Coorg

Coorg — Kodagu — is the coffee country of Karnataka, a district of plantation estates, shola forest and waterfall country on the eastern slope of the Western Ghats. The district town is Madikeri, roughly 250 km and five to six hours from Bengaluru by road, which makes it the most accessible hill country in the state for a weekend. WDRLUST runs the Coorg Trip from Bangalore as a 1N/2D departure, graded Easy. The route runs Bengaluru to Madikeri, then out to the Mandalpatti viewpoint, Abbey Falls, the Harangi backwaters and the Tibetan settlement at Bylakuppe before returning. Groups are capped at 20 and every departure is led by our own guide. Coorg sits between 900 m and 1,170 m, so it stays cool without being cold. The best months are October to March, when the post-monsoon coffee country is green and the light is clear; the monsoon from June to September is dramatic but wet, and the plantation tracks turn to mud. If you want the Mandalpatti ridge without cloud, go between November and February. This is not a trekking destination in the high-altitude sense — it is a walking and driving weekend built around estates, viewpoints and waterfalls. It suits first-time weekend travellers, couples and small groups who want scenery and coffee rather than summit days. Tadiandamol, Coorg's highest peak at 1,748 m, is the trekking option in the same district and is listed separately.