Chikmagalur Holiday-Be with clouds!
Had not quite managed to go there till last week. As much as I could read and gather,I felt there were many mis conceptions about this place. Finally managed to drive out and spent a couple of days from 27th,May to 30th May,2009
Chikmagalur is not a scenic place-It is crowded and hot
Reality is it is not….The town has two fairly large commercial roads with all brands being there-Therefore it will be crowded. The catch is you need to stay away from this town in one of those home stays on Mallandur road or on the way to Mulliangiri hills.It is just beautiful.
On the road and route,
From Bangalore-The best route is Kunigal,CR Patna,Hassan,Belur,Chikmagalur-takes 245 kms and 4.5 hours including a 20 min breakfast enroute.
Started at 6 am-845 breakfast in Kamat Upahar about 5 kms after Chenna Raya Patna.You also a have a cafe coffee day next to it with clean toilets alongside BPCL pump.
The road surface is just good throughout and scenic after Hassan.It had rained last week and it was beautiful and lush.
Halebidu is a detour of about 15 kms-I recommend you visit Belur and Halebidu on your way back.
Reached the town around 1045 and had to find our way towards the Nature craft Homestay on Mallandur road.This was around 9 kms from the end of town in a north west direction on the way to Muthodi nature camp-also known as Badhra wildlife sanctuary.More information here-NatureCraft
I personally liked this place-with a fantastic host Ansar and his entire family including his mom and dad ensure that you feel good and homely.But please don’t expect a star hotel like room service,pool,spa etc.,-What you can get is a clean room with clean washrooms amidst plantations with sumptuous foold cooked by Ansar’s mother-I have not had better biryani’s all mylife.
The places you should visit are.
1.Mulliangiri Hills.
This is the highest peak in Karnataka standing at 2010M tall.You need to take Tarikere road from Kimera junction(left) at the end of IG road on the northern side.After about 5 kms or so you need to take a left turn where the signboard says Mulliangiri-18 kms.This road also leads you to Kemmangundi-More on that later.
After about 10 kms you have to take a left yet again-From here on the drive gets very exciting with hair pin bends etc.The road is very narrow and you have to honk continuously as many cars ply through this road.About 1.5 kms before the top you get a place Seethalayngiri on a plain hill.The drive from here to the top is very steep,a dn worse still the tar road ends after 400 meters,leaving you to drive on a mud road for the last half kilometre-This is steepest of all.If there is rain and/or the road is wet I strongly recommend not to drive and instead walk this distance.There is no barricade,no firm grip.So unless you are very experienced driver in a powerful car,please walk !I had a close shave as it was raining foggy and my innova started sliding the slope!
2.Muthodi Sanctuary.
To reach here you need to take a the mallandur road and just follow Muthodi signage-There are many ,after you cross the second forest check post-Immediately you will find a board –Nature camp 2 kms-Pl take that road,if that can be called one!
From there the forest department will take you around in a Swaraj Mazda or Jeep depnding on the head count.They charged us 80 rs/head.The safari is awesome,not from a point of view of game sighting,but the forest is pristine-Wow the smell of nature is irresistible-We spotted Monitor Lizards, Malabar Squirrels,Deers,Antelopes,Langur and peacocks .The vehicle stoops briefly at a point where there is a 400 year old teak tree standing at 32 mtrs tall.As a bonus he takes you through a shallow stream,to get back to the road.
3.Kemmangundi.
This is called the Ooty of Karnataka-I did not go there because of my previous day experience-But seems like a good place to visit.Hebbe and Kalhatii flas are nearby where you have to travel by hired jeeps from Kemmangundi town for about 45 mins.I will write about this after I visit.
4.Kumargiri Murugan Temple.
This temple is located at the 20th KM from Chikmagalur on the Tarikere Road-Worth a visit if you are religious-The place also is beautiful and empty.
Photos below-1-Mulliangiri Hills,2.Halebidu Lake,3.Deer in Muthodi forest,4.Nature Camp 5.400 year old Teak Tree inside Muthodi forest.
