About Coorg
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Coorg officially known as Kodagu is a district in Karnataka, India. Despite being the least populated district Coorg is known in the world for coffee and its rich culture and heritage.
Coorg is located on the eastern slopes of Western Ghats bordered by Dakshina Kannada district to the northwest, Hassan district to the north, Mysore district to the east, Kannur district of Kerala to the southwest, and Wayanad district of Kerala to the south. The principal town, and district capital of Coorg, is Madikeri, or Mercara, with a population of around 30,000. Other significant towns include Virajpet (Virarajendrapet), Kushalanagara, Somwarpet and Gonikoppal.
Agriculture is the main occupation of the people in Coorg. Geologically, paddy fields are found on the valley floors, with Coffee and pepper agroforestry in the surrounding hills mainly near Madikeri. The coffee agro-forestry systems of Kodagu are one of the richest agro-forest in the world, with about 270 species of shaded trees inventoried according to the publications of CAFNET project. In those coffee agro-forests are also cultivated spices like black pepper, cardamom, vanilla, rubber, teak, cocoa and Oranges. Kodagu is also known for its forest honey. Weather hugely contributes towards economy. In July and August, rainfall is intense, and there are often showers into November. The highest temperatures occur in the month of April and May.
Coorg is rich in with wildlife and has three wildlife sanctuaries and one national park: the Brahmagiri, Talakaveri, and Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuaries, and the Nagarhole National Park, also known as the Rajiv Gandhi National Park. Some of the common wild animals include the Asian elephant, tiger, leopard, dhole, gaur, boar, and several species of deer. Coorg also offers a wide variety of birds, roughly around 300 birds have been sighted and reported over the years.
Coorg is home to many communities with diverse ethnic origins, with Kodavas being the main ethnic group. Other communities are the Kodagu Gowda and Muslims. One-fifth of a total population of over 500,000 are the Kodava community, which speak Kodava. The Kodavas Hindus are traditionally ancestor worshippers with a martial tradition, hence may be called Kshatriyas. Some of the festival celebrated by Kodavas are Kailpodhu, Kaveri Sankramana and Puthari
*Note: All distances are calculated with reference to Madikeri as the destination.
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