A few hours out of Bangalore and there’s a drastic change in the landscape. Arid, flat browns battle with flashes of emerald, and are finally gobbled up by green as the climb to Coorg begins. Go to any travel blog or post on Coorg and the approach is described in vivid, verdant detail. They’re not wrong. What they won’t prepare you for is Exotic Madikeri Resort.

Exotic Madikeri Resort is…
A river that sparkles just outside your veranda; where natural springs abound. Sentinel trees that loom, over a 100 years old, and should you care to spend some time with them (and you should), each has a story to tell. Trekking trails that snake in and out of vegetation so lush, you just know that you’re looking at primary growth. Critters of every hue on walls and rocks that are as fascinated by you, as you will be, by them. Watch for the distinctive Bheema Raja or Black Drongo, because he heralds the rains. And this is when you should be firmly ensconced in Meriyanda. Because, while the websites and travel agents tell you to visit between September and March, it is in the monsoon that Coorg truly awakens.

Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
From The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost