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Road Trip – Bangalore to Nagarhole

June 6, 2016 By Priya Shiva 31 Comments

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We took a Road trip recently from Bangalore to Nagarhole, South Coorg. Nagarhole is a National Park located in Kodagu district and Mysore district of Karnataka,India. It is situated at a distance of about 240 km from Bangalore, Karnataka. The park is rich & dense with greenery and you might even spot animals on the road.

We started early from Bangalore, around 6 AM, so that we can cover maximum distance before we find heavy traffic on the road. Our first stop was at Kamat Lokaruchi, Ramanagara at 7:30 AM for breakfast. It is one of the most decent places to stop for breakfast and it will never fail to please you. We had a heavy breakfast with ghee dosa, poori-masala, vada sambar etc. We continued towards our destination and stopped for a cup of tea at Mysore around 10 AM. We again continued our jounrey through Hunsur and finally entered Nagarhole National Park. The weather was pleasant as it had rained the previous day and everything looked so clean and beautiful.

Nagarahole national park

We soon started spotting animals and saw a herd of deer sitting relaxed on the road side.

Deer in Nagarhole

 

These animals did not seem to be bothered about the fact that we had stopped the car and taking pictures of them. They even loved to pose for us.

Deer in Nagarhole National Park

 

We soon spotted an elephant with its baby. I think it was a tamed elephant as I could spot the chain on its leg. Nonetheless, I was happy clicking them :)…

elephants in Nagarhole National park

 

We spotted a malabar squirrel which was all ready to take the leap :)..

malabar squirrel in Nagarhole

 

We were even lucky enough to spot a fox but it was too shy to pose for a click..

fox in Nagarhole

 

Nothing can beat the thrill of being on the road, driving through the forest and staying in coffee estates. Coorg is famous for its coffee and Nagarhole is part of South Coorg. We chose to stay in Brain Hunt estate (home stay) in Kutta, South Coorg for the first day. Brain hunt is a beautiful coffee estate of 20 acres with a traditional kodava home and surrounded by rain forest.

brain hunt homestay - South Coorg

 

Our room looked beautiful from outside and we were all excited to spend our night here. The joy soon ended as the room was shabby and dusty. We could not do much about it as we had made the payment in advance and we also knew that we will not be able to find any other place to stay in this peak season of holidays.

brain hunt homestay - Coorg

They had informed us earlier that the lunch would not be served. So, we dropped our luggage in the room and decided to go out for lunch. There are only two decent restaurants for lunch in Kutta. So, we had our vegetarian meal at Saptagiri restaurant. I can’t vouch for the food at the restaurant but the place was neat and clean. Brain hunt estate is located very near to Irpu falls and we planned our next stop there. The walk was beautiful towards the fall but little tiring..

irpu falls

 

The long walk was totally not worth especially after a long drive. There was hardly any water there. The best time to check out Irpu falls would be from mid of July when the fall is gushing with water. We also came to know that it is the river rafting season from July to September which takes place very near to Irpu falls. Anyways, we decided to retire for the day at the estate and relax for the night. Thankfully, the dinner was delicious and we all relished some home-cooked Coorgi food. We could hardly catch any sleep as the bed bugs made sure otherwise. If only they had a pest control company that is similar to this one in Oregon, (https://www.pestcontrolexperts.com/local/oregon/) on hand to help get rid of them, we may have had a better chance at getting a good night’s sleep. They kept us awake for the majority of the night, which wasn’t very pleasant. I only hope we don’t bring any back with us as we will definitely have to bring in a pest control company. We tried to enjoy the rest of our trip though, regardless of these bed bugs.

It was a beautiful morning and I was out with my camera again. The view was gorgeous from the estate and I felt good breathing in the fresh air…

South Coorg

 

It started raining. So, I sat at the patio watching rain and enjoyed my morning tea..

Rainy day in brain hunt homestay - South Coorg

 

It stopped raining soon and I could smell the fresh earth. The flowers looked beautiful, everything around us looked so clean and green..

