Tag Archives: Mandalpatti

Three Mahindra Thars exploring the hills of Coorg

The Thar is so different from my BMW 320d, in all senses, and driving this SUV was indeed a very different experience.

BHPian Dr.AD recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Three Thars and the Hills of Coorg

First Drive with my New Thar:

Just about three months ago, I would have never imagined I would be writing a Thar travelogue, that too so soon. My road trips used to primarily be with my red BMW 320d, and there was no real plan to do something very different so soon.

But then, as always, life is all about unpredictability and experimentation. In somewhat of an unexpected (to myself) development, and purely as a fun experiment, I bought a brand new Mahindra Thar (Petrol AT 4×4 in Napoli Black) just a couple of weeks ago. From now on, this would be a new companion to my trusted BMW 320d. I plan to create my Thar ownership thread someday. But I thought it would not necessarily be inappropriate to start with a travelogue ahead of the ownership thread.

I always buy cars for long road trips and visit beautiful locations as my primary purpose. And every time I bought a car, I took that car for a long drive pretty much immediately. Thar is no exception. I got the Thar just a couple of weeks ago. In those two weeks, all I had managed was about 200km of driving around (mostly due to busy work schedules and work travels). This first road trip added about 700km to that, and was a perfect introduction for me to the new Thar and its capabilities.

In a nutshell, this trip was memorable to me because this was my drive in the new Thar. Thar is so different from my BMW 320d, in all senses, and driving a Thar was indeed a very different experience. Getting used to the Thar and understanding its capabilities was a big part of the motivation for this drive. Another thing that made this drive special to me was that, unlike my road trips in the 320d, this time, there was plenty of off-roading too. The main purpose of Thar is to explore rough terrains, and we did that on this very first road trip.

My new Thar in the hills of Coorg:

The Thars, The Crew and the Homestay:

One of the many reasons I love TeamBHP is because of the friends I made thanks to this forum.

My partners in this drive were our close friends Mr. and Mrs. @robimahanta, in their Aquamarine Blue Thar (Petrol 4×4 AT).

But as a bonus, this time, we made new friends.

It was a great pleasure to have Mr. and Mrs. @justwheels, in their Red Thar (Diesel 4×4 AT). We met them for the first time on this drive, and we had a great time together.

And of course, my better half was with me in my Black Thar, and she enjoyed the Thar experience (including some off-roading) even more than I did. I am glad she likes the Thar so much and so quickly that she is hooked on the idea of exploring difficult terrain in a 4×4 vehicle!

The Three Thars together on the hills of Coorg:

The Homestay:

We stayed at the same homestay where we had stayed back in August 2022 and loved it so much, as I described in my tip report from that time. The homestay is called Green Pastures, Coorg.

The homestay owners and hosts, Hemanth and Tripula, are wonderful hosts and good friends now. Just like my previous experience there, this time too we had a great time at the homestay and had a wonderful experience overall.

The homestay has three rooms, and that was just perfect for the three Thars and three couples traveling together.

Green Pastures is not only a beautiful homestay, but one more speciality of the place is that the owner Hemanth is an off-road enthusiast and a very experienced off-roading expert. He himself owns an old Mahindra MM540 4WD, and also organizes some off-road events in Coorg. He knows the trails and hills of Coorg like the back of his hand. One of the main motivations for visiting his homestay in Thars was to do some off-roading explorations nearby guided by his knowledge of the area. He indeed gave us some great routes to explore and even took out his MM540 and lead us on a beautiful hill trail the first evening we were there. It was a great experience to follow his MM540 and watch it handle the terrain with so much ease and poise.

Anyways, I will stop this prologue here and share the off-roading experiences and photos below.

Exploring Roads and Off-Roads of Coorg

One of the main agendas for me on this trip was to try off-roading in my new Thar. I have done one major off-roading expedition in the past in the deserts of Rajasthan (described in this old travelogue) and then did a couple of small off-roading events here and there. But still, never did any off-roading in my own car. This trip was my first experience of off-roading in my own car in a small private group (without any official “organizer” of the event). Overall, I am still new to this game of off-roading, but thankfully, I had expert off-roaders @robimahanta and @justwheels with me, and their guidance and the tips they shared were also a great learning experience for me.

We did not do any hard-core off-roading on this trip (and that was not the plan anyways), but we did some mild off-roading, and then also drove around on some random hills and some mud paths we saw along the way. All of this gave me a good taste of off-roading in one’s own car and I enjoyed it a lot.

