KSTDC: Nagarahole – Madikeri – Nisargadhama – Golden Temple (Bylekuppe)
We reached the pickup point at Corporation circle at 0600. The bus arrived at 0700 about 15 mins later. The KSTDC staff called as well and are pretty cooperative and helpful. It is a normal non-ac bus. The low was that it did not have an additional folding step and therefore was inconvenient for the elderly passengers to board and alight from the bus.
There are 3 more pickup points before the bus reaches the Bangalore Mysore highway. The first stop was Kamat Upchar for breakfast.
Breakfast:
The food is average. We had Idly and vada. The place gets overly crowded as all the KSTDC buses stopped here and all the buses arrive at almost he same time. Probably KSTDC should tie up with some other restaurant as well.
There are two types of models in the restaurant. The back building is self service and you need to take a token first. If you find a seat in the first building then you can ask them to get the order as well. But way too crowded either ways because of poor planning on part of KSTDC.
You can also walk a little bit further and have food at other nearby restaurants as there are accessible options nearby.
Golden Temple (Bylekuppe): Formally known as Namdroling Monastery this is the second largest of people from came from Tibet after Dharamshala. The temple and the monastery were constructed in the 1960 and can house 3000 monks. The temple is quite beautiful with large gold plated statute of Buddha (hence the name golden temple), with ornate carvings and paintings on the walls and even the ceilings.
There are three temples in the complex and they also have a model of the Palyul Monastery located in Tibet.
You can also try the Tibetan cuisines in the nearby restaurants and also some Tibetan style crafts.
Rating: 5/5
Lunch at Kushalnagar
Cauvery Nisargadhama: This is a park located on an island in between cauvery river. It has an enclosure with few species of deer and a parrot species. There is small zip line outside and inside the park and few artifacts depicting native dresses. If you are on tight routine this place can be skipped. However, the venue is good, lush green and peaceful.
Abbey Falls: It is a must that you time the visit to Abbey falls correctly which would normally be around end of July else check if it has rained adequately in the area. We were lucky as July of 2018 it rained exceptionally well in the area.
It is about a 10 min walk from the entrance to the place from where you can view the falls. Even the elderly (senior citizens)should be able to navigate it. The place is somewhat crowded especially during the weekends. The best view is provided by the rope over- bridge which is closed as local authorities probably do not want to invest in crowd control. Without crowd control it would be a disaster waiting to happen.
There are some snack counter if to turn left from the exist gate.
Raja's Seat: It is a view point from where you could look at he entire Coorg valley.
Hotel Mayura Kauvery: This KSTDC hotel is located around 40 km from Raja's seat and 8 km from Talacauvery. While the location of the hotel is quite good, the experience may not be great as the bed linen is stained. They hotel also has a restaurant with average food. The breakfast is relatively better.
Talacauvery - The birthplace of river Cauvery: There is temple dedicated Shiva and Ganesha in this complex along with the water stream which is the birthplace of Cauvery. Very similar to the source of Godavari in Tribkeshwar. Do not expect anything like the glacial rivers of the north like the Ganges/Yamuna which originate from the gangotri/yamunotri glaciers.
Nagarahole: Is a so called tiger reserve. As part of the package the bus will simple drive through the forest and you will get to see some deer on the way. There will be ample greenery. I guess again KSDTC needs to plan the tour better. A safari ride could be included as part of the package.
We reached the pickup point at Corporation circle at 0600. The bus arrived at 0700 about 15 mins later. The KSTDC staff called as well and are pretty cooperative and helpful. It is a normal non-ac bus. The low was that it did not have an additional folding step and therefore was inconvenient for the elderly passengers to board and alight from the bus.
There are 3 more pickup points before the bus reaches the Bangalore Mysore highway. The first stop was Kamat Upchar for breakfast.
Breakfast:
The food is average. We had Idly and vada. The place gets overly crowded as all the KSTDC buses stopped here and all the buses arrive at almost he same time. Probably KSTDC should tie up with some other restaurant as well.
There are two types of models in the restaurant. The back building is self service and you need to take a token first. If you find a seat in the first building then you can ask them to get the order as well. But way too crowded either ways because of poor planning on part of KSTDC.
You can also walk a little bit further and have food at other nearby restaurants as there are accessible options nearby.
Golden Temple (Bylekuppe): Formally known as Namdroling Monastery this is the second largest of people from came from Tibet after Dharamshala. The temple and the monastery were constructed in the 1960 and can house 3000 monks. The temple is quite beautiful with large gold plated statute of Buddha (hence the name golden temple), with ornate carvings and paintings on the walls and even the ceilings.
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| Namdroling Monastery |
There are three temples in the complex and they also have a model of the Palyul Monastery located in Tibet.
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| Golden Buddha, Temple 1 |
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| Temple# 2, Namdroling Monastery |
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| Entrance to the Central Temple Building |
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| Stupa with ornate carvings |
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| Model of Palyul Monastery located in Tibet |
You can also try the Tibetan cuisines in the nearby restaurants and also some Tibetan style crafts.
Rating: 5/5
Lunch at Kushalnagar
Cauvery Nisargadhama: This is a park located on an island in between cauvery river. It has an enclosure with few species of deer and a parrot species. There is small zip line outside and inside the park and few artifacts depicting native dresses. If you are on tight routine this place can be skipped. However, the venue is good, lush green and peaceful.
Abbey Falls: It is a must that you time the visit to Abbey falls correctly which would normally be around end of July else check if it has rained adequately in the area. We were lucky as July of 2018 it rained exceptionally well in the area.
It is about a 10 min walk from the entrance to the place from where you can view the falls. Even the elderly (senior citizens)should be able to navigate it. The place is somewhat crowded especially during the weekends. The best view is provided by the rope over- bridge which is closed as local authorities probably do not want to invest in crowd control. Without crowd control it would be a disaster waiting to happen.
 |
| Hanging Bridge |
There are some snack counter if to turn left from the exist gate.
Raja's Seat: It is a view point from where you could look at he entire Coorg valley.
Hotel Mayura Kauvery: This KSTDC hotel is located around 40 km from Raja's seat and 8 km from Talacauvery. While the location of the hotel is quite good, the experience may not be great as the bed linen is stained. They hotel also has a restaurant with average food. The breakfast is relatively better.
Talacauvery - The birthplace of river Cauvery: There is temple dedicated Shiva and Ganesha in this complex along with the water stream which is the birthplace of Cauvery. Very similar to the source of Godavari in Tribkeshwar. Do not expect anything like the glacial rivers of the north like the Ganges/Yamuna which originate from the gangotri/yamunotri glaciers.
Nagarahole: Is a so called tiger reserve. As part of the package the bus will simple drive through the forest and you will get to see some deer on the way. There will be ample greenery. I guess again KSDTC needs to plan the tour better. A safari ride could be included as part of the package.
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