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R. Balaji

Majestic quietude: The meditation hall of the Golden Temple at Namdrolling Monastery.

Winding roads, forests, wildlife, plantations, misty mountains, nature trails, adventure sports — Coorg is all of these and more. The place is an ideal getaway for a weekend or a week, as we discovered on a trip organised for journalists to Club Mahindra's Kodagu Valley resort, a few kilometres from Madikere town. Set amidst 32 acres of greenery, plantations and forest area, the resort has over 122 apartments.

Situated about 140 km from Mangalore airport and about 115 km from Mysore, Madikere town is an ideal base to visit several must-see spots in the vicinity. These include Talacauvery, the source of the Cauvery river, about 45 km from Madikere; Abbey Falls (7 km); Kushal Nagar and Golden Temple (45 km), and Nagarhole (150 km). The 13,000-acre Dubare forest connects to the 642 sq km Nagarahole sanctuary.

Land up at Dubare around 10 in the morning, a few minutes' boat ride across the Cauvery and you are at the Dubare Elephant Camp. Not only do you get to see elephants coming down to the river but you also get the chance to give them a good scrub.

Jumbo care at Dubare Elephant Camp.

The fun does not end there; you can go over to the camp's kitchen and watch the elephants' breakfast of ragi, jaggery and dal being prepared. Next comes the feeding and then, of course, the elephant-ride into the Dubare forest.

For the more adventurous, white-water rafting on the Cauvery is an option — if the water level is right. From the forests to the monastery — a short drive, but a world apart. At the Namdrolling monastery's Golden Temple in Kushalnagar township of Bylekuppe district, large meditation halls filled with silence and peace greet visitors; 60-ft tall, gold-plated statues of the Buddha, Padmasambhava and Sakyamuni watch over those meditating; prayer halls resound to the chants of Buddhist monks, blowing trumpets, booming drums and the clang of bronze gongs and cymbals.

The monastery is home to over 5,000 monks as they study and contemplate the Buddha's teachings.

The monastery is in the heart of a Tibetan township that includes a bazaar selling Tibetan handicrafts — bags, beads, woodwork, bells and gongs.

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