About Chikmagalur: Chikmagalur literally means "The town of the younger daughter" in the native Kannada language. The town is said to have been given as a dowry to the younger daughter of Rukmangada, the legendary chief of Sakrepatna and hence the name. Chikmagalur was the place where coffee was first cultivated in India. Rivers like Tunga and Bhadra have their sources in the mountains here which are parts of the Western Ghats. Chikmagalur district also contains Mullayanagiri, the highest peak in Karnataka.
The city is placed amid a scenic landscape in a fertile valley; it is surrounded by lush green coffee plantation hills. The distance from Bangalore and its situation in the lap of Mother Nature, makes this place a perfect weekend gateway for all Bangalorians.

Duration of the trip: It was a 2 days and 1 night trip for us.

Transportation: We traveled this destination with our own car. We started from Bangalore at around 4:30 AM in morning on a Saturday and reached Chikmagalur at around 10:00 AM. For returning to Bangalore, we started around 4:00 PM on Sunday and reached by 9:00 PM.

On the Way to Chikmagalur

Details of the Trip:
Day 1: As I already mentioned, we started from Bangalore at around 4:30 AM in the morning and reached there by 10:00 AM. On the way, we stopped at a Café Coffee Day and had our breakfast over there.
Upon reaching to Chikmagalur, we boarded in The Planters Court. We booked two double bed rooms at Rs. 1075/- each (excluding taxes) as we were four people. The hotel has free parking facility in the campus itself which was something we didn't find in most of the other budget hotels in Chikmagalur.

Front view of the Hotel

Once we got into the room, we freshen up and decided to go for sight-seeing after having lunch. We had our lunch in Hotel Mayura, though it was as small vegetarian restaurant, but they served the best north Indian food I ever had in entire south India. Even the famous restaurants of Bangalore don’t serve such delicious north Indian food.
After enjoying the delicious lunch, we booked a cab from the nearby KSRTC bus stop for the sight-seeing purpose. Though we had our car with us, but none of us were confident enough to drive to the hill station, and so we didn't take any risk. So, from the bus stop, we booked a Tata Indica in Rs 2200/- with a deal of showing six most popular places around Chikmagalur in two days.
Athigundi is a small village on the way to Baba Budan giri. The place provides a fabulous scenic view to the tourists and an awesome place for photography.

Athigundi

Athigundi

Honnamana Halla Falls is a small fall again on the way to Baba Budan Giri. Though there is nothing much to see as it’s a smallest of falls, but there were many tourists who were enjoying the place.

Honnaman halla Fall

Bababudan Giri Datta Pet is the main attraction of the day. By the time we reached there it started raining, and the place was fully covered by mists with a visibility of less than 50 meters. However, the mist added a thrill in the journey.

Ayurvedic shop @ Baba Budan Giri

Ayurvedic shop @ Baba Budan Giri

Near the entrance of the Shirin

There were three large caves, said to have been sanctified by three siddhas contain their icons and ‘gaddiges’ (tombs), and an annual jatra is held here in their honor. The enthralling scenery around makes this many frequented pilgrim centers. This holy place is worshiped by both Hindus and Muslims. A beacon lighted here during Deepavali can be seen at Chikmagalur. The peak takes its name from the Muslim Saint, Baba-Budan, who resided here for more than 150 years.
Furthermore, these are the places that the first ever coffee in the country was grown way back in 1670 A.D.
Jhari Falls is said to be one of the best falls nearby Chikmagalur. To visit the place one has to walk to around two kilometers downwards from the road inside forest. Even so, the place is full of leaches should we didn’t take the risk to make it to this place.

Near Jhari Falls

By the time we finished visiting these places, it started raining heavily, and we got completely drenched. We came back to hotel and got freshened up. Later, we went for dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. Food was good there also but not in compare to the one we had for lunch in Hotel Mayura.
Day 2: We had our breakfast at the hotel and checked out in from there in the morning keeping our entire luggage in the car. As I already told that we didn’t want to take a risk of sightseeing driving own car and booked a car for the sightseeing, we needed some place to keep the car. We requested the lady behind the hotel reception, and she was generous enough to allow us.

On the way to mullayangiri

On the way to mullayangiri

\The first place we visited this morning was Seethalayan Matha, on the way to Mullayanagiri. Seethala Mallappana Kanive to the left side is said to have been hallowed by Sidha Seethalaya and contains a Matha and the dual shrine temple of Seethala-Mallikarjuna.

Seethalayan Matha

Then we proceed towards Mullaiyanagiri, the highest point of the district and in Karnataka, it rises to 1926.7 meters above the sea level and is situated at the south of the range. The small hillock in the temple compound is the highest point in Karnataka. The road to Mullayanagiri is very narrow with views from steep cliffs. Driving to the peak is impossible and includes a trek up the hill from the half-way point. There is a small temple on top of the hill. We heard that from the topmost point on the hill, the Arabian Sea is visible on clear days. However, ours was not a day of such weather.

Mullayangiri

Our driver warned us multiple times to start early in the morning for Mullaiyanagiri else it will start raining, but we couldn’t make it early. As a result by the time we reached there it started raining heavily. With the heavy rain also we tried to climb the stairs to the top, but we couldn’t make it beyond the half way. The rain and wind were so forceful; we were feeling we might be thrown down the hill at any point of time. Nevertheless, it was a life time experience to cherish.
We had no raincoat with us, and it was not at all possible to open the umbrella which left us drench like anything. It was impossible to return to Bangalore in such drenched clothes, and so werequested the lady in Hotel Planters Court to allow us a room so that we can change there, and she showed her generosity again by allotting us a room that too without any cost.
None of us wanted to leave Chikmagalur without the taste of Hotel Mayura, and so we went there again for lunch. After enjoying the delicious Kashmiri Biriyani, we started for Bangalore by 3:30 PM.

Note: From my experience below are the few tips I want to share.
1. Carrying woolens and rain coat is a must in Chikmagalur.
2. If you want to make it to the top of Mullaiyanagiri, start early for the place.
3. If you are not an expert driver, don’t take the risk of using your own car for sightseeing. Especially if you are from Bangalore don’t at all dare to.

Disclaimer: We went on this trip in June 2013. There are chances that price has got changed. Please check with Hotel and local cabs about current rates. I have tried to provide as much as details is possible for the trip. For any further information, feel free to post a comment in the blog or contact me@dutshilpi@gmail.com.