It is the largest Tibetan community in exile with about 40,000 people in five settlements containing monasteries, kindergarten to higher level secondary schools, health care clinics, a hospital and a traditional Tibetan medical facility. The ‘Lugsum Samdupling’ settlement established in 1961 has grown to a veritable township with monasteries, nunneries and cafes and stalls that showcase the Tibetan way of life.

As you near the settlement you will find monks in robes zipping past on two wheelers. Makes one wonder – what’s the hurry for the monks? Ah well, the monks here are well rooted in tradition and well connected with all modern technology too. You will see monks chatting away on a mobile phone in one hand and rolling beads on his rosary in another!

The most visited temple here is Namdroling (The Golden Temple) and the signage is loud and clear. And of course you can spot it from afar. Three beautiful larger than life gold plated statues look down at visitors above the altar. Buddha around 60 feet tall holds prominent place, flanked by Guru Padmasambhava and Amitayush (each around 58 feet tall). The walls are adorned with colourful paintings depicting gods and demons from Tibetan Buddhist mythology. The entrance has a curtain of beads which is the favourite of kids who love going in and out.

The monastery attached to this temple is considered to be one of the best places for higher learning. This monastery dedicated to the teachings of Palyul Lineage of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism was established by His Holiness Pema Norbu Rinpoche shortly after he came to India from Tibet. A long, leisurely visit to the Namdroling monastery would take up almost half a day. If you are lucky you will witness a prayer chanting session in one of the temples and it is a ‘must experience’. Rows of monks will sit and start chanting from their books and a couple of them will blow wind instruments while there will be another who will play the cymbals. All this will be accompanied by the rhythmic beat of the drums.

The exterior of the new Zangdokpalri temple looks majestic with a majestic rainbow arch. We are so used to being told not to photograph the idols in temples, that the ready willingness of the monks to let the idols in their temples being photographed is such a pleasant and welcome surprise. Most of the monks when approached are very friendly and ready to talk and answer all your question about their life there or Buddhism. It is almost like visiting a foreign country in your own!

There is a large parking area near the Golden Temple. A shopping arcade next to it houses many curios shops and restaurants.

Getting there: Bylakuppe is situated on the state highway 88. The nearest town for Bylakuppe is Kushal Nagar. Auto-rickshaw is the best mode for a trip to the Golden Temple from Kushalnagar. There are frequent buses shuttling between Mysore and Madikeri and you can get down at Kushalnagar.

Club Mahindra has a beautiful resort in Coorg and Bylakuppe is not too far away from our property.  Enjoy your visit to the coffee country with us and  plan a visit to Bylakuppe at your leisure.
Watch this video to experience the destination more.

It is misty as we climb a small hilltop to the Padi Iguthuppa temple in Kakkabe. The bells start ringing the moment we enter the temple , as a gentle breeze blows from the rolling hills around. A group of Kodava women enter and speak with the priest Kush Bhat who welcomes us and insists that we stay over for lunch. “ No one comes to the Iguthuppa temple and goes away without eating lunch ,” he says. He explains that Iguthappa means giver of food and the deity is a form of Subramanya or Muruga, son of Shiva

“Close your eyes and ask Iguthappa whatever you want ..If you have faith, you will get the same,” says Kush Bhatt adding that centuries ago, Shiva and Subramanya came here and loved the hills so much that they decided to settle down here . The temple is known to feed anyone who comes here and all pilgrims offer food, not money to the deity . “Iguthappa told the people of Coorg that you will never go hungry as long as Im here and if you accept me as your God, ” explains Kush Bhatt. Some call him a saint, some say he is one of the four brothers who settled in the hills around the area. But despite the legends, every festival of the Kodavas starts with the invocation of Iguthappa and the  most important festival of the temple is Tulabharam .

We go to the another Iguthappa temple in Naljee, inside a forest through a lush coffee plantation . There is not a soul around and it is peaceful just listening to the sounds of the forest. These monuments are probably lost to the average tourist , but as a traveler, I realize that one finds sanctity in the silence around them

Club Mahindra has a wonderful resort in Coorg and make sure you get an experience of mystical Coorg when you visit them next

The Mahindra resort was so welcoming. Located amongst luscious greens. We were gonna be there for about 4 days. We reached around noon…had a fantastic lunch in one of their open air restaurants. We then checked in to our room…had taken their 1bhk room. It was just great..especially the back view from the room was wonderful.

The next morning we were welcomed with nice rains and temperature was down to just 14 Degc. We then had planned to visit the very famous Talacauvery which is around 50 kms from the resort. It is the original source of Cauvery river and is located in the Bhrahmagiri hill at 1200m aprx above the sea level. It is believed that taking bath in Talacauvery is very sacred and can relieve the man from all the sufferings.

There is a small hill which once walked up had amazing view..actually breathtaking..

We had a wonderful day out there…got back to the resort and let the day end. The next day we had something very exciting for us to look forward to. It was a trip to Dubare Elephant camp. A place where we can give bath, scrub and feed elephants. An amazing experience with the elephants which I have never had as yet.

I had a wonderful experience out there and thanks to the team of Club Mahindra to make it more memorable. The next day was another different kind of experience which again I had for the 1st time. We were headed to a Tibetan Monastery – Golden Temple, Bylakuppe. It houses over 250 monks as on date.