 

orange hibiscus - nagarahole

 

We had a delicious breakfast with akki roti and korma but somehow we were glad that the stay in Brain hunt came to an end and we moved to our next destination. Our next day stay was planned at Spice Glade Homestay. This estate is adjacent to Nagarhole National Park and surrounded by coffee plantations. The moment we settled in our room(which was clean and organized), we knew that we are going to enjoy our stay here..

spice glade homestay - nagarhole

 

We were welcomed by a warm couple – Jesvin and Cariappa. We introduced ourselves and soon felt that we have known them for a long time. Spice Glade is a coffee estate and what better way to start our stay with a walk through the plantation..

coffee estate

 

Did you know that coffee is a fruit and that coffee beans are actually pits of the berries? Coorg is famous for Robusta coffee and you will enjoy learning more about coffee during your stay here..

coffee green berries

 

Once our walk was over, we freshened up and decided to have lunch at Cafe Robusta. As I said earlier, there are only two decent restaurants in Kutta. We decided to take a safari inside the forest after lunch. My son wanted to go in a jeep but we had to settle down with a ride in a mini bus. The ride was enjoyable as we again saw the beautiful forest and animals.

We saw a Grey langur Monkey happily sitting on a broken tree bark..

Grey langur monkey

 

We were able to see a herd of wild elephants..

herd of elephants in Nagarhole

 

Herd of deer..

herd of deer - Nagarhole National Park

Nagarhole is a tiger reserve but we could not spot any tigers. We have no regrets..All said and done the call of the wild is irresistible and by the end of the trip we felt life is much more simpler and stress free and wanted to snap places with those in hilly areas. We also realised as much as we wanted to move to plantations, the people who grew up there were keen to move into cities. What creates stress to some is a welcome break for the rest. As they say, the grass is always greener on the other side . We are still pondering which is better and as the safari came to an end we went back to Spice Glade Homestay to relax for the day and enjoy the beauty around.

 

spice glade homestay

We enjoyed comforting and delicious Coorgi food for dinner and the Pina colada pudding for dessert was like an icing on the cake. We would suggest you to pack few necessary things while planning a road trip like emergency medicines, mosquito repellent cream, sunscreen cream and few snacks. Do not go with an expectation of a resort living and you can enjoy the nature around you.

As we try to cut off from the maddening city life, and take comfort in places where we are not reachable (no signal) , to experimenting a different world and its cuisine, meeting new people and getting new perspectives of life, weighing the options of city life and that of a hill station, making new resolutions and getting new ideas in mind and finally realizing that you have to get back to the Monday grind and take care of those emi’s , client calls and customer satisfaction is life in itself. Until we decide to take a break and travel again, and hoping soon to hit the road again and wanting to escape the realities of hard city life …. We would like to call it a day in green.

Love,

Shiva and Priya

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Filed Under: Karnataka, Travelogue Tagged With: coorg, greenery, karnataka, travel, travelogue, wildlife

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Comments

  1. Rafeeda says

    June 7, 2016 at 11:22 am

    I could seriously sink into nature… so beautiful! I was just thinking about the disappointment of the first stay. I remember when we were in school and had a quick trip to Malampuzha, we took rooms in a cottage and it looked so good from outside, but when we entered, we literally wanted to cry… hehe… I hope this rejuvenated you…

    Reply
    • Priya Shiva says

      June 7, 2016 at 12:06 pm

      Thank you Rafee 🙂

      Reply
  2. Asha says

    June 7, 2016 at 2:10 pm

    Enjoyed the trip with you Priya ! We have been to Nagarholle long time back but your pictures and narration wants me to go back again !!

    Reply
    • Priya Shiva says

      June 7, 2016 at 2:27 pm

      Thank you Asha. I’m glad that you liked the post 🙂

      Reply
  3. Annie @ Annie's Noms says

    June 7, 2016 at 6:08 pm

    It looks like you had such a wonderful time! What beautiful scenery!

    Reply
    • Priya Shiva says

      June 7, 2016 at 6:23 pm

      Thank you Annie. Yes, one if the best road trips 🙂

      Reply
  4. Kate @ VeggieDesserts says

    June 7, 2016 at 6:26 pm

    What a stunning scene to await you on your road trip! The deer and elephants look so majestic. Beautiful.

    Reply
    • Priya Shiva says

      June 7, 2016 at 6:28 pm

      Thank you Kate 🙂

      Reply
  5. Mark, Compass & Fork says

    June 7, 2016 at 6:33 pm

    I love a good road trip and glad to see you left nice and early to beat the traffic. That’s what I would do! The pictures of the animals are great, love the colorful deer. There is something mind-cleansing about going to a National Park. What a great looking trip.

    Reply
    • Priya Shiva says

      June 7, 2016 at 6:38 pm

      Thank you Mark 🙂

      Reply
  6. Jolina - The Unlikely Baker says

    June 7, 2016 at 6:49 pm

    What a lovely trip! And all those animals just out in the wild and not caged in a zoo – fantastic.

