JOIN USThe most conspicuous thing to note about Pollibetta, deep in the heart of Coorg, South-West of Bangalore, is that there is absolutely nothing to do in this town.
Ask any inhabitant or a visitor and you see him struggle to list out the usual touristy stuff and happening places that are there to see. This was precisely the reason why this town had been highly recommended and also why we had motored down all the way from Bangalore, 250 km away.
We wanted to relish the mountain fresh air, inhale the invigorating aroma of coffee and pepper, and to be amidst misty hills, sprawling coffee plantations and breathtaking landscapes. This was the way to experience Coorg without the crowds.
It was dark by the time we took the curved road through the Tithimathi forests to arrive at the centre of the town. After a six-hour drive from Bangalore, past the Mysore Highway, through bamboo forests, silver oak trees interspersed with teak trees and the ubiquitous coffee plantations, we reached Pollibetta’s main road.
A few shops were still open on (what, in the usual hill-station jargon, would be termed the Mall Road) the main road where all tourists and town folk converge for their evening stroll. Only on this road there were hardly any folks but we did manage to find somebody to guide us to our destination - the Bamboo Club.
This southern part of Coorg was known earlier as the Bamboo District, and so, the club started by coffee planters in keeping with the British tradition of establishing a club wherever they resided, became the Bamboo Club, a ‘Little England’ where they could meet, play games, dance and party to overcome their nostalgia for home.
The club, which continues to be a home-away-from-home for today’s members was to be our abode for the duration of our stay at Pollibetta. True to club traditions, we were handed a strict dress code, after conforming to which, we made our way to the club dining room.
A three-course dinner served by uniformed attendants later, we turned in for a restful sleep, tired after our journey through the plantations and forest trails that were waiting to be discovered at break of day. We woke the next morning to the chatter of birds and to see through the windows, acres and acres of coffee plantations interspersed with tall gigantic silver oak trees. From the beautiful balcony, meant to sit at and soak in the ambience, we could see several varieties of bamboo forests with myriad butterflies of striking colours darting here and there.
We had to choose from a number of recreational activities that included a safari through coffee plantations, nature walks, bird watching and trekking. Instead, we chose to visit a temple. One of the several dotting the cultural landscape, this was devoted to Lord Ganapathy. We had to drive through a lush coffee plantation, as the temple was situated inside the forest.
The architecture and layout were relatively modern, except for the sanctum sanctorum which was laid out in traditional temple style. The gopuram was positioned with sculptures culled from mythology.
There was not a soul around, and it was peaceful to just listen to the sounds of the forest. As typical city dwellers used to the din of the metro living, we could not
immediately adjust to the pace of Polli-betta life and so, as to do something, we decided to go on a tour of the Raj-era estate bungalows that dot the plantations.
Once occupied by British coffee planters, the bungalows are more than 100 years old. Every bungalow was built on an elevation, overlooking the mountains and the
plantations so that the British planters could lead lives of perfect tranquillity
waited upon by butlers, cooks and gardeners. Later, managers of the Tata group occupied these heritage bungalows for a while, till the management came up with the idea of homestays. Talk about the perks of a job!
We first visited the Woshully Estate Bungalow where the European planters had first met in the 1880s to establish the Bamboo Club. The view of plantations, from here, was so spectacular that we were not surprised the bollywood film Saat Khoon Maaf starring Neil Nitin Mukesh, Priyanka Chopra and John Abraham was shot here.
Another heritage bungalow we visited was the Thaneerhulla Bungalow, so known because of the beautiful water pond that's just a short walk away. We could imagine the bullock carts and the horse-drawn carriages emptying the planters onto the bungalow’s patio in a bygone era. With antiquated wooden floors and a cosy fire place, this bungalow had an old world charm about it.
There were several others we could see, but we decided to visit only the Cottabetta Bungalow. The freshness of the crisp air caressed our faces picture-postcard
greenery filled our sight. The majestic mountains seemed to open up from the bungalow’s veranda — on the south was Kerala and to the North, Kushal Nagar and the Madikeri hills.
There was a hill we wanted to climb where porcupines inhabited the area
earlier. The driveway was quite challenging. The slope was so steep that our car’s engine roared, coughed and spluttered in protest, but it was worth it.
Back at the club, biting into crisp, hot onion pakoras, sipping coffee and
viewing the mist-capped hills was just the perfect way to end a beautiful outing in the forests, while narbets, drongos, parakeets, bulbuls, flower peckers and sunbirds flurried by. It seemed like there was not much to do apart from lounging around in the bungalow, and yet, there was so much to soak in.