You’d think after my last massive post on backpacking Coorg or this post on the top things to do in Coorg, you’d seen it all, but you haven’t! As I continued touring Coorg with goMowgli it seemed to just keep getting better and better. Although we were in areas with no cell phone reception or WiFi, I was content to have a group of people around who were so fun to chill with like the Hawaiian wine-guzzler Hailey.

These are a couple photos of chicken sighting that made me laugh on our way through a small town to get my 5th and final rabies shot.

yes, those are alive. She’ll raise them and eat them. Below, are where she probably got them from.

Crazy!

Nalnad Palace – Hiding Place fit for a King

On our way to Thadiyandamol to stay at another killer homestay, we stopped off to see where that king I told you about back in Madikeri (who had that awesome 17th century palace built and wanted to chop off his architect’s head?) used to go to hide out when well, other people wanted to probably chop of his head.

Him and his wife would come up to Nalnad to take refuge. The guard there (who was oddly enthusiastic, which was awesome) shared that the “dark rooms” would be pitch black for 24 hours a day while the king hid with no sunlight coming in under times of very serious stress. The place was sadly used for a Bollywood film and those idiots decided to paint over the antique paintings on the walls and put their own dumb paintings to “look antique”. Hello, it already was!? They also used flash bulbs in filming and destroyed a lot. The government is working on fixing it all and is making some progress.

PS oddly enthusiastic = drunk of local wine ;)

Blue Mountain Homestay

If you’re going to hike Thadiyandamol, you should totally look into staying at this homestay. The owners were friendly, beds were soft, and the food was divine. We had a great dinner with beans, corn and paneer, spinach and chickpea, pepper chicken, roti, jeera rice, pakora (omg I love onion pakora), cabbage, and more. It was 1300 for stay, dinner, breakfast, and all the coffee you could guzzle.

Hiking Thadiyandamol

You’ll have to get up early to do this hike because once the sun hits it gets hot! I got a nice little sunburn. We had a delicious omelette and headed out by 8. I spent half my time hiking and the other half checking for leeches and bitching about leeches, hiking, wasps, and just nature in general. I’m just getting a little lazy in Goa I’ve come to realize (but sort of already knew).

tip to the wise, don’t sit on rocks in Coorg unless you want leeches on your ass!

a shot from the goPro

Hailey and I sitting on a rock which is something we both preferred to hiking, lol

yes it was worth the hike! Look how amazing!

The hike was 4 hours altogether but it was difficult. Tennis shoes were fine but at the top (5,500 feet up there) you’ll need a jacket because it got very cold. It’s the tallest peak in Coorg, and second tallest in Karnataka. This area is all part of the Western Ghats which hold one of the most diverse wildlife in the world.

no I’m not diving off, lol I just have to balance to sit down

Oh, just checking for leeches

Watch out for cobras in your path and whatever you do DON’T sit or fall on the wet rocks because they are leech central. Leeches are new to me. I spent a lot of time in the woods back home, but we must not have them because I’d never seen one before this. I’ve never seen one of these roll up in a ball either!

Secret Waterfall!!

This area has a couple places to eat lunch but none are something special. Best to have a quick bite and be on your way. We had a simple veg lunch then went to goMowgli’s secret waterfall called Cheladara (ok, I just told the secret.. but that’s what blogs are for). It was gorgous and huge but definitely too heavy of waterfall to swim in. I was pretty paranoid about leeches the whole time I was here but it was worth the extra bit of a hike on my tired shaky legs.

After doing this in one day, you’re going to be exhausted. I recommend calling it quits and re-couping. I’d never been more happy to be on a guided tour than at this point. I was tired, sunburnt, and wanted someone to tell me where to go sleep rather than try to find a local bus to take me to town.

We stayed at Yamini Green right near Iruppu Falls which is one of many places in the area goMowgli uses for tours depending on availability, but not their first choice. It was less homestay, more complex area. It had nice rooms with big comfy beds but was pricey at 1,700 per night including food (three meals), granted the food was good and shower water was hot! the place even had an emu. We rested up for more adventure the next day.

Iruppu Falls

When going here you’ll want to go early. This will help you avoid crowds and also means you can get in your swimsuit without people staring at you… because this waterfall you can actually swim in! …and by swim, I mean shiver and get pounded by the water- it’s like a massage from the strongest man in the world. I didn’t last long in the water but it sure was fun!

I was hosted by goMowgli on this tour, but all opinions are my own.

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