Yeah ! I wanted to give a try to write about my travel experience for the first time. Though I travelled many places. Well ! I will start with some recent trip with my family.
So, I planned a trip to Chikkamagalur with my family over a long weekend about 2 nights and 3 days. I wanted it to be completely a friendly for elderly people. As it is hill station with higher altitude so you go through bumpy, curvy roads to reach any tourist places in Chikkamagalur. Therefore it was full of excitement as well as consciousness.
We started in early morning around 6am from Bangalore by road and reached Chikmagalur around 2pm with 2 halts for breakfast and lunch. We had booked a very nice and spacious 3BHK homestay.
Day 1 - Once we reached Chikmagalur, we directly went to honnammana waterfall. which enroute baba budanagiri hill. Though it is a small waterfall but, it is covered by the concrete passage and a long trail of fall. So it is safe and you can sit down for a while to feel the calmness and the sound of the water falling.
Then we headed for the next destination called Jhari falls. Jhari fall is the must visit place in Chikmagalur. You can not go by your own vehicle to the falls as you have to cross the bumpy dusty road to reach near the fall. It is highly risky to drive by your own in that road. Also outside vehicles are not allowed in that route. There you will find Govt. provided vehicles and they charge approximate 500 rupees for pickup and drop. Elderly people can not go by this road as it is highly risky and bumpy. You need to walk for a 200m from taxi drop point to reach near the fall. It is covered with lush green hills and create a natural pool at their base.
Day 2 - In the second day you can plan for baba budanagiri and mullayanagiri.
Baba budanagiri is a sacred pilgrimage spot as at one place you will find the mosque and temple. It is important for the hindu and muslims pilgrimages for the legacy of sufi saint baba budan and Dattatreya swamy. Apart from it ,the hill is famous for trekking, thrill seekers. You can see the peaks approx. 1900m. The view from top of the budanagiri is mesmerising. I have heard that some rare flowers called Kurinji bloom on the low lying slope of the hill which make the view beautiful and peaceful. Unluckily we could not find during the season.
Next is MullayanaGiri. which is the highest peak of Karnataka with an altitude of 1950m and it takes almost 1hour to reach there from BudanaGiri. As the MullayanaGiri is the hub of trekking and adventure buffs, there are lot many things to do like road biking, mountain biking, camping etc. Note that the road is really steep and there is no water/food reserves so you need to carry enough of them with you. At the topmost summit of MullayanaGiri, there is a Shiva temple which has a small statue of Mullapa Swamy near by. The view from the topmost summit is just breathtaking.
If you are nature , mountain lover then definitely you will like this place. This is must visit place during your Chikmagalur trip. All age group people can come upto the hill and get the opportunity to experience the beautiful view of this place.
After Mullayanagiri, we headed to Hirekolale lake in Chikmagalur to just sit down and relax after so much hiking. The place is peaceful and scenic. Yes, the most beautiful place to relax in the lap of the nature. You can walk around and sit near the lake. It is just so beautiful.
Ahh ! It was a long tiring day. So by evening we reached our homestay, got freshen up. With nice, stomachful dinner we sat for bonfire in the chill rainy night and the bonfire was complementary in our homestay. This was the best part of my family trip.
Day 3- The next day we headed to some other lake near by our homestay for boat riding with family. It was again filled with nice, calm view. We all enjoyed the ride. And then we headed back to Bangalore. By evening we reached home.
Yaayyy !! Everything is wonderful and going to be wonderful.