Chikmagalur - the Coffee Country!

Tough to imagine that we now need an escape from Bangalore weather but that has been my case the past few days…an escape from the Bangalore heat. We picked Chikmagalur for its nearness and the various sights around it as well as the great places to stay!

Chikmagalur did not disappoint!

Left Bangalore on a Sunday morning, took the Magadi road in order to avoid the Tumkur rush and tolls. Route goes thus: Magadi>Bangalore-Mangalore highway>Hassan>Chikmagalur

Our place of stay was an hour after Chikmagalur on the way to Sringeri. Reached the place (Shanthi kunnj) on Sunday afternoon to find a fantastic cottage and an amazing view waiting just for us beside the Bhadra river!!

 

View from the cottage

Relaxed a bit (this was the easiest and best part) and continued on the highway to Sringeri which was around 45 kms from Shanthi kunnj. Reached there in time to catch the sunset and the beautiful effects of the same on the temple.

 

Sringeri temple during sunset

 

Carvings of Godess Sharadha

A little bit on this temple: An abode of Sharadhamba (Godess Saraswati) Sringeri temple and matha (started by Adi Shankaracharya) is located on the banks of river Tunga.

 

Evening procession of the Godess

Day 2 was sketched exclusively for Mullayanagiri which is about half an hour’s drive from Chikamagalur. Said to be the highest peak in Karnataka, this is a part of the Bababudangiri range of Western Ghats. The drive upto the peak had breathtaking view and daunting curves. The last stretch of the road was narrow and had us on the edge of our seats! But once we reached the peak and actually felt the cool breeze, we were really happy that we had this as our main itinerary of Chikmagalur trip! There is a climb of some 400 steps to reach a temple of Lord Shiva. This also proved to be a great view point!! We then climbed back down to take a more scenic route around the mountain. The breeze was so cool that we dint realize that we were tanning so much!!! 

 

Mulliangiri range

Mulliangiri in a phrase was ‘breathtaking and cool’!!

 

Mulliangiri

Returned to the home stay to enjoy the evening roaming around a coffee estate and sitting by the river!

Next day found us again by the Bhadra river to trek around it. It was abundant with rocks and sand and Nilgiri trees!

 

beautiful rocks by the Bhadra river

Reluctant to leave the view, we made our way back to Chikmagalur to continue on to Belur and Halebidu temples located in the Hassan district. It was sight to the eyes though our feet got almost burnt which left us dancing our way around the temples!

 

Carvings of lion

 

Belur temple

A little about the temples: though Belur and Halebidu are situated around 15 kms away from each other they are generally referred together. Both were built by the Hoysala dynasty and have beautiful figures carved on the walls. The walls of the temple are covered with an endless variety of depictions from Hindu mythology, animals, birds and Shilabalikas or dancing figures. The pillars are also carved so beautifully that the entire ambience inside the temple takes you into another world.

Belur temple gopura

 

intricately carved pillar

Halebidu temple

The return route: Chikmagalur>Belur>Halebidu>Hassan>Bangalore-Mangalore Highway>Nelmangala>Bangalore

 

Nandi

Mahabalipuram: With my Besties!!

February seems to be a month of the Bay of Bengal for me; I keep gravitating towards it! This time it was the Coromandel Coast facing the Bay of Bengal.

Out again on a weekend trip, to visit family and friends (a tricky situation combining both… I tell you) this time. Stayed at Chennai with relatives and visited Mahabalipuram with friends; that was how I divided my visit. Divide and conquer :-P

Set out, for one by most comfortable rides so far, to Mahabalipuram (previously called Mamallapuram) after finishing a leisure lunch. Once we got out of Chennai, the road just kind of took us to the Mahabs (that’s the lingo my friends used so I am following that just as a true blue friend should!) in about 2 hours. There is a reason why I mentioned comfortable before; the road was just that…comfortable!

