Coorg (Madikeri)

Coorg (Kodagu district, Madikeri its headquarters) is Karnataka's coffee belt — the source of around 30% of India's annual coffee crop, mostly Arabica grown under shade in the Western Ghats. The hills sit at 1,000–1,400 metres and the climate is cool and wet, ideal for both coffee and the cardamom that grows alongside it. The Kodava community has its own language, distinct martial heritage, and a famously distinct cuisine of pandi curry (pork) and akki roti. The Madikeri town itself centres on Madikeri Fort (built 1681 by Mudduraja, with Tipu Sultan and British additions) and Raja's Seat — a viewpoint where the Kodagu kings once watched the sunset. Talacauvery, 48 km away, is the source of the Cauvery river — a small spring tank that swells dramatically once a year on Cauvery Sankramana (mid-October). Abbey Falls, the Tibetan Buddhist Namdroling Monastery (Bylakuppe), and the Dubare elephant camp on the Cauvery complete a 2-3 day Coorg circuit.