We did this 2 nights, 2 days trip (3 nights and 3 days from start to end) to Coorg by road from 31st Oct to 3rd Nov 2013.
Chingaara is not a home-stay, and it is not a resort stay too. It is a estate guest house stay, inside the Chingaara coffee estate.
The 600 KM (round trip) road trip from Bangalore was overall a great trip. The weather was perfect
during our stay (A week before the trip, by seeing the rains in Bangalore, we were actually
thinking that the rains might spoil our trip). Chingaara estate is a place away from crowds,
calm and peaceful, not easy to reach, it is amongst a coffee estate, close to dense plantation / trees, hilly terrains,
valleys and mountains, sprawling western ghat ranges, water streams and
water falls, birds and nature. Chingaara is located about 40 KM away from Madikeri town, half of that distance towards Talakaveri and then a left turn for the rest of the distance.
Before the trip, as usual I got my car checked up for a long drive at my regular service
center. I also got my old tyres replaced with new ones, since recently they had troubled me going flat often, due to aged wear out of their 49k+ km life. I also got together a list of service stations with contact phone numbers along our route, just in case I need due to any breakdown.
Our stay at Chingaara was booked for 1st Nov and 2nd Nov. But we started from Bangalore on the previous evening and took a break at Srirangapatna. While going from Bangalore to Madikeri / Coorg, since we can take a right turn from Srirangapatna itself (without having to touch Mysore) we decided to halt at Srirangapatna for the night. We did this also because, that way we can drive leisurely, and secondly, by starting from Srirangapatna on the next morning, 1st Nov., we can reach Chingaara around their check-in time of 12 noon. If we start from Bangalore directly on the
same morning of the first day of stay, 1st Nov., it will be a long tiring drive as we
will also need to start very early in the morning.
Amblee: This was our fourth time stay at Amblee Resorts Srirangapatna, a place
we had always liked so much, due to their duplex type rooms, that overlook the Cauvery
river, and the nice riverside breakfast we can have; but I must admit, now, Amblee has
faded and jaded significantly in maintenance and quality of rooms; this
would have probably been the last time we have stayed here.
Our stay at the Chingaara estate guest house and the entire trip was very good. As I mentioned above, Chingaara is about 40 KM away from Madikeri. The Last 2.5 KM can only be traveled by their 4 wheel drive jeep into the estate that is a little up the hill. During our stay at the guest house, we took short walks to the Chingaara water fall within the estate, strolls around in the plantation, an off-road jeep drive 30 min. through the plantations on the hills, a 1 hour trek up and down on a sprawling grass land western ghat mountain called Kabbe Pass, a visit to the Cheluvaraya water fall, a visit to the old royal hunting lodge Nalaknad Palace, and a trip to the Padi Igguthappa Temple. It was a relaxed and memorable trip, in a serene peaceful surroundings for 2 nights and 2 days.
Review: Highlights of Chingaara and this entire trip
* Great guest house. Attractive red brick building, tiled roofs, large lounge, library, terrace, and sit-out.
* Fantastic room. We opted for the type-I room that had a mezzanine level with 2 additional beds.
* Simple vegetarian traditional food, served as buffet, breakfast and dinner included in the tariff itself.
* Room, food, jeep drive, additional food order, all are economically priced, for such a good place of stay.
* No staffs here are after our money. I gave zero tips during this entire stay!
* The calm surroundings of the estate with dense vegetation, birds talking the sound of nature all the time.
* Serene Chingaara water falls that was completely our own since no external visitors come in.
* Friendly manager, Sharath Somanna and all the helpful cooks, jeep drivers, and other service staffs.
* They have made a booklet with details of various trek routes in the estate, mountains and valleys around.
* They assure that the place is very safe to go on treks on our own using the small booklet as a guide.
* No one was pushing us hard to be a guide with us for treks or trips to try and make money from us.
* Trek at the Kabbe Pass on the ghats, with unbound ranges of still and silent grasslands was exotic.
* The jeep driver doubled up as the trek guide on the Kabbe Pass. The cost was very reasonable.
