On a Saturday morning, we decided to wake up early and go on a long drive, 268km (6 hours) to Coorg. A little preparation for the stay was required; hence we had Misty Woods to take care of us.

We started from Bangalore around 5 am to avoid the city traffic and hit Mysore road after 45 mins drive. A book to read and a coffee in hand with your man behind the wheels is all I wanted during the long drive. With the cool morning wind washing my face, I made myself comfortable and went on a spree to enjoy the scenery to Coorg.

With good roads and less traffic, it was easy for us to cross more miles in considerably less time. After over 2 hrs drive, we came across the Namdroling Monastery, Bylakuppe, a must visit place to unwind oneself to serenity of peace and harmony. The golden monastery is beautiful with vivid colours, the humongous space, well laid out gardens, greenery and the imposing, absolutely beautiful statues. But that is where it all ends. The bathrooms are awful. The temple officials do not understand English and when asked to explain the idols, some of them were not too keen to do that.

After our brief halt at Bylakuppe, we advanced to our much awaited vacation destination. When we breached into the ghats to climb up to our resort, it started to drizzle; enough to create a dense fog. Somehow, we managed to reach Misty Woods, a resort in the midst of coffee plantations. The white coffee blossoms covered the entire resort with fresh coffee beans aroma. We were welcomed by fresh coffee and once all formalities for reservations were done, we advanced to our pre booked cozy room. There was a hammock near our room to our delight, which took most of my time idling on it.

The next day, we ventured out for Abbey fall, which is one of the most scenic waterfalls in this part of the world. This cascade is located amongst lush coffee plantations. You have to travel 10 km from Madikere to get here. All around this place, there are enough sights to behold. Trekking trails are littered around the falls region. To get a better view of these falls, you can walk over the hanging bridge.

The monsoon season is the best time to arrive at such places to visit in Coorg. The waterfalls run down to capacity. You need to be careful of leeches in this area. The falls are located in the high mountains of the Western Ghats. The waters join the Kaveri River. There is a Kali Mata temple nearby. You can trek up to this temple and back.

Black pepper trees dot the sides of the waterfalls. You can casually stroll in these regions to get a sense of how it feels to be amongst these trees. Over the falls, there is always the backdrop of misty clouds. Several streams combine to form a swell of cascading water. The waters plunge down the slope at incredible speeds. The water make a thunderous roar when it hits on the rocks. Huge boulders located at the base of the waterfalls receive these thunderous splashes. The water forces itself through crevices and comes gushing out.

After the fall visit, we returned back to our resort and trailed across the vast pineapple and coffee plantations. The simple walk among nature was such a delight, that I didn’t want time to fly away.

The food at the resort was sumptuous and we also had a hearty breakfast, before we left for Bangalore the next morning. Overall it was a very pleasant gateway, which gave me memories to jot down in my travelogue and share it across with you.

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