Coorg tourism

2. Location
• Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an
administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956,
it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it
was merged into an enlarged Mysore State It occupies an area of
4,102 square kilometres (1,584 sq mi) in the Western Ghatsof
south-western Karnataka. In 2001 its population was 548,561,
13.74% of which resided in the district's urban centre, making it the
least populous of the 30 districts in Karnataka.The nearest railway
stations are Mysore Junction, located around 95 km away
and Thalasseri and Kannur in Kerala, at a distance of 79 km. The
nearest airports are Kannur International Airport in Kerala (59 km
from Kodagu) and Mangalore International Airport (118 km from
Kodagu).

3. Geography
• Kodagu is located on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats. It
has a geographical area of 4,102 km2 (1,584 sq mi). The district is
bordered by Dakshina Kannada district to the northwest, Hassan
district to the north, Mysore district to the east, Kasaragod district
of Kerala in west and Kannur district of Kerala to the southwest,
and Wayanad district of Kerala to the south. It is a hilly district, the
lowest elevation being 50 metres (160 ft) above sea-level
near makutta. The highest peak, Tadiandamol, rises to 1,750 metres
(5,740 ft), with Pushpagiri, the second highest, at 1,715 metres
(5,627 ft). The main river in Kodagu is the Kaveri (Cauvery), which
originates at Talakaveri, located on the eastern side of the Western
Ghats, and with its tributaries, drains the greater part of Kodagu.

4. History
• The Kodavas were the earliest inhabitants and agriculturists in
Kodagu, having lived there for centuries. Being a warrior
community as well, they carried arms during times of war and had
their own chieftains. The earliest mention about Coorg can be seen
in the works those date back to Sangam period (300 BCE - 300 CE).
The Ezhimaladynasty had jurisdiction over two Nadus - The
coastal Poozhinadu and the hilly eastern Karkanadu.According to
the works of Sangamliterature, Poozhinadu consisted much of the
coastal belt between Mangalore and Kozhikode.
Karkanadu consisted of Wayanad-Gudalur hilly region with parts of
Kodagu (Coorg). The Haleri dynasty, an offshoot of the Keladi
Nayakas, ruled Kodagu between 1600 and 1834. Later the British
ruled Kodagu from 1834, after the Coorg War, until India's
independence in 1947. A separate state (called Coorg State) until
then, in 1956 Kodagu was merged with the Mysore State
(now Karnataka).

5. Tourism
• Kodagu is rated as one of the top hill station destinations in India. Some of the
most popular tourist attractions in Kodagu include Talakaveri, Bhagamandala,
Nisargadhama, Abbey Falls, Dubare, Nagarahole National Park, Iruppu Falls,
and the Tibetan Buddhist Golden Temple,[Talakaveri is the place where
the River Kaveri originates The temple on the riverbanks here is dedicated to
Lord Brahma, and is one of only two temples dedicated to Brahma in India and
Southeast Asia. Bhagamandala is situated at the Sangama (confluence) of two
rivers, the Kaveri and the Kannika. A third river, the Sujyothi, is said to join
from underground, and hence this spot is called the Triveni Sangama. Iruppu
Falls is a sacred Kodagu Hindu spot in South Kodagu in the Brahmagiri hill
range. The Lakshmana Tirtha River, with the waterfalls, flows nearby and has a
Rameshwara temple on its banks. It is said that this sacred river was created
when Laxmana, prince of Ayodhya and younger brother of Lord Rama, shot an
arrow into nearby hill, the Brahmagiri hill. Chelavara falls and Thadiandamol
peak are also in South Kodagu. Nagarahole is a national park and wildlife
resort. Tourists