The first evening we were there, Hemanth (the homestay owner and our host) took us to a nice trail in the hills nearby, leading us in his MM540 4WD, at the sunset hour. It was a short drive, but still was a wonderful drive.

The MM540 leading the convoy of three Thars on a nice hill trail at dusk:

It was a short but nice trail. We saw some great views from the viewpoint we reached the top of that small hill. For me, this was also the first time I used 4-wheel drive mode (4H) on my new Thar. It worked well on the first attempt, and everything was fun. I enjoyed this short off-road drive for sure.

The next morning Hemanth suggested a nice circuit that included some off-roading and some driving on lesser-known hill roads that were so broken that it justified having a Thar there. I would have never driven on those broken hill roads in my BMW. But the Thar was totally in its elements on those roads, and we managed to cover both totally broken roads and the off-road hill climbs with ease. Both I and my wife enjoyed this new experience, and we enjoyed this new aspect of motoring.

To start the driving day, we first hit a hill called Kote Betta. We reached the peak and randomly explored some paths nearby.

From Kote Betta, we started driving on some lesser known hill roads and some very narrow country roads. At one point, we found a random mud path leading to some flat grassland, and just randomly drove on those mud tracks. I got another opportunity to use 4H in my Thar and I enjoyed it again.

We continued our drive on the rural hill roads, and at one point, found another hilltop where we could go off the road again.

After driving on these narrow hill roads, we hit a proper off-road trail to reach a hilltop known as Mandalpatti Peak. This is a hilltop with panoramic views all around. And it takes a proper 4×4 vehicle to reach this location as the path to this is a dirt track full of stones, and at a couple of points, requires tricky maneuvers over rocks and a few steep rocky sections.

At the beginning of this off-road trail, there is a check-post which allows only 4×4 vehicles to enter, after paying the appropriate fees.

After some careful crawling on those rocky sections and the stone-filled road, we reached the hilltop.

The three Thars at the top of Mandalpatti hills:

This trail was not too difficult for Thar, but yet was just right to give me a good idea of Thar’s capabilities and a preview of what kind of drives I would do in future in my Thar. I used 4H and Hill Descent Control (while coming down the hill), and I was happy that both of these features worked very well. This being my first drive in the new Thar, I was still getting used to handling this vehicle on such hill trails.

But here, @justwheels went ahead of me, and started giving me instructions on radio and I started following the lines suggested by him. Thanks a lot to him for his expert guidance that helped me quickly understand the nuances of handling Thar on such terrain. @robimahanta was behind me and was watching me carefully and giving tips as and when necessary. The three of us were using radios for communication and that was of immense help. Thanks to both of these expert off-roaders for making my first off-roading experience in my own Thar both easy and fun.

Epilogue

It was a short and sweet weekend drive that was made memorable by the beautiful Thars, the great company we had, the idyllic homestay and the wonderful hosts there.

Thanks to all of these for making this trip so much fun. Everything went well except for the weather. We were expecting some rain (common in Coorg at the end of May), and looking forward to driving in the rain and mud on the hills. Unfortunately, we were unlucky with the weather. There were no rains at all when we were there, although it rained before we went there and the forecast showed a lot of rain in the following week. Just the weekend we were there was bone dry and quite hot, something totally different from what we expected.

I was happy that I got to use the Thar well and got accustomed to it quickly. I wanted to try out various mechanisms in Thar, and I got to use 4H and Hill Descent Control on multiple occasions. I also used Cruise Control on the Mysore-Bangalore highway and everything worked fine. The only thing I did not get to use was 4L (given the bone-dry weather, there was no mud or slush anywhere and there was no chance to use 4L). Hopefully, my future trips will give me plenty of opportunities to use 4L.

Personally, for me, it was a new experience for sure. Thar is so different from my BMW 320d that driving it felt like playing a totally new game compared to what I am used to. And honestly, both I and my wife enjoyed this new Thar experience. True that both the ride and handling are quite bad in Thar. However, once you experience and appreciate what Thar is capable of beyond the tarmac and smooth roads, it is easy to look past these shortcomings and start liking the vehicle anyways. The simple joy of motoring with peace of mind on broken roads and wandering around on hilltops without worrying about your vehicle was something that we totally loved. And that exactly is the USP of Thar. Anyways, it is still early days for me with Thar and I will comment more on my Thar experiences after a few more drives.

