A family Fun Trip to Mercara

Mercara Trip from 9th to 10th June 2007

This month we had a good trip to some important tourist spots in Karnataka. The Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation had several packages on their list. Almost all the packages are very good. . After dilly dallying, we decided on a two day tour to Golden temple Nisarga Dhama,Talacauvaery &. Mercara, Accordingly, four days in advance we booked 7 tickets through an agent in Hanumanthanagar. The package is inclusive of accommodation. Rs.1,200/-per seat.

Every time we use to plan our visit to temple sites. However, just to have a change in our programme, we planned this package.

On 9th June 2007, a party of seven people started our journey. We left our place at 6.30.am and reached the starting point “Badami House” to board the K.S.T.D.C bus about 7.am.. Since it was a Second Saturday, all the seats were full. In fact, this is the second bus, we could manage.

The bus took the Mysore route, the Guide Mr.Yesudas, explained the programme of the day at the beginning of our journey.

During our journey, he showed the place where the actual shooting for Sholey was done.This place is in Ramanagar enroute to Mysore. Because of its proximity with huge rocks and mountain terrains, the producer of the film selected this site and named this area as Ramgarh fort. Even now tourists passing through this area recalls the scene shot in this particular area. Before Chennapatna the bus was stopped for our breakfast in a nearby hotel Raj Bhavan.

During the course of our journey we passed through Srirangapatna Fort, the Capital of Tippu sultan. This was ruled by two Muslim rulers for 36 years namely Hyder Ali and his son Tippu Sultan between1763-1799. We also saw from a distance the Lord Ranganatha swamy temple which is 1,200 years old and also the burial place of Tippu Sultan.

Our first visit was to Golden Temple in Bailukuppa. The entire area has been maintained very neat and clean. Here we saw the Tibetian Monastery wherein the statue of Buddha as well the tomb has been fully gold plated. We were told that when the Chinese army invaded Tibet in 1952 and took over Lasha including the Patola Palace, Dalai Lama left Tibet for India with his followers and later he approached Nehru to accommodate his people till they attain their Independence. Hence on humanitarian grounds a vast area in Bailukuppa, a hamlet in Karnataka was given to them for their rehabilitation. With the assistance of Government of India and aids from other countries, the entire stretch of land has been well developed.

The Monastery, built by them is one of the tourist Spot in Karnataka. This place has also got a residential accommodation for Buddhist Monks to learn the teachings of Lord Buddha. This place is worth seeing. One important feature of this place is that no foreigners are allowed inside the premises without valid permission from the Central Government.

The bus halted at Kushalnagar near a Hotel Aditi for Lunch . Since we had taken some items namely, Curd rice, lemon rice and also some chapathis for our bus journey, we finished curd rice and lemon rice for our lunch. Geetha prepared chapathis with sabji for our journey. Later we proceeded towards Cauvery Nisarga Dhama, where we went round for a boating. We had to reach the boating area through a hanging bridge for 5 minutes. The child Aishwaraya who accompanied us had an Elephant ride.

There is every scope for improvement in this place. The Department could have taken little more interest to make this place more attractive by planting more trees and also by up keeping the boating place. A guide inside the area is a must during visiting season. People do visit these areas at week ends invariably and it is high time that if private participation are also involved, people can make their visit more meaningful. Every effort should be taken to prevent people carrying plastic bags inside the Dhama.

After our visit to Nisarga Dhama, we proceeded towards Mercara(Madikeri). It is the capital of Kodagu, the land of the fiercely loyal and martial kodavas,many people from this place have earned their name and fame in the Indian Army, like Field Marshal Cariappa and General Thimmaiah. Kodavas are extremely proud of their heritage. The only way to this hill town is by road from Mysore. Here we saw the natural beauty in full strength with coffee plantation,paddy fields, grass lands,pepper and cardamom vines and orange orchards. and all other plants in and around the hills and mountains. This magnificient environ has made Kodagu being called the “Scotland of India” .

On the way we saw the Abbey Falls.which is located inside an estate where water gushes over rocks After reaching certain distance we had to board a Jeep to reach Abbey Falls. Literally, we have to walk for one and a half km distance to reach the Abbey Falls which is situated in a very steep place. The tourists were enjoying the falls and taking bath also. By the time we reached our Jeep point, almost all the people in our bus were exhausted and many of us had a good tea at a nearby tea stall.