* Rustic, 18th century's Royal hunting lodge, Nalaknad Palace at the base of the big Tadiandamol peak.
* No AC, TV or telephone in the room, that is good; Airtel and other cellphone as well as data work well.
* Insects are always around (see pictures) in such a place of stay. A highlight, if you look forward to them.
* Our son spotted a small snake on top of the Kabbe Pass grasslands during our trek. So watch-out.
* While walking in the surroundings, my wife had a leech bite, she spotted quickly and pulled it out.
* Their pet dogs (may not be so cute) and their two donkeys (!) keep the place a little lively.
* Staffs of Chingaara and all estates around strive to keep the place litter-free & plastic-garbage free.
Review: Lowlights of Chingaara and this entire trip
* Amblee Srirangapatna has been a let down.
* Housekeeping in the rooms at Chingaara could have been a bit better. Not so bad though.
Itinerary
Here is the snapshot of our itinerary that we had designed and followed.
31-Oct (Thu)
05:00 PM: Departure from Bangalore
07:00 PM: Dinner at Kamat Upachar after Channapatna
09:00 PM: Halt at Amblee Holiday Resorts Srirangapatna
01-Nov (Fri) - Kannada Rajyotsava
09:00 AM: Breakfast - Sandwiches by the riverside
10:00 AM: Departure from Amblee
12:30 PM: Lunch en route, at President hotel Kushal Nagar
02:50 PM: Arrive at Kabbinakad junction [Yavakapady post]; park our car at the parking lot
03:05 PM: Transfer by their 4WD jeep for the last 2.5 KM uphill to reach Chingaara guest house
04:30 PM: Stroll to Chingaara wafer falls located within the estate at a 10 min. walk
05:15 PM: Back to the guest house for coffee
08:30 PM: Dinner
10:00 PM: Rest
02-Nov (Sat) - Naraka Chaturdasi
07:15 AM: Tea
09:00 AM: Breakfast
09:30 AM: Departure on off-roading jeep ride, trek on grasslands on the hills, Cheluvaraya water falls
01:10 PM: Back from the trek and water falls visit
01:40 PM: Lunch
04:30 PM: Coffee
05:30 PM: Strolls in the estate surroundings
08:30 PM: Dinner
10:00 PM: Rest
03-Nov (Sun) - Diwali
07:15 AM: Tea
09:00 AM: Breakfast
09:45 AM: Check-out and jeep ride to drop off at the car parking lot
10:30 AM: Nalaknad Palace; spent 20 min.
11:10 AM: Padi Igguthappa Temple; spent 20 min.
11:30 AM: Departure towards Madikeri
12:45 PM: Lunch en route, at Prestige Residency Madikeri
01:45 PM: Departure towards Bangalore
05:30 PM: Coffee en route, at Maddur Tiffanys
08:00 PM: Back in Bangalore
Route Map
Onward route: Bangalore >> Kamat Upachar >> Amblee Srirangapatna >> President Hotel Kushal Nagar >> Madikeri >> Napoklu >> Kakabe >> Kabbinakad junction (Yavakapady post):
Click here for Google Map of our onward route. Here is a snapshot for quick view.
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| Onward route |
At the start of our return route we did a couple of visits nearby: Kabbinakad junction >> Nalaknad Palace (4 KM) >> Padi Igguthappa Temple (7 KM) >> Prestige Residency restaurant Madikeri (33 KM):
Click here for Google Map of the start of our return route. Here is a snapshot for quick view.
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| Return route (first leg) |
Thanks for your time to read this travelogue. Do remember to leave your
comments here.
Below, in the full posting, you can see a lot of pictures I have posted from this nice trip we went
through during the 3 nights and 3 days from start to end. The captions I have added to the pictures would give you more details. Take a look, and visualize, the overall trip, the attractive terrain, the wonderful water falls, the great guest house, the tasty food, and all the specialties. Enjoy! Even more, you can see some Caught Special pictures from this trip in another posting
here. Have a great time!