Stepping inside the temple feels like walking in to another world altogether. There are three beautiful golden Buddha statues each of 40 feet namely Padmasambhava, Buddha and Amityaus look down at visitors above the altar.

An absolutely stunning place. A place where I would feel like going back again and again. With a visit to this place our trip was almost at end. The next day we had a flight back home from Bangalore…The trip was wonderful and more over the Club Mahindra has a fantastic resort out there..

A must must visit for all…

The food at the resort was excellent. While we gorged on good food we also took out time to flex our muscles. We played Table Tennis and Badminton and walked a lot, all in all it was good fun.

On our wedding anniversary the resort organized a cake and did up the room with balloons and flowers and special designs using the towel – Swan’s and Hearts which was very touching. We tried the wonderful spa with massages which rejuvenated us before we left. It was the first visit to a Club Mahindra resort for my wife, I had been to others before, she was visibly impressed and till date after two years it remains as our most favorite place to visit again. The lush greenery, the waterfall, coffee plantations and excellent food beckons us again.

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The Haleri Kings who ruled Coorg or Kodagu for over 200 years were Lingayats and their origin is traced to Veeraraja, a nephew of Sadashiva Nayaka of the Ikkeri Dynasty. . As the Vijaynagar empire crumbled, Veeraraja, who dreamt of establishing his own dynasty was looking to exploit the weakness of local kingdoms. His ambition took him to Kodagu which was then ruled by various Nayaks .

Pic : Lakshmi Sharath

Disguised as a “jangama “ or a priest with healing power, he established a small group of followers in Haleri . He slowly overthrew the local Nayaks , including the formidable Karenbahu of Bhagamandala and Talacauvery and went on to become the lord of Kodugu with Haleri as capital .His grandson, Mudduraja later changed the capital to Madikeri and the dynasty ruled from the 17th century to the 19th century.

The Madikeri fort is today one of the few symbols of this powerful dynasty. It was eventually rebuilt in granite by Tippu Sultan who named the site as Jaffarabad.It was recaptured by the Haleri ruler Doddaveer Rajendra in the 18th century and it later fell into the hands of the British who renamed it as Mercara . Today the fort houses a palace, a temple, a chapel, a prison and a museum where you can see hero stones or virakkals among other things.

Pic : Lakshmi Sharath

We embarked on the trail of this dynasty. Further away from the city is Gaddige or the Raja’s tombs, which are the Samadhis of the kings Doddaveerarajendra and Lingarajendra. A solemn air hung around and it was deserted almost but for a few boys who were playing cricket. The tombs of the divans and army commanders were also placed here. The domes and the minarets at four corners mounted by carved bulls stand tall against the sky.

The sun was setting and a mist threatened to rob the sun of its last few moments of glory . We headed to Raja’s Seat to watch the tussle. This popular tourist spot which boasts of scenic views was the seat of the royalty to admire nature.and also throw probably to throw their enemies down the hill.

Pic : Lakshmi Sharath

A visit to Madikeri is never complete without a visit to the.19th century Omkareshwar temple built by Lingarajendra II dedicated to Shiva. Built in the Indo Sarcenic style, it has elements of Gothic and Islamic architecture as well and it is said that there could have been a secret passage below that leads to the palace of the king.

We drove towards Virajpet – one of the key towns and erstwhile capital named after Virarajendra, the Haleri king . It is said that Dodda Veerarajendra established the town in the 18th century to commemorate his meeting with the British General Abercrombie during their joint war against Tippu Sultan .

Virajpet which is just 30 kms from Madikeri is an important town today for coffee and spices and the St Anne’s Church and Clock tower stand tall, today reminiscent of the colonial era . The interesting aspect is that Virajpet was once an amalgamation of various communities such as Telugus,Tamilians, Malayalis, Bunts, Moplas, Christians,Brahmins and even Bengalis.Even today you can see streets like Bengali Street, Telugu street going by the cosmopolitan nature of the town that housed several communities..

Pic : Lakshmi Sharath

We then went in search of a small palace where the Haleri Dyansty came to an end .Our trail ended in a small hamlet called Yavakapadi in Kakkabe where Nalknad Aramane built by Dodda Veerarajendra in the 18th century awaited us .

There were coffee plantations all around. A small mud road appeared out of no where .A beautiful two storey structure painted in red with a tiled roof, old wall paintings and pillars gazed at us as we opened the portals of the palace. A small mandapa in white was located close by. A drizzle started as we heard a sound behind us. A caretaker had silently moved in and was opening the main door for us. We were the only visitors. As we soaked in the moment, we were given a capsule of history .

During one of the wars with Tipu Sultan, Dodda Veerarajendra had to retreat and he came to this dense forest. He converted it as an operation base and built a palace and even got married here . This palace was the final refuge of the last king , Chikkaveerarajendra before he was deposed by the British and it symbolised the end of the Haleri dynasty .The caretaker showed us around as we climbed a small ladder , saw the hidden chamber in the roof , the torture room, the royal bedrooms and the main.durbar

It was ironic that the Haleri kings who had befriended the British to fight Tipu Sultan was finally deposed by the Europeans. As we walked back, we saw a few tourists who had just returned from their trek toThadiyandamole . The sun had set as we walked back to our homestay, wondering how this silent monument would have once been a scene of battles fought and won.

The article was published in the Deccan Herald recently.A guided tour of Coorg will be launched soon and the details will be available here.