Tadiyendamol , Coorg

Tadiyendamol is the second highest peak in Karnataka. The peak belongs to the group of taller peaks between Himalayas in the north and Nilgiris in the South. Tadiyendamol is a part of the range of Western Ghats that lie in Coorg District of Karnataka. This range experiences a salubrious climate through out the year. Elephants, bison, tigers, wild cats, and variety of birds habitat the thick vegetation. Plenty of waterfalls and natural springs adorn the valleys. The flora & fauna of Coorg add to the beauty of the valley. Most of the natural vegetation around the peak in this range is taken over by Plantation growers and converted to Plantations of coffee, pepper, cardamom, beetle leaves, and areca nut. The forest department well maintains the forest range with early burning of weeds and shrubs, planting trees to re-grow the forest and maintenance of trees. The effort of the association of forest guards and local people in maintaining this forest range is commendable


The Route:
There are many ways to reach this place from Bangalore. The shortest and least complicated route traverses through Srirangapattana, Hunsur & Virajpet. On Mysore Road, a right turn at the Srirangapatana Junction leads to Hunsur. A left turn at a distance of 5 Km from Hunsur takes us on a road that leads to Virajpet. From Virajpet, travel 4 km towards Madikere to reach a bridge. A left turn immediately after the crossing the bridge leads us once again on to the curvy roads of Coorg. Traveling on these curves for 19 km leads to Kabbina Kaadu. Kabbina Kaadu means Sugarcane Forest in the native language. The trail to Tadiyendamol starts at this place. Vehicles can be parked at this junction and Trekkers can embark on the trek.

Many resorts and homestays have mushroomed in this region. Honey valley Estate is the closest to Tadiyendamol and is also one of the oldest estates in the valley that has been taking on tourists. Even for non-trekkers. Trekkers willing to camp in the wild can pitch their tents at the base camp, which is a clearing near a waterfall en-route the trail to the peak.











It was during the Christmas Holidays that we planned our trek to Tadiyendamol. With a lot of time on hands, and varied interests & ideas floating, we thought of making our own route. In two cars, the team of ten set off towards Coorg in the wee hours of a Saturday Morning. The Dame, Suja had arrived from Chennai, Modi Gourav, Gandhiji Pramod & his sister Sunita dropped in from Pune. Uday, Summer short for Sammeresh, Ravi,
Giri and me loaded ourselves into Giri’s Honda City. While the ETs loaded themselves into Mahesh Acharya’s Wagon R. Most of the gang was my-next-job-is-photojournalism photographers with Heavy Cameras and XX MPG LensesJ.

With Suja leading from behindJ, we somehow managed to start the day at the stipulated time: 5 AM. A heavenly breakfast at Raghavendra Hotel near KR Pet was our first break. The route was exceptionally green and reminded me of Mauritius due to the sugarcane fields stretching miles and miles on both the sides of the road, the canes ready for picking! No wonder Mandya is called the Sugar County. We also took some sugarcane from the farms and left a Re 5/- coin to assuage the guilt of taking the canes unasked.

Ravi, the avid bird watcher from the Bird Watcher’s Club, convinced us all to go through the Nagarahole Reserved Forest route. Not expecting much wild life, we were excited and much satisfied with the giant spider captured on camera. Imagine our excitement, when we jumped from spiders to tigers! A tiger walked into our path and stood majestically gazing at us for almost 3 minutes. It felt like an eon. We stood breathless, digesting the fact that it was a tiger staring into our eyes. Cameras went Click Click Click, though not all could capture great pictures of our national animal. A few moments and everyone seemed to come out of their trance state at the vision of the tiger and there was a ruckus. The tiger, not liking noise pollution from the city breds, walked into its woods.

Disappointed not in the least, we set off in our own paths, more alert than ever, in the hope to sight, maybe an elephant this time? We waited for bevy of beauties, a herd of spotted deer to cross the road, at their traffic signal. It was noticed that a lone deer, the trailer, stood and watched over all the deer cross on one end, while another lone deer, the leader, stood on the other side of the road to ensure that all the deer crossed safely. The deer crossed the road in a straight line like school kids after the prayer. We humans still have a lot to learn from these animals. The discipline and the code of conduct especially in the wild!

We crossed the national park with no more rendezvous with the natives. Next stop was Irupu falls with the backdrop of Brahmagiri hills. Full splendor of the falls was not seen as the monsoons were far away. Nevertheless, the gang enjoyed splashing in the waters cascading from a mighty height, while I surveyed the area for new route to my next trek, Brahmagiri. We had lunch at the only restaurant at the base of the falls.

The serpentine curves of this part of Coorg roads and the enchanting views had us enthralled. We just wanted to go on forever on these lanes. We did not realize the amount of time spent on the road and had eaten up in most of the days other events. We reached the destination at 8pm instead of 11 am, with no regrets what so ever. The estate’s jeep picked us from the base. It was one hell of a drive up hill. No amusement park could match this thrill we felt. We hoped the jeep wouldn’t fall into the deep gorge running besides the road all along. Some places the road was so steep at nearly 70 degree angle, the jeep would come down in the reverse. Thankfully the expert drives landed us safely at the estate door. It was already dark, and we were too tired to explore. We settled in the Dorm I had reserved for our group.

Dinner awaited us and we eagerly hogged the various delicacies served at the buffet. Later we sat around the campfire soaking in the heat. The Dorms were clean and well maintained. My friends amazed that I found this perfect place at such a short notice.

The photographers Ravi & Giri woke up very early and disappeared with their cameras into the wild only to join us for breakfast. It was sheer bliss. The beauty of the place could not be explained in a few words. We freshened up and set out for the huge breakfast set up for us. It was self service again.


Giri, who paints beautifully, had captured the many moods of the nature. I knew he was itching to get back and fill his canvas with the colors. Ravi, the bird watcher, had clicked many lovely birds who seemed to have posed for him exclusively. It was a pleasure looking at the pictures these two had clicked.

I spoke to our guide. We packed lunch to be taken to the hill top. The trek to Tadiyendamol is always exciting. Most of them were doing this trek for the first time. I was the only one in the group who was familiar with the route having done it twice before. The waterfalls and the sholas in the region were amazingly beautiful. We reached the peak by lunch time. Winds were blowing furiously. All Cameras were active.

While Giri was Ambedikar, Pramod was Gandhi, Suja turned out to be Jayalalitha. Picture Perfect!

An hour rest and we were sprinting down towards the base camp. Some even tumbled down and the fist aid kit came to their aid. This slowed us slightly. It was 5 pm when we reached the base camp. Knowing we wouldn’t be able to trek all the way to the estate house, we called them to send us a jeep pickup. Useful resources were put into use in dire situations.

This part of journey was all the more exciting. No lights, only the full moon shining brightly in the dark skies. All cameras went active again. Some of us could hear grunting noise in the woods behind. I thought it was a tiger. The guide said it could be a wild cat. Our speed increased and we ambled quickly towards the pickup waiting for us. This drive was even more exciting. So we had every element packed into our trip. We had dinner. Suja’s team left us to venture deeper into the jungle with the youth hostel trek they were participating in. Giri, Ravi. Uday, Summer & I enjoyed our dinner and retired for the day.

The next morning we spent going around the estate and relaxing, and bid adieu to the owners of the estate after another wholesome breakfast.

Hoping to go back again to the heaven left behind….


Roopa Sreedhar

TAG India