Chikkamagaluru

Date of visit: 15 Dec 2007
Country: India
Major Places visited: Kemmangundi, Kallathigiri Falls, Hebbe Falls, Shanti Falls, Belur, Halebidu and Shravanabelagola
Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/nolandsouza/Chikmaglur

Chikkamagaluru, is a district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Chikkamagaluru is where coffee was first cultivated in India. The mountains here which are a part of the Western Ghats are the source of rivers like Tunga and Bhadra. It takes about 4 hours by road from Bangalore.

There are quite a few places you can visit in Chikkamagaluru. We visited
Kemmangundi: 55 km north from Chikkamagaluru town, a scenic hill station on the Baba Budan Giri range of hills. at a height of 1,434 meters, is surrounded by thick forests and a salubrious climate through out the year.

Kallathigiri Falls: Just 10 km away from Kemmangundi is Kallahathigiri falls, also known as Kalahasti falls. Water cascades down from the top of the Chandra Drona hill from a height of 122 meters amidst fascinating scenery. There is an old Veerabhadra temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, constructed in a gap between rocks. This temple can be approached after crossing the waterfall.


Hebbe Falls: This beautiful waterfall is over 10 km away from the famous hill station, Kemmangundi. Here water streams down from a height of 168 meters in two stages to form Dodda Hebbe (Big Falls) and Chikka Hebbe (Small Falls). To reach the falls you need to take a arduous journey in a jeep. The driver will take Rs 100 per person. You may think that it not worth the amount before you go on the trip, but once you reach teh destination I am sure you will really think it was worth the pain and the cost. The road is absolutely not there and the drivers of those Mahindra Jeeps are the only ones I think can manage this journey. The jeep will drop you off to a spot from where you need to trek for 30 minutes to reach the waterfall. The trek is thru 3 small streams and if you in the evenings then you get freezing water. Its better to carry a stick when you go. Once you reach the waterfall you are greeted with a spectacular view of the gushing waters from the top of the hill. Only the daring few might want to go under the waters to take a bath, but you can certainly go and take a dip in the chilling refreshing water in the small pond that is there.

Shanti Falls: This is a beautiful waterfall on the way to Z-Point in Kemmangundi.

You can get accomodation at the PWD guest house or the Horticulture gues house if you are early and lucky. Try and reach the place by 9 am and you should get it. We were unlucky so we had to go back to Chikkamagaluru town and check into a lodge there. The rooms are cheap and decent.

The next day we headed out to Belur, Halebidu and Shravanabelagola. Belur was the early capital of the Hoysala Empire. The main attraction in Belur is the Chennakesava temple complex which contains the Chennakesava Temple ( dedicated to Lord Chennakeshava , meaning handsome Vishnu) as the centre piece, surrounded by the Kappe Chennigraya temple built by Shantaladevi, queen of king Vishnuvardhana.

Halebidu is located in Hassan District, Karnataka. Halebidu was the regal capital of the Hoysala Empire in the 12th century. It is home to one of the best examples of Hoysala architecture in the ornate Hoysaleswara and Kedareswara temples.

Shravanabelagola is a city located in the Hassan district. It is one of the most important Jain pilgrim centers. The Vindhyagiri hill is home to a thousand-year-old gigantic 17.38 meter high monolithic stone statue of the Bhagavan Gomateshwara Bahubali, considered to be the world's largest.You need to climb by nearly 900 odd steps to reach the base of the statue. Every 12 years, thousands of devotees congregate here to perform the Mahamastakabhisheka, a spectacular ceremony in which the thousand-year-old statue is anointed with milk, curds, ghee, saffron and gold coins.

We finally left for Bangalore at 6 from Shravanabelagola and reached back at 10 in Bangalore.