Chickmagalur Road Trip - Hills , Falls , Coffee and much more
A three day long weekend ahead of us , we decided to use this as a good reason to plan for a road trip and escape from the hustle and bustle of Bangalore.
Bangalore to Chikkamagalur 3 day road trip
Chikmagalur or Chikkamagalur gets its name from “Chikka” Younger “Maga” Daughter “Oru” City (in Kannada) and the story goes like this Rukmangada, the legendary chief of Sakrepatna gives this city as a dowry for his younger daughter and hence the name ChikkaMagalur.
The land of coffee – the climate and landscape of this place is favorable for growing coffee plantations and is known to be the first places in the country to grow coffee. It now houses many coffee estates. One can opt to plan their stay in the “home stays” in the coffee estates and enjoy a peaceful slow vacation amidst of these plantations.
The Journey Begins
Our road trip began with an early start by around 4:30 A.M on the Saturday, good music and good company what more is needed for a good trip :) we drove past many bikers heading away from the city for the weekend. The drive from Bangalore to Chikkamagalur is a pleasant one, with coconut trees lined roads.
We made a quick pit stop at A2B around 7:45 A.M and had break fast. Refueled after the breakfast started with the onward journey. We decided not to stop at the hotel instead to go on with the sightseeing.
Day 1 - Seethalayanagiri – Mullayanagiri trek - Jhari Falls - Baba Budan giri
Seethalayanagiri
Seethalayanagiri - Mallikarjuna temple and Panoramic views
Our first stop was at a mountain peak on the Chandradrona hills called Seethalayanagiri located 18 kms from the center of Chikkamagalur city. We reached the place by 9:30 after a couple twists and turns winding up the hill. The drive to Seethalayanagiri was a scenic one with a panaromic view of the valley on one side and the mountain on the other , the road was good except for the last few kms.
On the peak is a small temple dedicated to Seethala Mallikarjuna Swamy , we parked the car near the temple. Spent some time in the temple , came out to sit on a bench at the cliff of the hill facing and enjoy the wonderful view of the valley and the panoramic view of the ghats.
Mullayanagiri - (Mis)Adventurous Trek ;)
The locals suggested us to park our vehicle there and trek to Mullayanagiri as the road ahead was in a pretty bad condition and it was just a km from Seethalayanagiri. Feeling reassured looking at some college kids trek , we left our vehicle and started trekking towards Mullayanagiri , we reached what looked like the end of the trek just to realize that there is more !! We walked and walked probably for 3 kms or more. Drank up the whole bottle of water we carried , it was a tough trial but totally worth it for the panoramic view of the western Ghats and the valley below. We reached the end of the trail to find a temple sitting at the peak of the hill “Mullayanagiri temple” and the only thing between us and the temple "435 odd steps" !! :D
On reaching the place we noticed so many cars, hired jeeps and bikers who had drove to the place hrrrr !!! anyways the trek was worth it ! After stopping for a couple of minutes to grab our breath and a frooti from the local vendors , we started our climb up to Mullayanagiri temple. Situated at a height of 6300.17 above sea level , it is among the highest peaks in the western ghat mountain range. At the end of the climb was the temple of Mullayanagiri and an astounding view of the mountain range , the fruit for an hour and a half hour trek!!
Enjoyed the view and climbed down the steps and stopped for some bhel poori from the local truck vendors, as we enjoyed our little snack a bunch French travelers flocked around us eager to know what was the snack we were having , yup this place was filled with a lot of tourists.
Luckily we hitched a ride back to Seethalayanagiri from bikers who were on a biking trip from Bangalore. The ride back to Seethalayanagiri was a rough one with muddy roads. Thanks to the generosity of the bikers it saved our day !!!
It was already mid day , we started of in the car to the next destination "The Jhaaarriii Fallssss" !!!
Jhari Falls - Rainbow at the end of the Fall !!!
Jhari falls , also nicknamed as the butter milk falls is a 12 km drive from Mullayanagiri. On the way to Jhari we spotted a small fall called the “Honnammana Halla”, well there are a lot of small falls adorning the hills as you drive. We stopped there and had a little snack of bread omelet from the truck vendors next to the falls as we had decided to skip the lunch and finish sightseeing during day light and head back to the city.
After the little snack and we headed towards the Jhari. Private cars or trekking is not allowed to reach the falls as the ride is difficult and we pass through what I suppose is a private coffee estate. The only way is to take a bumpy ride through private coffee estates for approximately 1 or 2 kms in a hired jeep. The jeep ride costed around 300 Rs for the two of us. The ride was a roller coaster and the air was filled with the floral aroma of the coffee flowers.
