If you are heading to Coorg and wondering what to do besides sightseeing and relaxing, I have some recommendations to make.

These are three fun things to do:

1. Birding – pick up a pair of binoculars and start looking at the colourful world of birds. There is a drama in nature waiting to unfold as the branches come alive. Whether you are in a coffee plantation or in a dense forest, you are sure to wake up to the pleasant call of birds.

Coorg is a birder’s haven and you can spot up to approximately 300 species of birds here;  Coucals, Cuckoos, Parakeets, Bulbuls, Barbets, Woodpeckers, Thrushes, Treepies, Flycatchers…the list is endless indeed! Loads of migratory birds visit here in winter too, so arm yourself with a bird guide, binoculars and a good book, and start birding this year!

A Beautiful Coucal!

2. Hike to a waterfall – Coorg surprises you its streams and waterfalls at every nook and corner. Hike up to one of them and drench yourself in the wonders of nature. There is the Abbey Falls near Madikeri, Irupu near Kutta, but my personal favourite is a small waterfall called Chelvarayan Falls near Kakkabe. You need to walk through a coffee plantation and then a bit of dense vegetation to get there, and believe me, the hike is well worth it.

The Chelvarayan Falls: A Marvel of Nature!

3. Take up a coffee tour – a walk in a coffee plantation is probably the first on your agenda, but I would suggest that you sign up for a coffee tour if one is available. Listen to the stories of how coffee landed in Coorg from Chikmagalur, and the seasons it goes through. If you are there during winters, you can be a part of the picking season, and then see the beans being pulped and processed.

Coffee Cherries!

Lakshmi Sharath

Lakshmi Sharath is a media professional and a travel writer. She has written for several publications including in flight magazines and local newspapers. She has been a travel blogger for the last 4 years and her blog, A travel blog of an Indian backpacker is very popular.