Writer : ✍ Niyif Ashfi

Introduction
Chikmagalur or known officially as Chikkamagaluru, is a lush green retreat tucked in the hills of northern Karnataka. Also called the Coffee Land of Karnataka, the district is replete with dense coffee plantations and is the leading producer of coffee in the country. The luxurious natural beauty, rolling hills and valleys, sparkling rivers and waterfalls, and the aromatic coffee gardens are what Chikmagalur is famous for.

Geography
Chikmagalur hill station sits in the Malenadu region of Karnataka, at the foothills of the Western Ghats. The district has an elevation of 3580 ft, with the highest point of the region at Mullayanagiri, rising to 6630 ft. The mountains of Chikmagalur are sources of the Tunga and Bhadra rivers. The landscape is dominated by terraced plantations of coffee and tea, thick shrubs, torrential cascades, and scenic valleys. The plantations are regarded as one of the top 25 bio-diversity regions of the world and make for the best thing about Chikmagalur that you can explore.

History of Chikmagalur
Chikmagalur takes its name from the Kannada Chikkamagaḷa ūru that translates to “younger daughter’s town“. In context it refers to the youngest daughter of the legendary chief of Sakharayapattana. The region was once ruled by the famous Hoysala dynasty until the 13th century. The region rose to popularity for its first coffee plantations in India, in 1670, when a traveling Sufi saint, Baba Budan introduced the crop to the country in 1670.

Road trip.
Chikmagalur has good road connectivity with two national highways that pass through the district. There are regular state-run and private bus service that connects this hill station to other major cities of Karnataka like Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Shimoga etc.

Alternatively, a road trip from any of these cities and enjoy the scenic drive through the hills and forests of northern Karnataka.
I and my husband started our journey on 3rd Feb at 7:15 A.M on bus, journey during this time was more peaceful to see the calm nature at morning trees, nature filled with fogs every where, the ghats are fabulous as always were very cold and serene we reached our destination at 12:00 P.M had our food and met amazing people who also were the companions during our trip. Then our day saga begins……
With a blissful climate and delightful landscape, Chikmagalur sightseeing is a thrill in its own right. So we started our trip with,

Honnammana Halla Waterfalls

Honnamma Falls is a lovely waterfall located in the Chikmagalur district of Karnataka. The waterfall is situated at a distance of about 25 km from Kemmanagundi and about 1 km from Baba Budan Giri Dattatreya Peetha. Nestled within a dense forest area the waterfall is one of the lesser known natural beauties of Karnataka.
An interesting fact about the waterfall is that it has never dried up till date. Even in the dry summer season the sparkling white water of the falls can be seen falling incessantly. This makes it one of those waterfalls that can be visited throughout the year. The water here is so cold the one cannot step into it but still some managed and I couldn’t but still enjoyed the chill whether and peacefull chirping of birds. We clicked picture as part of this to be a beautiful memory. Then we continued our way to….

Baba Budangiri

The Baba Budangiri shrine is shrine named after the Sufi saint Baba Budan, who is revered by both Muslims and Hindus. Its origin appears to be a syncretization of reverence for an 11th-century Sufi, Dada Hayath (Abdul Azeez Macci); for the 17th-century Sufi Baba Budan, said to have brought coffee to India; and for Dattatreya, an incarnation of Shiva (or of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu). It has been controversial due to political and religious tension over its status as a syncretic shrine.
We reached there nearly at 3 we went to the cave where, the saint was buried, inside the cave there were lot of people, who follow different cultures, we saw coins sticked on the mud cave walls, people collecting mud as the sacred one. Then once we were out of the cave we were tired, so there were many shops there, we had litchi juice’s tetra pack. Then we went to the edge of mountain had fun looking at the nature, again clicked photos, And continued our trip.

Trekking the hills of Baba Budangiri
Mullayanagiri, one of the highest in the Western Ghats is a major attraction here. But this time I ended up in another place, called Baba Budangiri, another mountain here which is only little shorter than Mullayanagiri. This place has a kind of mysticism attached to it. There are many stories related to Baba Budangiri like that of the saint who brought seven coffee seeds here for the first time from the city of Yemen.
We picked up our trail which goes to a waterfall. It goes almost parallel with the road.The meadows are beautiful, green and wet. We can have a good view of the surrounding areas. There were many small flowers of different colors which took most of my time during the hike. There we found a history that during ancient times cruel barbarians were caged in between this mountain, so as curiosity was in the edge I wanted to go there, so finally of all convincing we trekked the place carefully as it was dangerous bcz there were not roads, so we trekked between thorns and stones and still continue our walk and found Hale kannada carved in those stones, and I came to know that few years back if anyone shout at that place the voice would return back, this may be a rumour also.
The trail of destination we had lead to the Manikyadhara waterfall, where there is a small shrine of another Sufi saint. The trail we were taking seemed to be the one pilgrims used before when there was no road. Found thick threads tied to the branches of most of the trees on the way. The belief is that tying threads will fulfill our prayers. There were a lot of mischievous monkeys there who were behind me for no reason!!!….
I was completely dissolved in the beauty of this place.
The waterfall was crowded, not a place I wish to be. The way how some people coming to such places behaves is completely unacceptable for a person like me. The plastic they throw and the loud noise they make are disturbing. We need to learn a lot about respecting nature and our fellow travelers. Soon we left that chaos and went to look for a place far away from the crowd. And indeed we found it.

The valley and the mountains nearby were magnificent and enchanting. Soon we found out a trail that goes down to the valley and to a place which gives spectacular views. It was peaceful. Later we continued our voyage to…

Siri Cafe

a public garden perched on the peaks of Kemmanagundi. There are pathways cut out of rock, an orchid house with several exotic species of flowers. A lady is beautifully sculpted and grass flowers covered her is the absolute beauty. When we went here, it was closed as it closes at 6 pm, so We had to see it from outside but still the picture had a go.

After visiting of these places, finally we went to our stay and took rest from a busy and fun day.

There were still more serene places, due to lack of time I couldn’t go. During this trip I met amazing people, who shared the same level of craze while treking the mountain, I had an absolute amazing trip to Chikmagalur which gave me new experience, good memories, Information of different cultures and many more.