Of coffee & climate...

With its pleasant climate, pristine and scenic coffee plantations to boot, Chikkamagaluru is no wonder a big draw, writes Gayatri Chandrashekar

Hebbe Falls. PHOTO COURTESY WIKIPEDIA

Chikkamagaluru is best known for its scenic beauty of hills and myriad coffee plantations. Our voluble taxi driver insisted that we should see Kemmangundi, the hillocks of the rich mineral wealth of iron ore. Our departure from Bengaluru was amidst pouring rain, and we feared the trip would be marred by excessive rain. However, luck was on our side. The clouds cleared outside the city and the next four days were just misty.

Kemmangundi is famed for its high-grade iron ore. Nature puts treasures below one’s feet here and lavishes green wealth above as well. On the way to those hills, we saw a mosque and a temple standing cheek by jowl in Banavara. Areca plantations and coffee bushes filled either side.

At Kemmangundi, the scenic viewpoint of panoramic hills had tourists thronging everywhere. From this point, rugged jeeps carry tourists to Hebbe Falls, famed for its abundant water and the height and force with which it descends.

By evening we reached our resort. The next morning we visited the Sheetala Manjunatha Swamy temple. The mist was descending from the hills. We were driving up the Mullayanagiri Hill and attempting to reach the highest point. Visibility was just one car before us even at midday. The road was narrow. A lot of landslides of the past month had not been cleared. Suddenly we saw dozens of cars climbing down. We were warned of a roadblock ahead. We asked ourselves whether it was worthwhile to climb up when the visibility was so poor and the road ahead was blocked. What would we see but more mist and nothing else from the highest point? We decided to abandon the climb. That evening we spent walking around the coffee estate. We had to brave leeches in the estate.

The next morning we could see the clear outline of the Mullayanagiri Hill from our rooms. The hills were so tall and symmetrical. Where had all the pervading mist gone? We visited Baba Budan Giri, a place holy for both Muslims and Hindus. We walked through a long barricaded pathway to reach a cave where a saint lived long ago. He brought the first coffee seeds to Chikkamagaluru from West Asia. That first step changed the skyline and business profile of the district.

As we returned to Bengaluru, we stopped at Belur and Halebid, where 600 to 800-year-old temples of exquisite sculptures showcase the artistic output of the talented sculptors and their magnificent kings.