CHIKMAGALUR
Basic Info
Chikmagalur, a hill station in Karnataka is known for its coffee plantations. Tucked in the foothills of the Mullayangiri range it has something for everyone
Getting there: Since there is no airport the only way to get here is to fly to Bangalore and then take a car to get here (about 240kms). The drive should take about 5 hours. Alternatively you can fly into Mangalore and drive from there (210 km). On this route you can stop at Sringeri established by Adi Shankara (8th Century) Hindu theologian & exponent of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy. We were driving in from Mangalore so chose to do this route and stop at Sringeri at the beautiful Sri Vidyashankara temple (1342 AD)
Where to Stay
We stayed at the Serai in Chikmagalur. Serai was owned by Siddharth Hegde of the famed Café Coffee Day (akin to the Starbucks of India). We were blown away by the beauty of the resort – well laid out and with independent villas assigned to each guest complete with a private pool et al. Other resorts I am told are equally good – Trivik & Java Rain. My only gripe with the Serai is that the food was mediocre at best.
Things to Do
Chikmagalur is well known for its coffee plantations. A stay at the Serai will guarantee a plantation visit educating you on the mighty bean – its process and varieties. You can trek up the Mullayanagir hills (the highest peak in Karnataka). It is 2000 metres above sea level. You can explore the caves at Baba Budangiri You can go on a safari at the Bhadra Tiger Reserve. But the most fascinating of all is the proximity to some of the beautiful temples of the Hoysala dynasty.
Day 1
Drove from Mangalore to Chikmagalur stopping at the Sringeri Mutt on the way. The temple is beautiful and if you can take part in the free lunch provided there. It is simple but clean nevertheless and worth seeing how well organized it is.
After lunch we drove to Chikmagalur passing through the western ghats – countless hairpin bends and beautiful views. Saw some lion tailed macaque monkeys – what a splendid sight!
Arrived early evening at the beautiful Serai resort – just in time for a coffee plantation tour. IT was a walk around the property educating us about the the humble bean. Being 31st night we just stayed back for the new year’s eve bonanza.
Day 2
After a scrumptious breakfast at the Serai we decided to go explore some of the most fascinating examples of Hoysala architecture. There are several temples in this area but the most well known of them all is the Belur temple & Halebid temple. We decided to start with the less crowded Belavadi temple. The Krishna statue here is supposed to be one of the most beautiful ones. Photography is not permitted inside the temple so all we have are some of the outside. It’s a small temple and can be done fairly quickly.
From here, we went on to the Halebidu temple a fabulous example of Hoysala architecture. Since Chikmagalur was also home of the Bhadra tiger reserve we decided that it was worth taking a chance to see if we could spot the elusive cats. Although it was only a few kilometers away it took us more than 2 hours to get to the Bhadra Tiger reserve. There is no way of calling ahead to see if tours are available and what times they are offered. There are no private tours only government led tours into the forest. Unfortunately all we saw were some deer & some boars. We got back to the hotel rather desolate and decided to eat at the property itself. Although the Serai is a beautiful resort the food is certainly not of the same standard. The staff tried their best to satisfy us and did take our constructive criticisms quite well.
Day 3
Wake up at 6AM to go bird watching around the property. The Serai offers some early morning bird watching opportunities and I found it quite fascinating. After breakfast we checked out to go back to Bangalore. But we reserved the last of the temples at Belur to visit en route to Bangalore. For lunch we stopped at Murali military hotel. This was certainly the highlight of our trip this time. The food was by far the best I’ve eaten in a long time. And finally I was dropped off to the airport to head back home.
