Bylakuppe (Weekend Getaway - road trip to Coorg - Part 2)

The journey after our lunch was very refreshing. Ofcourse, as you guessed for the most part because of my delicious food :) Just kidding. The route from Mysore outskirts until Kushalnagar was literally deserted and we had fun driving at 100 Kmph. The road is comparatively good and either sides of the road are lined with bright red Gulmohar trees which is feast to the eyes. I know its nothing compared to the fall colors but this is the best we have here and I fully appreciated and enjoyed the beauty. After a while we saw acres and acres of plush green paddy fields. Beautiful ..we just stopped, enjoyed the view, took a few pictures and then carried on. We reached Kushalnagar (which is about 30 Kms from Coorg) at 4;00 p.m. Refreshed and we were just in time for the qualifying sessions of Monaco Grand Prix. Saw Ralf Schumacher crash miserably ..we wondered what was he thinking but I guess it is difficult to maneuver especially in Monaco. after that disappointing qualifying time by the Ferrari kids, we decided enough of Formula 1 now. We desperately needed fresh air. So we drove to Bylakuppe.

Bylakuppe is about 7 Kms from Kushalnagar. The entire region is habited by Tibetans. Bylakuppe is also home to the the Namdroling Monastery. A few pictures are here :



The monastery as you can see is adorned with flashy colors such as brilliant red, blue and yellow that blend perfectly. It is set in serene surroundings far away from the traffic and surrounded by coffee estate. about hundreds of monks reside there. To be honest, I was impressed but not as much as Buddhist monastery in Kandy, Sri Lanka. That was beautiful and one had to wear a sarong (no skin show at all) to enter inside. No such restrictions here and you could take pictures too. The centre statue that you see in the picture below is that of Buddha and 60 ft tall. On the right hand side it is that of Buddha Amitayus and on the left of Padmasambhava. All the three statues are made of copper and plated with gold. Inside the statues are relics of great beings, gold scriptures and clay mould stupas. It is also called the Golden Temple and is open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. So if you are visiting the Coorg neighbourhood do go to this place. After offering prayers, we spoke to a few monks. They were kind enough to lead us to the backyard of the temple where the younger monks (about 8-9 years old) practice blowing the huge wind pipes (it is a muscial instrument). The backyard is nothing but fields for miles and miles away. We strolled through the coffee estate for a while examining the coffee seeds. Finally after a satisfying evening, we returned to the hotel after a good dinner!