Coorg

Shalini, a coworker a PHRI, was a fantastic friend and organized a weekend for us to visit her friend Viju who lives in Coorg. Coorg (or Kodagu) is a region of the state of Karnataka that was a separate state prior to Indian unification. People in Coorg speak a different language than the rest of Karnataka. The region is known for its forests and heavy rainfalls, and it is the watershed for much of Southern India.

After a three hour bus ride, we arrived in Maldhare, the small town in Coorg where we were met by Viju.

Our Tata Bus
Maldhare

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Viju's coffee plantation as well as the plantation where we were staying the night.

Our beautiful three room plantation hotel
Orchids growing outside our hotel
Some coffee plants growing in the shade
Close-up of the coffee

The next day Viju took us to his friend's cabin in the forest. These friends have started a reserve to take care of elephants. They purchased two captive elephants who had been treated poorly. Now, every morning, the elephants are given a bath in the river, followed by feeding. Then the elephants are released to wander around the forest for the afternoon and through the night. The next day, the elephants are tracked down, bathed fed and again released. One of the two female elephants had a child (the father was a wild elephant). We got to feed them some bananas. The baby male elephant had not yet been trained, so he was a bit unpredictable.

About to feed the baby some bananas
Me feeding one of the two adults

That afternoon, we hiked up one of the nearby hills. There was a 300 year old temple at the top of the hill, and the view was beautiful. After the hike, we met Viju's mother and sister who were extremely nice, and as it began to get dark, we headed back to Mysore.

The temple at the top of the hill

Coorg