Chikkamagaluru trip

Team : Einstein, Deekshith
Route : Bangalore --> Birur--> Chikkamagalur(~271km)
              Chikkamagalur --> Hassan-->  Bangalore (~242km)
Transport : Train, Bike, Bus
Date of journey : 28 Oct 2017

Distance doesn't matter when it comes to exploring something new. This time we decided to explore coffee land of Karnataka, Chikkamagalur.

Yasvantpur railway station

The journey :

We started our journey early at 4:45am from Kadubeesanalli. As the distance of the journey was more than 200km, I chose to travel by train, While my friend decided to travel by bike. As planned earlier, we decided to meet up at Birur railway station. The train almost took 4.5hr, and by the time I reached Birur railway station, Einstein was waiting for me at the station.

On the way to Kemmana gundi

After having tea in a nearby canteen, we headed to visit the first place of the day, Kemmana gundi.

With my friend Einstein, Ready to explore

Day1 :

Kemmanagundi hill:

Located at a distance of 34km from Birur, Kemmanagundi offers beautiful scenic view of the nature from the peak. The word Kemmanagundi means "Red soil pit". 

One the way to Kemmanagundi peak, we came across Shanti falls. The water was cool and had sweet taste. We filled our empty bottles with this fresh water to rejuvenate ourselves for the rest of the trail.

After spending some time at the falls, we headed to the summit.

Z-Point Kemmana gundi

It took almost 30mins from the falls to reach the peak of the hill station. Trail was very easy, as we had to walk through open green grassland.

Grass land view 

After enjoying the beautiful scenic view of the nature, we started to descend from the hill at around 12:30pm. By the time we reached the base, we were feeling damn hungry. We had our lunch in a nearby hotel, and headed to next destination - Bababudangiri.

Bababudangiri :

A drive of an hour and a half through Bhadra abhayaranya brought us to Baba Budanagiri.
This place is known for its shrine to the Sufi saint Hazrat Dada Hayat Khalandar, a pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Muslims.

The hill top yielded good views of the surrounding countryside and hills. There were a few view points. You will also find a small falls, known as Manikya Dhara, located at the peak.

Deviramma betta

Manikhyadhara falls

Sunset view from Bababudaniri

One the way back to Chikkamagaluru, we came across another falls - Honnamanna halla falls. 

Honnammana halla falls

We reached Chikkamagalur city at 8pm and booked a lodge to spend rest of the day.

Day2 :

Next day we started a little late, as we had left with only two places to visit. After having breakfast in a nearby hotel, we headed towards the first place of the day Mullayanagiri. 

Mullayanagiri 

At 1,930 m, Mullayanagiri is the highest peak in Karnataka. The hill offers beautiful views of all its neighbouring ranges.

Mullayanagiri derives its name from the tomb of Saint Mulappa Swamy, which is located at the peak. The saint is said to have meditated in the caves surrounding this hill. You can also find a small Shiva temple on the summit.

Mullayanagiri hill

It took almost 20mins to reach the peak from the base entrance. The view became more and more breath-taking with every step we took up on the hill .

Posing for a pic

Magnificent view from the peak

After spending some time at the hill peak, we started to descend. We headed to visit the last place of the day - Hirekolale lake.

Hirekolale lake

The word Hire means big and Kolale means lake. The lake gets its name as the water is spread across huge area of landscape. The lake is located at the foot of  Mullayanagiri.

Coffee plant  - on the way to HireKolale lake

One can spend entire day here, enjoying the sound of water flow and watching the clouds moving around the Mullayanagiri hill.

Hirekolale lake 

We started to head towards Bangalore at 2pm and reached our home at 10pm. All in all, I would say, Chikkamagaluru is one of the lovely place to visit during the monsoon session.