Holidays, weekend bring back tourists to Madikeri

Holidays for Eid Milad, Valmiki Jayanthi and Kannada Rajyotsava, along with weekend, have turned out to be a bonanza for tourists as well as the district.

After being confined to homes for months, owing Covid-19 lockdown, people are once again exploring the places of interest. Kodagu, being a heaven for tourists, has been attracting people from far and wide this weekend, including Friday.

Tourists were seen in large numbers in most of the tourist destinations in the district on Friday. Visitors made a beeline at Raja Seat. Later, the tourists visited Dubare and saw the elephants which have just returned from Mysuru Dasara. Tourists had a good time in Nisargadhama near Kushalnagar as well.

Cold weather and mist is welcoming tourists to the district. The view of mountains and the sunset at Raja Seat is providing relief for the visitors. Hundreds of people witnessed sunset at Raja Seat on Friday itself.

Good weather

Neelesh, a tourist from Bengaluru, said that the weather in Kodagu was good and provided a soothing effect to the mind.

“There has been a significant increase in the number of tourists visiting the district in the last one month. Improvement in the financial condition of people could also be one of the reasons, Tour Agent Nagendra said.

He said that room bookings had restarted in homestays, resorts and lodges. Now, tourists are staying in the rooms without any fear, he added.

Tourism department Assistant Director Raghavendra said that all necessary precautionary measures were being taken to contain the spread of Covid-19 at tourist spots.

Mandalpatti to open today

‘Mandalpatti’, the favourite destination of youth, is still not open for the tourists. This has left a lot of people, especially the newly married couple, disappointed. However, Tourism department Assistant Director Raghavendra said that the place would be opened from Saturday.

Jeep is the only vehicle suitable for travel in Mandalpatti. Many jeep drivers are dependent on tourists for their livelihood.