Of course, I absolutely love driving my 320d too, and I plan to use both the 320d and Thar for different kinds of road trips from now on. Hopefully, I will have more Thar stories and travelogues to share in the future, but for now, this simple weekend drive was the first chapter in a new driving experience for me.

Well, that is all for now. Thank you for reading!

P.S. During my final reading of the travelogue after composing it, I realized that every single photo I included in this travelogue has a Thar in it. Not a single photo without a Thar! This was certainly not by design and certainly not done on purpose, but it just so happened and I myself noticed that only in the end. But this shows the photogenic appeal of the Thar. I just did not bother shooting any landscapes or sunset pictures this time, when I had three beautiful machines to shoot instead.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

source: http://www.team-bhp.com / Team-Bhp.com / Home> News / by Utkarsh Chaudhary / June 05th, 2023

Kodagu’s Charms

To say Kodagu is a tourist haven would be an understatement. The district has many interesting sights, from cascades, peaks to ancient temples and tombs, writes P T Bopanna
The scenic Kodagu (erstwhile Coorg) district is a tourist paradise for nature lovers. Kodagu is not the sort of place for the routine tourist, undertaking a ‘package tour’. It is for those who want to soak in nature. 

Kodagu shares one of its boundaries with Kerala. The landlocked district is not connected by train or air. The only way to reach this nature’s resort is to take a bus ride from Mysore, Mangalore or Hassan cities. Madikeri (known earlier as Mercara), the district headquarters of Kodagu, is 120 km from Mysore and 260 km from Bangalore.

Though Kodagu is dotted with several towns like Virajpet, Kushalnagar, Somvarpet, Gonikoppal and Pollibetta, only Madikeri and Kushalanagar to some extent, have good tourist facilities. There are not many clean budget hotels in Kodagu. Most tourists prefer to stay at ‘home stays’ spread across Kodagu, including at Madikeri. The home stays are mostly located away from the towns and housed in the midst of coffee plantations.

Home stays are a big draw

Home stays involve either sharing homes with the resident family or staying in independent bungalows. They offer an opportunity to enjoy the legendary hospitality of the Kodavas, the predominant community of Kodagu. There are an estimated 1,000 home stays in Kodagu, catering to various categories of tourists.

The tariff could range from around Rs 800 a couple per day to Rs 3,000, depending upon the facilities and location. Kodagu’s roads are a driver’s nightmare. Though the region has emerged as a major tourist destination, not much it seems, has been done to improve road connectivity and tourist infrastructure.

Madikeri is dotted with red-tiled bungalows and has an old world charm about it. Madikeri has several interesting tourist spots. The Raja’s Seat in Madikeri offers a breathtaking view of the towering hills and green valleys studded with paddy fields, and could be considered one of the most scenic spots in South India. Raja’s Seat attracts a lot of tourists and morning walkers. For the nature lover, the ideal time to visit the spot is in the morning when the first rays of the sun pierces through the mist covered valley. Madikeri Palace of the erstwhile Kodagu Rajas located inside the Fort, now houses the offices of the Deputy Commissioner. The brick and mortar structure was built in 1814.

The Omkareshwara temple in Madikeri was built by Lingarajendra II in 1820 in the Mohammedan style of architecture with a dome at the centre and four turrets at the four corners. The temple is akin to a Muslim dargah with a Linga installed near the entrance door.

Gaddige, or the tombs of kings Veerarajendra and Lingarajendra at Madikeri, is one of the important monuments of Kodagu. The hillock where the tombs are located is to the north of Madikeri and provides a commanding view of the town. The tombs are in the style of Mohammedan edifices with domes in the centre and turrets at the corners. Abbey Falls is a picnic spot eight km from Madikeri town, where water from the Madikeri stream gushes down from a height of 70 feet. It is a treat to watch the torrent of water in the monsoon season between July-October.

Talacauvery, the birthplace of the sacred river Cauvery, is located on the slopes of Brahmagiri Hill. Besides being a pilgrimage centre, Talacauvery is known for its natural beauty. On Tula Sankaramana day in the middle of October, thousands of pilgrims flock to the birthplace of the river to witness a sudden upsurge of water in a small pond, at a predetermined auspicious time. This gushing of water from the small pond is considered a miracle.

