Mandalpatti is one of the most scenic places in Coorg. In a post written nearly 3 years ago, I had explained the adventurous bike ride to this place. This time I went there in jeep and there was a huge difference in experience (Bike feels more near to nature). Also the place has become touristy resulting in more vehicles and crowd.
We went in a car till the Abbey falls junction and took the local jeep from there. The jeeps cost 1.6k per trip for upto 8people. So for it to be cost effective, it is better to go there in a large group. The roads are good for almost 15kms.
Though you can drive your own vehicle, I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have an SUV. The final 3-5kms is hell to drive upon.
There are a lot of jeeps plying on the route making it difficult to walk by or bike. However the view throughout this route is amazing. As we got closer, our driver pointed to some hill and told us that it is Kumara Parvatha and in the far side there is Subramanya.
There is a Rs 25 entry fee to reach the view point. You need to do a small hike to reach the view point. There is enough place on the top to accommodate a large crowd. However there are only 2 spots where you have shade. So it is advisable to go here for sunrise or near sunset. The view from the peak is spectacular with lush greenery everywhere and the breeze is too strong and amazing.
You could walk down the other side to reach another view point. The path to this has loose sand and little stones so it is slippery.
The jeep driver later told us that there is also a trek here but you need to talk to the forest officers there and they will guide you. The good thing about this peak is that there are toilets constructed on the top (which you hardly find in most places). I was trying to take a video of the view and the jeep driver asked me to keep my camera ready and took us for a spin to get a 360 degree view of the place. Below is that video.
We then head back to our car and later visited Abbey falls which is on the route. You can only view the falls from a distance and cannot enter the water. There is a hanging bridge which is now closed for public as it rusty and week. But you can still go onto it as long as there is no cop around :)
The other peaks in Coorg are tadiandamol which is a moderate level trek and Talacauvery which has the Brahmagiri hill. Apart from Abbey falls there is Chelavara falls where you can enter the water. I will cover these places in my future posts.
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