If you are planning a trip to Chickmagalur and confused where to stay/where to visit and how to plan trip ?Then this blog might be helpful.
Firstly we went at the eve of new year so the stay was bit expensive but if you are planning to visit in some other days, trip could be completed under 5000-6000/- for 2 people for 3 days stay.
How to reach Bangalore To Chikmagalur ??
Most preferred mode
1.By Bus-took 6-7 hrs
2.By Car takes around 5-6 hrs
3.By bike-We preferred bike which took around 5 hrs including tea/lunch breaks.
Stay options:
Most Preferred stay is homestay in between coffee estate to enjoy the serene beauty.
Few recommendation:
1.Trivik Resort
2.Siri Nature resort
3.Java Rain resort
4.Aadrika resort
Other good budget places recommended for stay:-
1.Trippr Chikkamagaluru
2.Zostel Chikmagalur
Our stay:Hotel aadrika:(https://aadrika.co.in/)
Day 1:
We started at 8 am from bangalore and reach to our resort by 1pm .Once we checkin and get freshen up ,we had our lunch at resort itself and headed to visit coffee museum( as it remain closed on weekends ) since its was friday and only 5 kms away from our stay and since we are heading back on Monday so decided to cover the museum that day itself.After that , we went for local market hopping.There are few good restaurant nearby which are good options for dinner.
Dinner:
1. Khansama restaurant
2.Maharaja restaurant
Next day(Day 2):
Post breakfast at resort (as it was complimentary) ,we started and plan to cover the below places as all this places are nearby and could be easily cover in one day.
1.Seethalayanagiri
2. Mullayanagiri Peak
3. Hirekolale lake
4. Jhari Waterfalls
5. Deviramma Temple
The road to Peak is quite narrow hence it will take 1-2 hrs to reach there.We preferred to take our bike but one can also opt for local taxi or jeep ,it will cost around 500-700 based on negiotiation. Then ,we headed to Jhari Waterfalls .There will jeep which will take you to that place as roads are not great.After that we had our lunch at Firewood restaurant which is on the way to Deviramma temple but one can also opt for Siri cafe which is at roadside famous for nature mother's statue .
After lunch we head to Deviramma temple which is just 10-11km away.At night we opt for dinner at the resort to enjoy rooftop dine experience.
Day 3 ,
We decided to explore ancient architecture in nearby places like Belur ,Hassan and also decided to go for water sports at Yagachi.
Below are the places ,we visited in day 3:-
1.Bucheshvara Temple
2.Halebidu Archaeological site
3.Belur Temple(Chennakesava Temple)
4. Yagachi Water Sports.
Since the Bucheshvara Temple is around 70 kms away from our stay so we decided to cover it first and rest all are nearby .Firstly let me tell you this temple is situated in middle of a Hassan village.The road for last few kilometers are not really good .But once we reach the temple ,we realized it was worth.This temple has a classic architecture so beautifully sculpt.The few local villagers take care of it and there is no entry fees for it.As there are no proper guide to explain the history so after clicking a couple of pictures and sitting there are for a while, we headed to our next destination.We visited Belur Temple and missed Halebidu Archaeological site as it was closed.That temple was also beautifully sculpt and finest creation. One of the major attraction of this temple is the Narasimha Pillar which is a magnificent stone pillar with a height of about 30 feet situated inside the Temple complex. All sculptures of the temple are carved on this pillar in a miniature form.The pillar is made with soapstone. The base of the pillar is cubical in shape with floral decoration. It is believed that this pillar was once capable of rotating on its axis.We just seated inside the temple for a while to enjoy the classic architecture.Then we decided to grab some food but couldn't find any good place.So headed to Yagachi Water sports and luckily there is a small canteen there and grab some snacks. Yagachi Water Adventure sports Center is located next to Yagachi Dam , sightly off from Belur-Chikmagalur Road. People often get confuse it with Yagachi Dam, as it is located after crossing Yagachi dam, you can see the name board in Belur-Chikmagalur road after crossing Yagachi Dam.This water sports center conducts various activities like Jetski ride, Bumper ride, Kayaking, Speed and Cruise boat ride, banana ride etc.We are surprised to see that all activity are quite cheap there.But only drawback i could see there is no proper instructor available.After spending a lovely evening there ,we headed to our stay .On the way we bought some authenic coffee from local market and had dinner in khansama.
With this our lovely trip came to an end .Next day morning 8am post breakfast ,we headed to Bangalore .It was a wonderful trip but I have plan the trip as per my interest.There are many other places which i skipped, one might include them as well while planning there trip(below are the details).
If you want to extend the stay can explore the below places as well:-
1.Baba Budan Giri(nearby Mullayanagiri Peak)
2.Hebbe Falls
3.Bhadra Widlife sanctuary
Hebbe falls is inside Bhadra wildlife sanctuary hence you have to rely on government jeepsYou need to plan accordingly and get the booking of vehicle done when you reach their. Plan about 3-5 hours which includes up and down from Hebbe falls, time spent there.Carry food and water to be on safe side. Don't wear loose footwear and carry spare clothes if you wish to plunge in the water fall.
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