Amidst all this flows the life giving Cauvery, regarded as the source of life by the Kodavas. Medikeri seems like other countless hill towns in the country with steep,narrow roads and houses .


The Rajs’s seat in Madikeri has occupied a pride of place, a cliff-edge point where , it is believed the Maharajas used to enjoy sunsets. On clear days, sunsets are watched with silent reverence However, due to bad weather, we could not see it There was some drizzling also. We proceeded towards the Raja Seat Garden in Mercara which is really worth seeing. The Garden with blooming flowers as a whole has been maintained very well by the Department of Horticulture. There is a musical fountain also. At 7.00 pm the display at the musical fountain started which was colourful and breathtaking. We took some snaps also. The child Aishwarya who accompanied us had a merry round in the Toy Train which is an additional attraction. It is pertinent to mention here that from the Raja seat one can see the entire area.

After our Garden visit, we proceeded towards our hotel for stay. We were accommodated at Popular Woodlands. This Hotel seems to be good. By about 8.30.pm we had our Dinner. The Chapathis and curd rice which we had taken with us, served the purpose. We had a good sleep at the Hotel and had a good hot water bath around 5.00am the next day.

The next day i.e. on 10.6.07, after our morning tea ,we were ready by 6.30.am. and proceeded towards Omkareshwara temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. Here the temple is
constructed under the Mogul architecture. We were told by the Guide that when the Muslim rulers were destroying the Hindu temples in many parts of India, this temple was architecturally styled like a mosque to prevent the onslaught of Muslim rulers.

After the temple visit, we proceeded towards Talacauvery, in the Brahmagiri hills, the birth place of Cauvery.. The Birth place of Cauvery has been maintained neatly and a small Shiva temple has been built a year back .From the top of the Brahma Giri one can have a panoramic view. However, because of heavy fog nothing was visible. The starting point of Tala Cauvery was found to be through a small spring which flows through the mountain and flows through Tamilnadu after entering the Plains and finally mix with the Sea at Bay of Bengal. At the Tala Cauvery, only Shankarji had a dip and he enjoyed the bath. I could not venture for any dip due to chillness.

While returning from Tala Cauvery, we purchased coffee powder, honey and other Spices. .

We enjoyed our journey all along. Some boys and girls who travelled with us entertained all the passengers by singing film songs individually and also some group started Antakshari One young girl, anchored the entire programme

By about 9.45.am we had our breakfast at a K.S.T.D.C. Hotel at Bagamandala. It is pertinent to mention here that the tiffin items provided by the Restaurant was not good and even the child Aishwarya refused to eat the tiffin.
From Bagamandala we proceeded towards the ancient Bhugandeswara Temple of 1790 period. Now a major renovation work is going on inside the temple. This temple is named after Bhaganda Muni who installed the Shivalingam at this site. The temple had attracted the attention of many royal dynasties of Karnataka who used to worship. The King Doddavirajendra renovated this temple damaged during the battle in 1790. We also saw the place of Triveni Sangamam wherein the Cauvery river merges with two other rivers and flows through near the temple. People were seen having a holy dip at the place of Triveni Sangamam and some of them were seen performing the rituals to the departed souls.

After the temple visit we reached Gonikoppa at 1.20.pm where we had our lunch at Hotel Guru Prasad. From here we started our journey to Nagarhole forest area by 3.15.pm All the people in the bus were very eager to see the wild animals in the Nagarhole forest area. There was a rush for the purchase of tickets for the Safari. It was Rs.95/- per individual. At 4.pm we got into a 31 seater bus to ferry the people inside the forest area. All along the way we could see only some deers. However, we could not see any wild animals at all. However, at the fag end of our journey, we could see some elephant

By 5.30pm, we left Nagarhole to Bangalore .It was a 5 hours journey. On the way we had our dinner at Mylari Hotel at Maddur which is famous for Maddur vada.

It was about 10.40 pm when we reached Bangalore. We alighted near the Byatarayanpura Police Station and got into two autos to ferry us back to our place.
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By and large, it is very pertinent to mention here that the success of our programme was due to proper planning in advance coupled with co-operation from all the members.