DETAILED ITINERARY:

Day 1:

Chennakesava temple – Mysore Zoo

Greet the HikerWolf Pack at the two assembly points – Bangalore Airport and Bangalore Central railway station. Everyone is expected to reach by 9 am and we know you will be hungry. Fikar not! We have planned for some scrumptious breakfast en route. 

The Coorg trip is planned in such a way that you will not only enjoy the grace of the forest but also enrich yourself with cultural knowledge. Our first point is the Chennakesava Temple so let’s start driving towards the magnificent Chennakesava Temple and while we travel, we play travel games and know each other better. Needless to say, no matter whether you’ve come as a group or solo, you’re going back home with special addition of crazy friends circle. 

In the entire Coorg tour, Chennakesava sets itself apart from all the others because of its architectural style. Symmetrically placed on an aureate Star-shaped platform and adorned by stone carvings of traditional dance postures, this temple narrates stories that date back to almost 900 years. 

After this, we will stop by for lunch at our stay, refuel our energy levels and leave for a short trip to the Mysore Zoo. Recreating the natural habitats for almost 170 exotic and native species, the zoo is a benchmark when it comes to wildlife protection. Watching gimmicks of the baboons, attempting to click selfies with the giraffes, giving a shot at wildlife photography, there are so many exciting things to do around here.

There are also high chances of us pulling your legs here by comparing your traits with the animals and giving you new nicknames.  So be ready for all that drama.

We get back to our stay, fill our bellies with food and hearts with the fun-filled conversation.  After that, we kick our feet up for a good night of sleep. 

Day 2:

Chamundi Hills – Mysore Palace – St Philomena Cathedral – Brindavan Gardens

Excited to wake up in the morning? If not, then this will definitely be the most exciting wake-up call for you – a panoramic view of pristine Mysore city from a height of 3,300 ft. 

Coorg trip is all about adventure and fun. While on the Coorg tour, enjoy it’s unparalleled and scenic beauty. It is an ideal place to enjoy trekking in the unbound nature and we peep are going to trek up to the beautiful Chamundi hills and get an aerial view of all the places we’d be visiting today – the Palace, Cathedral and Gardens. 

The best part of it all? The hills are the ultimate test to the trekker in you! With an ascend of 1008 stone stairs, it sure is one hell of a challenging climb. But you will enjoy every bit of it, as we will be singing random and silly songs to the top of our voices and helping each other in time of need.

The mountain peaks are a homage to the grandeur of Chamundeshwari temple. It’s among the very few hilltop temples with such an elaborate architectural style.

Now that we’ve conquered the rite of passage at Mysore, we drive towards the Mysore Palace. Here begins our Mysuru tour.

A mesmerising blend of Rajput, Mughal and Gothic architecture, it’s intricate marble designs will leave you starry-eyed. Trying to take a picture of this beautiful palace is not an easy task as it is vast which spreads across 72 acres.  We can bet on the fact that the pictures taken with the magical turquoise marble background will be flooding your posts and stories for at least a week.

After the royal treat to the eyes, we feast our stomachs with flavourful local cuisines such as Vangi Baath, Neer Dosai and the infamous Mysore Pak.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Our Next stop is St Philomena church which is celebrated as one of the tallest churches in entire Asia. We light a few candles here, make wishes that don’t seem too far fetched and chase to watch the sunset at Brindavan Gardens to watch the musical fountain! Hands down one of the most memorable experiences in Mysore. The illuminated fountains moving to the rhythms of famous songs will leave you awestruck. Experiencing the show with your newly found friends and their ongoing commentaries makes it even more special.

Once the marvellous musical show ends, Time to go shopping at the local markets of Mysore. From sandalwood marquetry to handcrafted embroidery, Mysore markets exhibit the rich culture of artisans.

We return back to our stay, adding a new page in the travel diaries.

Coorg

Locally known as Kodagu, this beautiful piece of land is celebrated as the Scotland of India.  

Tranquil roads cocooned by expanses of coffee plantations make Coorg an aromatic place along to just looking pretty.

Day 3:

Dubare Elephant Camp – Namdroling Monastery – Nisargadhama 

Dubare Elephant Camp is calling you this morning. Mahouts proudly giving the morning bath to the elephants are a common sight around here. 

Walk down the Cauvery river and see just how elated the elephants get on seeing humans. Watch them playfully spray water on you, poke on you to feed their ever-hungry appetites, and if they think of you as friends you’re in for a surprising trunk-hug from them! 

The river rafting stretches around here extend to an impressive length of 9 kilometres studded with amusing sights.

After exploring the adventurous side of the Coorg trip, lunch awaits. 

Next in the row is Namdroling Monastery also known as the Golden temple. Located at one of the largest Tibetan settlements in India, the place holds an undeniably soothing aura. On entering the huge complex, we’d be lead to an ornate hall with walls beautifully painted with murals. 

Seek blessings from the 40 ft. tall Golden statue of Buddha, along with the hundreds of monks who come by here daily.

Barely 8kms from here is the Nisargadhama islands. The island amidst the Cauvery river can be accessed through a hanging rope bridge. Be ready with a few pranks up your sleeve as there’s a really good chance of getting small jumpscares from the pack here.

The island is home to several native species, and it’d be fun spotting the animals through the boat and elephant rides. 

We head back to our stay for the HikerWolf party night. A night filled with non-stop singing, dancing, and games! 

Day 4:

Madikeri – Mandalpatti Peak – Omkareshwar – Abbey Falls – Raja’s seat – Chetalli

We mark the start of the day with a refreshing 3km trek to Mandalpatti. 

The peak is locally known as Mugilu-Pete which translates to “Market of Clouds”. Truly enough to the name, trekking to Mandalpatti feels like a walkover marshmallow clouds. While there are also jeep safaris available, trekking is undeniably one of the best experiences. Climbing on top of the peak with your friends and sharing laughs throughout the way are all moments that’d take us back in time when we think of Coorg. After all, this is what HikerWolf trips are about, making the most beautiful memories with newly found friends. 

To deck up more memorable sights in our Coorg diaries, we drive to the beautiful Omkareshwar temple. Famed for its Gothic-Islamic fusion architecture, the dome and minarets of the temple give an impression of a Dargah. 

The temple sits amidst an artificial pond filled with many tiny fishes. You could feed the fish some puffed rice and watch them creating cute ripples around it. 

We stop by for a filling lunch and resume our journey to the Abbey falls. Being one of its kind, these white waterfalls creates the most jaw-dropping backdrops. 

While you cannot get down at the waterfalls, you can always play around the water that’s flowing around from the falls. Splash around and try not slipping off, cus that one embarrassing photo would definitely make it to our Hall of Priceless moments. 

After a good share of the time spent here, we explore the mystical beauty of Raja’s seat and Chethalli. Both places have been the favourites of the Kodagu kings and hold views that will leave you spellbound. Raja’s seat is known to be the most beautiful sunset point and Chethalli brews the most memorable cups of evening coffee.

We head back to Madikeri by evening and go to bed with the treasured memories made in the past four days. 

Day 5:

Coorg – Bangalore

Today we wake up looking forward to our road trip back to where we had started from. 

The roads leading from Coorg to Bangalore is a smooth ride, and perfect for our sessions of karaoke, antakshari and dumb charades. 

We exchange our travel stories along with promises of staying in touch after this trip. 

The joy in saying goodbye remains as we know we’d sooner or later meet up for yet another kickass trip!