Chikmagalur

For all those in Bangalore, and for those bitten by the travel bug, there are a whole lot of places to explore. For those who love nature, there are a lot of options. One can drive South West towards Nagarhole, Coorg and Wyanad, or can drive North West towards Chikmagalur.

I love being close to nature, be it in the snowy mountains, by the sea, backwaters or in a jungle.

During one of the long weekends, I decided to drive to coffee country Chikmagalur. The route from Bangalore to Chikmagalur is awesome. One has to drive from Bangalore – Nelamangala – Hassan – Belur – Chikmagalur. The Hassan highway is good and is a pleasure to drive.

We halted at Shravanabelagola and Halebid. These places have marvelous temples. The halt delayed our journey, but, it was absolutely essential to visit them.

After this, we drove straight to the estate. We had a map that was provided by the travel agent. The route was confusing, and we got to a point, where there was not a single person to ask for direction. We just kept driving, intuition prevailed and we sensed we might be on the wrong road. We drove back, enquired about the route with a person, and proceeded. By the time we got to the estate – Riverwoods Resort, it was about 4 pm.

River Woods Resort is in a 500 acre coffee and pepper estate that is adjacent to the Bhadra river. I must admit that this place must not be called a resort. It was a humble old home that is more than 100 yrs old, was beautiful, and had a few rooms to accommodate guests like us. It had wooden logs supported ceilings, red per-oxide painted floor, large windows, wooden swing et all, with modern amenities like attached bath with geyser for hot water, fans and tube lights. The estate has 2 other bungalows that are given out to travelers.

The estate has 3 large rotwilers, named Tarzan, Tiger and Spike. They became very friendly. The bungalow is located in the middle of the estate, and has the most beautiful private rose garden. There were mango trees, fig trees, orange trees and apple trees also in the campus. I saw fig tree, apple tree and orange tree for the first time in my life.

I went to Chikmagalur in March. The owner of the estate took a liking for us, and took us around the estate. At this time, the coffee trees are in full bloom. It was the very first time in my life that I was seeing a coffee plantation in bloom. Every node on the branch of the plant, has a inflorescence of jasmine like flowers that smell sweet. There were millions of bees that were buzzing around. When we kept silent, we could hear their hum. There were lot of bee hives on the trees. It was pollination time. In the estate, there were also trees, where the flowers were dry. After the first showers of the pre-monsoon rains, the coffee berries would start to appear.

The aunty who took us around told us that the honey from these hives have coffee flavour. Why wouldn’t it be, if the nectar is from coffee flowers.

Besides honey bees, there were loads of peacocks.

Aunty was explaining us the problems faced by coffee growers in the region, and that coffee cultivation is no joke. She was telling us about Caterpillar infestations, degeneration of soil due to repeated use of pesticides, and how they combat that – they all lime to the soil. I could see the soil was white because lime was used.

All the estates were in full bloom, and the pre-monsoon showers had not started, without which the berries would not grow. Hence, all the plantation owners, arranged for artificial rain. The estates are completely piped, and water was sprinked. And, it is essential for the sprinkle / artificial rain to continue for 3 days. I was told it costs Rs. 2 lakhs to do this for a single day. So, I had seen artificial rain at Chikmagalur.

Also it seems, some times, the bees don’t come. In their absence, the pollination does not happen, and in that case, the berries won’t appear. So, they engage women to shake the plants, for artificial pollination.

The host prepared the best local delicacies. We interacted with the other guests who were there, and had a great time.

The next day, we walked around the estate again, and did nothing in particular, which is what we wanted to do. We fished in the Bhadra river. Due to heavy mining at Kudremukh, the silt and the waste of mining is let into the Bhadra river. This has resulted in silt accumulation in the river, which causes floods during the monsoon every year.

At the end of 2 days, I did not feel like leaving Chikmagalur. Like I always do, I decide that I will retire early from work, may be when I am about 45 yrs, buy a small estate for myself, and spend the rest of my life there.

On the way back to Bangalore, we stopped at Belur.

There are lots of places around Chikmagalur to go around and see. I did not visit any of the below places, I am giving info for the benefit of others who might want to go.

Situated in the Baba Budan hills, Chikmagalur is a calm, serene place full of scenic surprises, hills, valleys, streams and snow-white coffee blossoms. Chikmagalur is a trekker's delight, with its rugged mountain trails.

There is a hill called the Bada Budan Giri which is the highest peak in this mountain range. It is called so because the Saint Bada Budan lived here. Also, he is first person to have introduced Coffee cultivation in India. When Saint Bada Budan went to Mecca for Haj, he saw that the localites were drinking coffee, and coffee was grown in Arabia as a plantation crop. Muslims were not permitted to consumer alcohol, but, coffee has caffeine that was capable of giving a mild kick, and hence the muslims there, cultivated coffee, and consumed it, as an alternative. Saint Bada Budan liked it, and brought coffee seeds to India. So, the coffee that is grown in this part is the Coffee Arabica variety. Later, the local estate owners introduced other varieties of coffee here, like Coffee Brasilia and Coffee Robusta.

Another piece of information you might want to know. Chikamagalur means – town of the smaller daughter. Chik means smaller or younger, Magal means daughter, and Oor means – town or city, hence Chikmagalur. The local raja gave this place as dowry to his younger daughter, from then on, this place is called so.

The places that one can visit in Chikmagalur are :

Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary (Muthodi)- 38 kms northwest, this sanctuary is a must-see for wildlife enthusiasts. Gaur, Chital, Sambar, Elephants and Tigers are some of the wildlife found here.
Kemmanagundi - 55 kms north of Chikmagalur, this is a scenic hill station, situated on the Baba Budan range. 8 kms from Kemmanagundi are the Hebbe Falls and the Kalhatti Falls are 10 kms away. There is also a local temple here, constructed in a gap between rocks.

Agumbe : About 50 kms southwest, on the way to Kudremukh. From the top of the mountains, you can view the sun setting in the Arabian Sea.

Kudremukh- 95 kms southwest of Chikmagalur is the secluded hill station of Kudremukh. Situated 1894 m above sea level, the Kudremukh hills overlook the Arabian Sea and are chained to one another with deep valleys and steep precipices.

Amruthapura - About 10 kms form Tarikere, this little town has a 800-year-old temple dedicated to Amrutheswara.

Sringeri- Sringeri is a pilgrim center, known for its Vidyashankara Temple. It has 12 zodiac pillars on each of which the sun's rays fall according to the time of the year.

Getting There :

Chikmagalur is connected by road and rail to Bangalore ( 251 kms ) , Hassan and Mangalore. The nearest airport is Mangalore (170 kms).

Trip Duration : 3 days

Best time : Any time of the year. Chikmagalur can get really wet during the monsoon, but, if you like to get wet in the rain, do make a trip to this place. And, you will get accommodation at off-season rates.

Where to stay : Home stay in a coffee estate is the best. I stayed at River Woods Estate. The same people have other properties as well, called Tex Woods and Jain Khan Estate.
For more information and booking log in to http://www.riverwoods.biz/