Kodagu is a district of Karnataka state. It is often called by the anglicised name of Coorg. It occupies about 4,100 km² in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka.. It is bordered by Dakshina Kannada to the northwest, Hassan District to the north, Mysore District to the east, Kannur District of Kerala state to the southwest and Wayanad district of Kerala to the south. The district headquarters is located at Madikeri.
Much of the district is agriculturally cultivated. Characteristic scenery has rice fields in valley bases, with plantation crops with tree cover in the surrounding hills. The most common plantations grow coffee (especially C. robusta although some parts of south Coorg grow C. arabica); however, many other crops are also grown, including black pepper, para rubber, teak, and cocoa. In many regions, there are still naturally grown forests, especially the forest reserves in the south and east.
Kodagu is considered rich in wildlife. The district has three wildlife sanctuaries: Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Talakaveri Wildlife Sanctuary, and Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, and one national park, Nagarahole or Rajiv Gandhi National Park.
PLACE TO VISIT
Talakaveri - is the place that is generally considered to be the source of the Kaveri River. It is located in the Brahmagiri hill (not to be confused with the Brahmagiri range further South) near Bhagamandala in Kodagu district, Karnataka, 1,276 m. above sea level. However, there is not a permanent visible flow from this place to the main rivercourse.
Iruppu Falls - This is a sacred spot in south Kodagu on the Brahmagiri range
of hills. River Lakshmana-tirtha flows nearby. Legend says that Rama and
Lakshmana passed this way while searching for Sita. Rama asked Lakshmana to
fetch some drinking water for him. Lakshmana shot an arrow into the Brahmagiri
hills and brought into being the river Lakshmanatirtha. The river descends into a
cataract known as the Iruppu Falls. This place is said to possess the power to
cleanse one's sins and is visited by thousands of devotees on Shivaratri day. There
is temple dedicated to Rama, surrounded by paddy fields, from which point it is a
climb up to the falls through natural forest.
Abbey Falls - In the mountains of the Western Ghats, several streams combine, swelling with the monsoon rains and plunging down the mountain slope at enormous speed, hitting the huge boulders hard and forcing through the crevices and ravines. A misty cloud hangs over the falls.
The waterfall is located between private coffee plantations with stocky coffee bushes and spice estates with trees entwined with pepper vines. The falls appear suddenly, the water cascading over rocks into calm pools.
During the monsoon season the water flow is very high. During the dry seasons the flow is considerably diminished.
Dubare - This is mainly an elephant-capturing and training camp of the Forest Department, at the edge of Dubare forest, on the bank of the river Kaveri, on the Kushalanagara - Siddapur road. The wild elephants are tamed and trained with the help of other tamed elephants and local tribes (the Kurubas). The tamed elephants attend to various jobs during the day and in the evenings they come down to the river to bathe and to be scrubbed clean by their mahouts.
Nagarhole National Park - spread between Kodagu and Mysore districts. The national park has rich forest cover, little streams, valleys and waterfalls. The place derives its name from Kannada - Naga meaning snake and hole referring to streams.
Bhagamandala - is a pilgrimage place in Kodagu. It is situated on the river
Kaveri in its upstream stretches. At this place, the Kaveri is joined by two tributaries,
the Kannika and Sujyoti rivers. It is considered sacred as a river confluence (kudala
or sangama, in Kannada and Sanskrit respectively).
