded. We tried to find out if motorcycle rentals were available but did not get any. So if you are driving your own car you may save a lot.

Things to do:

The lush greenery and a serene nature makes Coorg an ideal weekend getaway. It is a perfect location to escape from the hustle-bustle of the city and experience some peace and quiet. Apart from that there are many tourist attractions that one can visit during the stay.

Coorg have totally 3 areas or “Taluks” as the locals say.

They are Madikeri, Kushal Nagar and Virajpet. To explore each of these areas one should have at least 3 days on hand. 

And if you are a nature lover or a fan of trekking and hiking, keep 1 extra day on hand. There are quite a few mind blowing trekking and nature hiking spots around Coorg .

Map of Coorg, with 3 primary areas – Madikeri, Kushal Nagar & Virajpet © LifeofHoi

Visit the coffee plantations :

When in Coorg, wherever to go you will be surrounded by coffee plantations. Most of the resorts and homestays in Coorg are located inside these beautiful green plantations, and they allow their guests to explore inside the coffee gardens.

We stayed in Coorg Cliffs Resort and they conducted regular nature tours in the coffee gardens guided by their certified Naturalist Abhishek Uthappa.

The famous Robusta coffee plants of Coorg © LifeofHoi

Visit the tourist spots :

In and around Madikeri, there are important tourist spots like Abbey Falls, a beautiful waterfall that streams down to Kaveri river. However it was very crowded, and we thought it was only good for a 1 time visit.

There are other places like Raja Seat, a park designed to enjoy a splendid view of the Western Ghats mountains and is most crowded during the sunset. There are other spots like Omkareshwara Temple, Madikeri Fort and Coorg Museum here for all who are interested in knowing the history of the land of coffee.

Abbey Falls, Madikeri, Coorg © LifeofHoi

Around the Kushal Nagar area, there are spots like the Dubare Elephant Camp, which is a beautiful location alongside river Kaveri. One can spend the day here enjoying a photographic river side view and also watch the elephants bathing in the river up close. This area falls under the Forest Department of Karnataka and there are boating services available to cross the river. If you are adventurous, during the winter season when the currents are low, you can also cross the river by walking along the allocated path.

Dubare Elephant Camp, Coorg © LifeofHoi

There are other scenic spots around Kushal Nagar like the Chiklihole Dam, which is a perfect location for nature photography. There is a Golden Temple Buddhist Monastery nearby, which is a very popular spot but we could not get inside, as it was closed due to the pandemic.

The Virajpet area is mostly for the nature lovers with green coffee plantations, natural forests, lakes, waterfalls all around. Our resort was located in this part of Coorg. Also about 58 Kms drive from here is Tala Kaveri, the source of Kaveri river, which is a beautiful location.

Trek up the hills :

Our Naturalist friend Abhishek Uthappa guided us to a nearby trekking spot Kundabetta hills for a night trek. The trails of 1066 Meters high Kundabetta is beautiful with rich bio-diversity. We have reached the top just before sunrise and experienced an amazing view from the top. While hiking down we spotted various species of birds, insects and plants and it was an enriching experience to remember for a lifetime.

The top of Kundabetta hills during sunrise, Coorg © LifeofHoi

There is another popular trekking location in Coorg, which according to Abhishek is much more commercialised. That is Tadiandamol, a 1748 Meters high hill. It is the highest peak of the Madikeri region and is an 8 hours trek up and down. It is surely beautiful but remains much more crowded than Kundabetta. We couldn’t visit here, as we didn’t have enough time on hand.

Indulge in all Coorg specials :

Coffee, coffee and coffee! Don’t forget to taste the Coorg special roasted Arabica and Robusta coffees. Also buy some for yourself and for your friends. They are delicious!

Coffee tasting is a must in Coorg, so is buying some for home. © LifeofHoi

Apart from that homemade chocolates are famous in Coorg. Go to Choci Coorg in Madikeri and thats probably the best and most authentic chocolate shop with tastiest collection. They sell authentic lab-tested chocolates without any animal fats and are quite famous.

If you are a non-vegetarian and enjoy pork dishes, then try the Coorg special Pork curries. You will find a few good restaurants serving porks in Madikeri location.

And last but not the least, Coorg is also famous for homemade wines. Go to Kaveri Nisargadhama in Kushal Nagar, where you will find shops that sell homemade wines. They have collection of grape wines, pineapple wines, chilly wines, Beetle leaf wines, coffee wines and more.

You can check out our Vlog on Coorg on our YouTube Channel “The Little Window” for more information.