Coorg (Kodagu)

Coorg, officially Kodagu, is a hill district in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, lying mostly between about 900 and 1,700 metres, and one of India's main coffee-growing regions. Its coffee is grown in the shade of native forest trees alongside pepper vines and cardamom, which is why the hills of Coorg remain green and wooded rather than cleared. Madikeri, the district town, is the usual base.

Coorg was a small kingdom under the Haleri rajas until the British annexed it in 1834, and it remained a separate province until it merged into Mysore State in 1956. The Kodava people, the district's best-known community, have their own language, a strong martial tradition and distinctive customs, and many families still run coffee estates. The river Kaveri, sacred across southern India, rises at Talakaveri in the Coorg hills.

What to see

• Abbey Falls near Madikeri, reached by a short walk through coffee and spice plantations
• Raja's Seat in Madikeri, a garden viewpoint over the valleys, best at sunset
• Madikeri Fort and the Omkareshwara Temple in town
• Talakaveri, the source of the Kaveri river, and Bhagamandala below it
• The Namdroling Monastery at Bylakuppe, a large Tibetan settlement on the eastern edge of Coorg
• A coffee estate walk explaining picking, pulping and drying

What to wear

Coorg is cool in the evenings for much of the year, so bring a light jacket, and a rain layer and shoes with grip from June to September, when heavy monsoon rain makes estate paths slippery and leeches appear. Temples such as Omkareshwara and the shrine at Talakaveri ask for modest dress and shoes off. Kodava traditional dress is distinctive: men wear the kupya, a long black coat with a sash and ceremonial knife, and women drape the saree with its pleats at the back.

Local food to try

Coorg cooking is famous for pandi curry, pork in a dark, tangy sauce soured with kachampuli, a local fruit vinegar. It comes with kadambuttu, steamed rice balls, or akki otti, rice rotis. Noolputtu, string hoppers, and bamboo shoot curry in season are other local dishes. Madikeri's town centre and many homestays serve Kodava meals; vegetarians should ask ahead. Take home estate coffee, pepper, cardamom and local honey.

Good to know

• Best time: October to March for clear weather; July and August for waterfalls in full flow
• The district is open at all hours; most sights run in daylight, roughly 9am to 5:30pm
• Entry fees are small and charged per sight; estate tours are priced by the operator
• Allow two to three days to see Madikeri, the falls and a coffee estate at an easy pace
• Madikeri is about 120 km from Mysuru and around 250 km, five to six hours, from Bengaluru
• Monsoon landslides sometimes close hill roads; check conditions before driving

Nearby places

Coorg pairs naturally with Mysore Palace, about three hours east by road, and with the Nilgiri hill town of Ooty further south. Travellers heading north can continue to the ruins of Hampi, a long drive of around 400 km.