We reached Jhari falls by 2:30 P.M, the falls was indeed a picture postcard view. Jhari falls is all about picture postcard view , cold water and climbing up rocks :)
The water was cold and seemed like a blessing in the humid climate. We were lucky to catch a rainbow at the end of the fall :) Try your luck with that !!
Baba Budan giri / Datta peeta - Crazy Roads !!!
The tale goes like this , Saint Baba Budan tied up 7 coffee beans around his belly and brought them back from his pilgrim to Mecca. He is said to have planted these beans at the foothills and hence the name “Baba Budan Giri”.
A 12 km drive from Jhari falls we can reach Baba BudanGiri shrine , a perfect example of harmony of religions and cultures in India as it is revered by both Muslims and Hindus.
On inquiring the locals we got to know there was a “Manikyadhara falls” nearby and we could drive up there. We saw a couple of hired jeeps going ahead and got assured we could probably make it , but trust me that was a huge blunder to try going to this place with our car and alone. We drove for a couple of kms on the mud road which could only fit a single vehicle at a time and there were no railings between us and the valley below. One small mistake and we could be on a very deep fall into the valley. This was the most scariest drive in our whole life. We reached to what seemed like the top of the mountain. Walked a few steps to find the most disappointing water falls ever “Manikyadhara” which more looked like a shower at home but at the view point we got the most breath taking view which looked like that was the end of the mountain ranges !!
End of day 1
It was almost 5 P.M and we decided to get back to the city. An hour’s drive we reached the hotel “The Blue Pearl” checked in , freshened up and went out on a walk to grab some early dinner.
After the dinner we decided to walk and explore the city for a while as we didn’t have much to do after dark. It is a small but well organized town. As we walked around the MG road to our surprise we came across small shops with good collection of clothes. If you are visiting this place and have some time to do shopping you must visit “Jai Shree” a really tiny shop with surprisingly good collection of clothes for women and at a good cost.
Day 2 – Kallathagiri falls - Hebbe falls - Amruthapura temple
The hotel staff were kind enough to give us a map to all the tourist places in and around Chikkamagalur. By 8:30 A.M we had checked out of the hotel and headed out to Hebbe falls. The hotel was really good and the staff were very friendly and helpful.There was no kitchen in the hotel , so we had to head out for food each time. Our intention during this trip was to go out and check out as many places as we could so we opted to stay in the City rather than going for a home stay which would make it a bit longer to reach the places.
Drive to Hebbe falls
We stopped by at Siri Coffee for breakfast around 9 A.M , it was located at the foothill with a huge statue of a lady adorned with plants and grass. If you are going on this route , you wouldn't miss this place. The breakfast was good and the place was amazing. We walked around for a while enjoying our coffee near the artificial pond with swans swimming around before we headed off for a 60 kms drive to Hebbe falls !
The drive to Hebbe falls in a sentence “Sometimes it’s not about the destination but about the journey itself”. A wonderful drive amidst of coffee estates, magical view of the sunlight streaming in through tall eucalyptus trees , not to miss the floral aroma from the coffee flowers all the way.
Kallathi Giri falls - More a pilgrim , less a falls
On the way to Hebbe falls we had a stop at the kallattigiri falls. It was ideally supposed to be a small falls with water flowing over a temple but there wasn’t much of water probably as we visited to the end of March, we just visited the temple, prayed and headed on to the Hebbe.
The place was dirty with shampoo sachets and had to cross the slippery stones and dirty water to reach the temple , not what we had expected looking at the pictures.
It is more a pilgrimage place rather than a touristy place.
Hebbe falls - Beauty beyond words
A drive past dense coffee plantations, and soon we were entered the “Bhadra Tiger Reserve”. The terrain kept changing , we had to drive past a mud road followed by road covered with gravel , a tough drive.The area is a Tiger reserve and in order to stop vehicles from speeding and hitting the tigers the roads were not laid. After a couple of kms we reached a boom gate. We were informed that the road ahead was impassable and we need to hire a jeep to go past the boom gate.
The jeep ride was quite expensive with a jeep charge being around 2k to 3.2k Rs and the jeep could accommodate around 6 people. We decided to wait up and join with more people to take the ride. We waited for around 30 mins munching on some snacks we had brought. Luckily in half an hour a couple with a young kid and 2 bikers joined us for the bumpy jeep ride. The ride was about 12 kms and with the company it costed 1k for the 2 of us.
By 12 P.M we reached the dropping point, we had to trek past a coffee plantation and a small river by walk to reach the waterfalls. It was wonderful trek with coffee flowers and beans in hands reach. After a couple of minutes , there was the most astounding sight of the picture perfect fall in front of us.