    Reply
    • Priya Shiva says

      June 7, 2016 at 6:54 pm

      Thank you Jolina 🙂

      Reply
  7. Andrea @ Cooking with Mamma C says

    June 7, 2016 at 6:52 pm

    Wow! Your photography is stunning. My favorite is the second shot of the deer. I loved hearing about your trip and getting to see a part of the world that is so far away (I’m from Ohio in the U.S.) Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • Priya Shiva says

      June 7, 2016 at 6:55 pm

      Thank you Andrea 🙂

      Reply
  8. Suchi @ Elegant Meraki says

    June 7, 2016 at 7:44 pm

    So beautiful and serene. Southern Indian lives in my heart. So green and fresh.

    Reply
    • Priya Shiva says

      June 7, 2016 at 8:12 pm

      Thank you 🙂

      Reply
  9. Jeena says

    June 7, 2016 at 10:36 pm

    Guess the limited time taken away from stressful life and the beauty of nature has made U fully charged up for the routine again to be followed… nice write up and lovely clicks

    Reply
    • Priya Shiva says

      June 8, 2016 at 5:26 pm

      Thank you Jeena. Indeed it has charged me up 🙂

      Reply
  10. Gayathri says

    June 8, 2016 at 10:03 am

    It was a wonderful journey dear.Bcos with ur narration u had virtually taken me to the trip.wonderfully click’s .loved them.

    Reply
    • Priya Shiva says

      June 8, 2016 at 11:08 am

      Thank you 🙂

      Reply
  11. Sims says

    June 8, 2016 at 12:11 pm

    Beautiful memoir Priya. Pictures show how beautiful the place is even during hot summers and we had experienced this beauty during one of the summers. Sad, people provide uncomfortable accomodations, you should definitely write your reviews on the travel portals too, it can benefit other travellers.

    Reply
    • Priya Shiva says

      June 8, 2016 at 1:45 pm

      Thank you 🙂

      Reply
  12. SUNITA SRIRAM says

    June 8, 2016 at 12:18 pm

    Enjoyed the virtual tour of a must visit road trip that is spectacular and the pics are a visual treat to the eyes!!!

    Reply
    • Priya Shiva says

      June 8, 2016 at 1:46 pm

      Thank you Sunita 🙂

      Reply
  13. Steps Together says

    June 8, 2016 at 12:25 pm

    Beautifully narrated.. Had a great virtual tour .. amazing photos

    Reply
    • Priya Shiva says

      June 8, 2016 at 1:46 pm

      Thank you 🙂

      Reply
  14. Alka says

    June 9, 2016 at 12:25 pm

    This is fabulous information sharing Priya…I had a stay in Coorg in 2009 at Club Mahindra and I still miss that place. Will be in Bangalore for few days from tomorrow, planning to take a short road trip to Bandipur

    Reply
  15. Vanitha says

    June 30, 2016 at 6:08 pm

    Enjoyed the beautiful virtual journey and stunning photography!!! Being from Mysore, you have inspired me to take another road trip to that area soon!!!

    Reply
  16. Priya Tiwari says

    September 1, 2016 at 6:44 pm

    One hot afternoon, sometime ago, I was watching a travel channel and chanced upon seeing nagarhole as a great destination. Immediately, I called my busy husband in the office and told him about this place. By evening we booked ourselves at jungle inn resort for the holi weekend ( sadly mistook it for jungle.com resorts). We flew to Bangalore and took a taxi to our much awaited destination. The journey was beautiful but we’re saddened by the look our cottage at jungle inn. The place was unkept and nothing to sing a song about. Same goes for the food. The owner reciprocated rudly to my complaint about food and hygiene. But the saving grace was our trip through the jungle. Breathtaking, amazing and joyous experience. We spotted lot of animals, even a cheetah and it’s cub. But unfortunately no tiger. Next day we visited the Tibetan monetary situated at some distance. It was beautiful. Overall a memorable experience minus the resort.

    Reply
    • Priya Shiva says

      September 2, 2016 at 11:04 am

      I’m glad you liked the place. Yes, at times the place we stay spoils our trip..

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Akki Roti - Coorgi Rice Roti Recipe - PRIYA KITCHENETTE says:
    July 18, 2020 at 11:17 am

    […] and many families even prefer eating it for lunch with some yummy curry. It was during my trip to Nagarhole that I tasted these rice roti and got curious to learn it. We stayed in a homestay there where I […]

    Reply

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