Abbey and Iruppu falls day circuit
Coorg · 7 hrs · Cab included · Pickup from your stay
From ₹2990 for the whole vehicle, up to 8 people. The price is per car, not per person.
Vehicles
- Swift Dzire: Sedan. Best for a couple or a small family. ₹2990 for the vehicle.
- Tata Sumo: Rugged 8-seater. The most room for the money. ₹3490 for the vehicle.
- Innova or Ertiga: The comfortable one on a long hill day. ₹4990 for the vehicle.
Two waterfalls, two ends of Coorg, one driver who knows both
Abbey falls is the close one: ten minutes from Madikeri, a gorge full of spray with estate greenery hanging over it. Iruppu is the far one: a temple-guarded cascade on the Nagarahole edge, an hour and a half of proper Coorg countryside away, with a forest walk to reach it.
Doing both in a day is the right call and a logistics problem. It is three hours of driving on winding estate roads, timed around when each falls is quiet, with a lunch stop that should not be left to luck.
This circuit solves the day: a local driver who times Abbey before the buses, takes the pretty road south through Kakkabe country, gets you to Iruppu when the light comes through the forest, and knows exactly where lunch should happen in between. You book the car, so the price is the same for two of you or six. Lunch is the one thing you settle on the day.
Your day, stop by stop
1. Abbey Falls
Ten minutes from Madikeri, a gorge full of spray with estate greenery hanging over it. At half past eight the viewing bridge is yours; by half past ten it is a queue.
2. Kakkabe rice country
The road south under the Thadiyandamol ridge, through rice fields and coffee. Your driver stops where the stopping is worth it.
3. Iruppu Falls
A temple-guarded cascade on the Nagarahole edge, reached by a 1.5 km forest walk. It is the better of the two falls and the walk makes it feel earned.
4. The Rameshwara temple at the base
The shrine at the foot of Iruppu, inside a sacred grove. Shoes come off and the path is shared with pilgrims.
5. The lunch stop
A Coorg meal at a place we would choose on our own day off, timed for after Iruppu. The discovery is ours, the bill is yours.
Your meal, paid at the restaurant
In your price
- Private car with driver for the full day
- Both falls entries and parking
- Route and lunch stop planned
- GoExplorer support number for the day
Not included
- Lunch (the stop is arranged, the bill is yours)
- Anything personal
What you pay on the day
- Lunch at the arranged stop
- Snacks and drinks along the way
- Personal expenses
Who this suits
Comfortable walkers: Abbey has steep steps and Iruppu is a 1.5 km forest path each way. Children over 5 manage it happily. Swimming is not permitted at either falls. The car seats four or six depending on which you pick, at one price either way.
What to bring
Walking shoes, sun protection, water, and repellent for the Iruppu forest stretch.
Monsoon spray
Both falls are at their thundering best in and after monsoon, and the circuit runs in rain. Only forest-department closures stop it, and any closure is a full refund or free reschedule.
Cancellation
- More than 24 hrs before: Full refund
- Within 24 hrs: 50% refund, or reschedule free once
- No show: No refund
Safety and the operator
Swimming is prohibited at both falls and the viewing areas are railed. The Iruppu path is inside a sacred grove and forest edge; stay with your group.
Questions
Is the price per person?
No, it is for the whole car for the day. Six of you in an Innova pay ₹4,990 between you, not each.
Can we swim?
No. Both falls prohibit it and the currents deserve the rule. The waterfall circuit in Sakleshpur is the swim day.
Is Iruppu worth the drive?
It is the better falls of the two, and the forest walk and temple make it feel earned. The drive itself is classic Coorg.
Can we add Dubare on the way back?
Not in the same day without rushing all three. Dubare is its own morning; see the elephant camp experience.