Welcome to Kodagu – where clouds marry tall mountains, and numerous streams are born, carving their way, cascading through ancient, sacred forests. A place where livelihoods delicately dance with nature, to the tune of the sun and the rain. The perfect climate to not only grow coffee, but to sit and sip it whilst being serenaded by the Malabar Whistling Thrush, as the morning mist engulfs the coffee plantations.
This year, Coorg was particularly popular for the unexpected bloom of Neelakuriniji flowers. In late August and early September, the hills around Madikeri —Mandalpatti and Pushpagiri – changed colour to a beautiful shade of purple. This was the bloom of Strobilanthes sessilis, a shrub that has a flowering cycle that is still a bit of a mystery. But, many people in Coorg could not recall seeing such a spectacular blossoming of flowers, and rushed to witness this amazing spectacle. Waterfalls, like the one pictured in the video, Iruppu Falls, originate in the Brahmagiri hills, and the waters plunge nearly 170 feet at Iruppu, before flowing on to become the Lakshmana Tirtha and later join River Cauvery.
Dotted with creatures great and small, many found nowhere else on the planet, this entire landscape and its rich biodiversity, shaped by mountains and nursed by water, is a treasure to be preserved for future generations. Let’s keep Kodagu clean – do not litter.
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