We could not have got any luckier than this, to enjoy the falls with no crowd, it was only the 6 of us and we had an hour and a half to return back to the pickup point where our jeep would wait. There are no words to describe how beautiful the falls was, it more looked like it was a location from a movie or a commercial.
We climbed up the rocks and got as much closer as we could to the falls and sat their enjoying the cold breeze and sprinkles of water falling over us from the falls. It was a moment that I would remember for a very long time.
After enjoying the serenity , with good memories we headed back on the jeep. On the way we get to know from the driver that he had seen 3 tigers in the region including a black one. We were not fortunate enough to see any tigers as there had been a forest fire that had burnt down the whole hill just a month before we went to the place leaving all the animals run for their lives.
Amruthapura temple - A hidden gem in the off beaten path
After the falls we headed towards the Amruthapura temple, it’s an hour’s drive on the state highway 57 for around 45 kms from the falls. It might be a place out of the radar for most travelers being in an off the beat path in a remote town.
Amruthapura temple was built for a Hindu deity “Amrutheswara”, this is one of the marvelous temples built by the Hoysala’s. The temple’s mandapa houses shiny lathed pillars and the outer sanctum contains intricate carvings of Ramayana and Mahabharata. The temple keeps us astounded about the art and technology that should have existed in ancient India!! This is what India is truly about !!
End of day 2
We drove back to the city and after an hour and half we reached the hotel “Treebo Sunrise”. It’s a decent place to stay but we felt the staff were not much polite. We refreshed and headed out to explore more of the city and grab some dinner. After an eventful day we were famished and wanted to have a heavy dinner then we came across this small take away Pizza shop “O!Yalo” , if you are in the city definitely this is a must try place for pizza lovers. The best part here is you can order a slice of each flavor and you have an interesting range to choose from, also don’t miss to try the Choco lava cake :)
Day 3 – Hirekolale lake – Belavadi Veeranarayana swamy temple – back to Bangalore
The last day of the trip but yet an amazing place waiting for us, had a quick complimentary breakfast at the hotel and headed off to the last place in Chikkamagalur before heading out of town - The “Hirekolale lake”.
Hirekolale lake - Nothing but Panoramic Views
An 18 km drive from the city , we reached Hirekolale lake by around 9:30 A.M , hanged around for a while enjoying the panoramic view of the mountain ranges. It was a Monday morning and there were not much people there. Except for us and a group of people with cameras and drones for a pre wedding photo shoot ;)
Belavadi Veeranarayana swamy temple - A 1000 year old Hidden Treasure
We then headed off to Belavadi – Veeranarayana Swamy Temple, It was a peaceful 30 km drive to the temple.
The Serenity and calmness that one can experience in this 1000 year old temple has no words to describe. The temple being in a small village is an unnoticed hidden treasure in our country.
Being a Monday morning and nobody being there except us, we could speak to the priest who showed us around the temple and explained about the architecture and the Hoysalas.
Deities
The temple has 3 deities – Veeranarayana Swamy ( Narayana Swamy with a weapon in hand ) , Lord Krishna with Rukmini and Sathyabama , Lord Yoga Narasimha ( Narasimha goes into Yoga mudra to pacify his anger after killing Hiranyakasipu )
Architecture
The outer shrine and the lathed pillars are built out of soap stone as it is easier to carve. There are 108 pillars and each is significantly different. The Idols are carved out of Saligramam known to be one of the hardest rock, it’s still a wonder how the ancient Indians could carve out such beautiful Idols centuries back. Due to the usage saligramam the shine and beauty of the Idol increases each time after an Abhishegam. You can still notice the reflecting shining speckles Idol even after centuries.
The Archeology department of India surveyed all the idols of Lord Krishna across the country and certified this idol as the most beautiful one, the sight of the Lord is something that will be stuck in your head even days after your visit. The beauty is not something to be described but witnessed.
The temple took around 30 to 35 years to be constructed, which is an average adult lifetime of a person. This fact made us wondering about the Spiritual lifestyle of people in Ancient India and I am still astounded by the technology they should have had to construct such a marvel.
Miracle at the end of March
The priest says every year on a particular day of March, the sunlight falls directly on the feet of the deity in the inner sanctum and travels up his head and crown. This happens on the same day every year and the phenomenon lasts only for a few minutes. The architecture of the temple is designed such that the deity is 90 degrees east.
We spent one good hour soaking up all the beauty and calmness the temple had to offer and headed back to Bangalore. We reached the city by around by 3.00 P.M with no stops in between except for a quick lunch in “Hotel Empire Vegetaria” on the Bangalore – Mangalore highway.
As we head back, we knew we would return back again to explore more :)
Plan your own adventure , check out our Three day itinerary chikkamagalur and beyond
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