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              KODAGU TRAVEL GUIDE

Kodagu  is a district of Karnataka state. It is often called by the anglicised name of
Coorg. It occupies about 4,100 kmē 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.

The early accounts of Kodagu are purely legendary, and it was not till the 9th and
10th centuries that its history became the subject of authentic record. At this period,
according to inscriptions, the country was ruled by the Gangas of Talakgd, under
whom the Changalvas, kings of Changa-nad, styled later kings of Nanjarayapatna or
Nanjarajapatna, held the east and part of the north of Kodagu, together with the
Hunsur talk in Mysore. After the overthrow, in the 11th century, of the Ganga power by
the Cholas, the Changalvas became tributary to the latter. When the Cholas in their
turn were driven from the Mysore country by the Hoysalas, in the 12th century, the
Changalvas held out for independence; but after a severe struggle they were
subdued and became vassals of the Hoysala kings. In the 14th century, after the fall
of the Hoysala rule, they passed under the supremacy of the Vijayanagara empire.
During this period, at the beginning of the 16th century, Nanja Raja founded the new
Changalva capital Nanjarajapatna. In 1589 Piriya Raja or Rudragana rebuilt
Singapatna and renamed it Piriyapatna (Periapatam). The power of the Vijayanagara
empire had, however, been broken in 1565 by the Muslim Deccan sultanates; in
1610 the Vijayanagara viceroy of Srirangapatna was ousted by the raja of Mysore,
who in 1644 captured Piriyapatna. Vira Raja, the last of the Changalva kings, fell in
the defence of his capital, after putting to death his wives and children.


GENERAL INFORMATION

Time zone            IST (UTC+5:30)
Area                      4,102.3 kmē (1,584 sq mi)
Headquarters     Madikeri
Subdistrict           Madikeri, Somwarpet, Virajpet
Population          485,299 (1991)
Density                118/kmē (306/sq mi)


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).