Bhagamandala is at the foothills of the Talcauvery. It is eight km downstream from Talacauvery and 39 km from Madikeri. Bhagamandala is at the confluence of the sacred rivers Cauvery and Kanike and legend has it that a third river Sujyothi, a subterranean stream, joins the two rivers here.

The Rajiv Gandhi National Park (Nagarahole) is one of the best maintained game parks in India. The Nagarahole (meaning snake river in Kannada) sanctuary derives its name from the serpentine river which flows through the park.

Irupu Falls, located 48 km from Virajpet on the way to Kutta from Gonikopppal, is both a picnic spot and a pilgrimage centre. The Falls is located in Kurchi village, not far from the Rajiv Gandhi National Park. A stream flowing down the Brahmagiri hill range plunges down 170 feet in two stages with a resounding roar into a rocky valley surrounded by dense forest.

Bylekuppe near Kushalanagar is one of the largest Tibetan settlements in South India. The settlement, set up in 1960, is dotted with several monasteries. Prominent among these are the Great Gompa of Sera Je and Sera Mey and the Namdroling monastery. The gold-coated Buddhist statues in the monastery are imposing and unique, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of the Tibetans. Tourists can shop for handicrafts, carpets, incense, sweaters, dress material and other accessories.

Cauvery Nisargadhama is a breathtakingly beautiful island off the state highway, two km from Kushalanagar town and 28 km from Madikeri. The 64-acre island, surrounded by the Cauvery river, can be accessed by walking across a hanging bridge.
Established in 1989, the picturesque picnic spot with lush foliage of thick bamboo groves, sandalwood and teak trees has lovely river-side cottages.  The Harangi dam, built across river Cauvery, is located eight km from Kushalanagar. Behind the dam is a vast reservoir. On the banks of the reservoir stands a temple of Basavanna. Dubare Elephant Training Camp, located 15 km from Kushalanagar, on the banks of the Cauvery river, is run by the Karnataka government-owned Jungle Lodges and Resorts Ltd. A visitor can spend hours simply watching and interacting with elephants, some of which have participated in the Mysore Dasara festivities.
Virajpet town, 32 km from Madikeri, is a taluk headquarters. The town, situated at the foot of a hill, is well connected by road to the coastal Kerala towns of Kannur and Tellicherry.

The Clock Tower is the most visible landmark in Virajpet, erected in 1914 to commemorate the Delhi Durbar of King George V. Another important landmark of Virajpet is St. Anne’s Church built in the Gothic style in 1868.

Tadiyandamol peak (1,745 meters) is the highest peak in Kodagu and poses an exciting challenge to seasoned trekkers. The peak is located in the south-eastern part of Kodagu and is 8 km from the town of Kakkabe which is 35 km from Madikeri. A steep serpentine path from the Nalaknad Palace, leads to the Tadiyandamol peak from where on a clear day, one can view the distant Arabian Sea.

Off the beaten track
But, if you are one of those who wants to take the path not trodden, then, you should probably be exploring Mandalpatti, Mallalli Falls or Honnamana Kere, for instance. The fog-covered awe-inspiring mountains around Mandalpatti, located 20 km from Madikeri, is perhaps the most unexplored region of Kodagu till recently. The presence of treacherous curves makes it risky to travel by road from Madikeri to Mandalpatti during the monsoon.

The forest department has constructed a watchtower atop the mountain which provides a magnificent view of the Pushpagiri mountain range.

The villagers assemble at the mand (village plains) during the annual Hutthari festival for staging sports events and other cultural activities. In recent years, Mandalpatti has emerged as a popular venue for film shooting because of the scenic location.
Mallalli Falls, located 25 km from Somvarpet, is one of the most beautiful water falls in Kodagu. The Kumaradhara river takes a plunge from over 200 feet, creating a spectacular sight. The Falls which lies in the foothills of the Pushpagiri hill ranges is situated in Bettadahalli Gram Panchayat in Somvarpet taluk.

The water falls into a gorge which is surrounded by steep lush green hillocks, making it an ideal place for trekking.

Honnamana Kere is perhaps the biggest lake in Kodagu, situated at Doddamalthe, six km from Somvarpet town, amidst beautiful hills and coffee plantations. During the Gowri festival, a special pooja is conducted and ‘Bagina’ is offered to goddess Honnamma. Newly wed couples visit the lake to make offerings. It is an ideal place for boating and fishing.

 

source: http://www.deccanherald.com/ by P T Bopanna /Supplements / Spectrum / Travel /