Small city settled amidst the coffee estates and the deccan hills. It is a very popular hillstation for vacation in South India. The place has got many exotic resorts and experience homestays.
I would definitely recommend coffee estate stays for a different experience.
And if you got the money stay at the Taj Madekeri, the view from their infinity pool is like you are standing at the horizon where earth meets the sky.
My hault was at a hotel named chinmayee, 3 km away from the town, on virajpet road, rooms are basic but the USP is the view from the balcony.
If planning to stay there carry some packed food or ready to cook things as food is not available. And the network problem will haunt you coz you would not be able to use Internet. It’s easy to make phone calls however.
I spent my day chilling at the “PAUSE CAFE” the only cool place apart from CCD in the town, where you can relax for hours with a cup of coffee and nobody would ask you to leave. The music is good, there bakeries are, a must try.
The town is pretty different from rest of Karnataka, the people speak Coorgi instead of Kannad. The traditional attire is different.
The tourist should come here with the vision of solace not sight seeing, however there are 3 main places which one can visit.
Omkeshwara temple: it is within the city and can be walked to.
Dubbare Elephant camp: early risers, definitely have an advantage, coz if you want to see elephants bathing, it has to be before 8am. However I was not able to make it for this spot.
Golden temple or Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery: this is a must visit place, around 30 km away from the madekeri town towards the direction of mysore.
Enroute mysore from coorg, there is a place called Bylakuppe which is the second largest tibetan settlement in India. The main monastry which is also called the Golden temple is a worth the detour. The temple is magnificent. It is amazing to see the monks performing the Buddhist religious ceremonies and rituals.
Even though it is a famous tourist destination, it is maintained very well. This because of the rules. The people can only aquire a piece of land, if they have a paddy field.
For birdwatchers it is an exotic destination to visit. Below is an early morning captured still by me.