Coorg or Kodagu district situated in the state of Karnataka, South India, has become a major travel destination over the years. Formerly a province, it attained the status of a state in 1950, but was made into a district in 1956 Madikeri, once called Mercara, is the district headquarters and is popularly known as the ‘Scotland of India’. Misty hills, luxuriant green forests, vast acres of tea and coffee plantations and orange groves make Coorg one of the most attractive places in India.

 The people of Coorg are a proud, brave and martial people with a distinct culture and a reverence for tradition. In this beautiful land, where nature can be seen at her best, man has also made his mark. The Madikeri fort is a 19^th century fort having a temple, a chapel and a prison in its premises. The Omkareshwara temple, built in 1820 century by the King Lingara II shows an amazing and tasteful blend of Islamic and Gothic architecture. The annual Teppothsava or ‘boat festival’ is a major attraction.

The Abbey Falls and Iruppu Falls are two beautiful picnic spots. River Kaveri, considered as one of the seven sacred rivers of Sapta Sindhus originated at a place called Talacauvery in the Brahmagiri Hills at about 4500 ft above sea level. There is a tirtha kundike or small perennial spring which flows underground and surfaces again a little distance ahead. There is a small shrine near this kundike. According to popular legends, Goddess Parvathi appears in this kundike every year on Tulasankramana day which falls around October 17^th.

Forty kilo metres from Madikeri is the confluence of river Kaveri and two of its tributaries – Kanake and Sujyoti. From here the river flows through Karnataka and Tamilnadu and falls into the Bay of Bengal. The Nagarhole National Park which is about 96 kms from Coorg is one of the best game sanctuaries in South India. It is well stocked with a variety of wild life. 

Coorg offers a lot of scope for fishing and golf besides adventure sports like trekking and white water rafting.