Mahabs is a small town with a lot of things to take in! There were beautiful stone carvings, superb light houses (the old one made of a rock and the new one with a curving staircase used to reach the top).  We had a tricky time climbing the stairs as it was narrow; the last stretch was so narrow that it had to be monitored so that at any point there was only incoming or outgoing traffic of people. But the view was sooo worth it!! 

 

The curved stairs

 

 

View from the Lighthouse

On one side is the lighthouse, on an another side is the stone wall with the amazing carvings alongside the rock which holds itself on a incline without any support! And on yet another side is the shore temple behind which is the beach! No wonder it is called as an “open-air museum”! It’s been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Now to the beach… I just loved it! There were people but it was not too crowded for a Saturday evening. Follow the beach along the shore temple to climb some rocks and you would find it an amazing place to sit and ponder on the combination of profound power and playfulness of the waters. This path leads you to what looks like a one-street beach town with some great cafes and restaurants serving some amazing sea food! My friends told me the best one was Moonrakers! (I am a veggie so I dint bother much with the restaurants/cafes there). This street reminded me of Pondicherry maybe due to its ambiance which is probably influenced since Pondy is quite close to Mahabs. For shopping enthusiasts: granite souvenir can be taken, it’s pretty amazing here; many leather footwear stores are here, you can find some leather sandals for a price range of Rs. 300-500. 

 

The granite!

 

On the rocks!

Classic sunset with friends was one of the highlights of my evening at Mahabs! Returned home with a carful of fond memories as one of my friends’ put it :-)

 

THE street!

Pondicherry- A place that I keep returning to…

Paradise beach

Describing it in a word: splendid! Clean beach and less people(there are bathrooms in case you decide to soak in the atmosphere by soaking-in yourself in the water!).

How I got there: Located 8 kms from the town, along the Cuddalore Main Road, this beach can be accessed only by boat. Took an auto to the boat house and returned by bus which stops just opposite to the boat house. The boat takes you through back waters to reach the beach which was a unique experience!

There is a shack where they serve food as well. We spent some time on the beach and then settled down under a coconut tree. One can easily spend around 2 hours on this beach!

Auroville

“belonging to nobody in particular, but to humanity as a whole” is what I would say describes this place! A one-of-its-kind place where you can find true serenity.

What to do: If you go there a day before, you can collect the free pass to enter into the matrimandir, an inner sanctum of peace with amazing architecture, if not, you can collect a free pass to the matrimandir view point on any day and view it from outside on the same day. Matrimandir is at a walking distance of around 2 kms, so do go prepared to walk! While getting back some blessed soul had thought to provide free shuttle back to the entrance which we thoroughly appreciated!

There is a great café with good food, do check it out!

Beach road or the Promenade

This 1.5 kms stretch of road running along the beach is the pride of Pondicherry. It gets better! This road is vehicle-free from 6pm to 7:30am. An absolute delight to while away time in the evening and to enjoy the sunset.

Sri Aurobindo Ashram

It houses the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo Ghose and Mirra Alfassa also known as the Mother. It is situated near the beach road. It has a great atmosphere for meditation. One cannot miss but appreciate the French architecture in and around this area!

Manakula Vinayagar Koil

Dedicated to Lord Ganesha, this temple which is more than 300 years old houses 40 different portrayals of Lord Ganesha.

Travel Tip: You can visit the Ashram, Vinayaka temple, go shopping near the ashram and Nehru street, and visit the beach road all at one go (if you have the enthusiasm and the energy!) since they all are situated roughly in the same area.

Places to eat

Great pizza at Le Club, great French food (love the lasagna and the milkshakes) at Le Café, superb south Indian lunch at Surguru (located near the Vinayaka temple) and breakfast again at Le Café (if you are feeling French) or there is also Adyar Ananda Bhavan (located in the same road as Surguru).

My Love: Le Café: French food by the sea!

All these places-to-eat are in close proximity to the beach road (since I stayed there), which gets me to the review of the hotel I stayed at!

Ajantha Beach Guest House

 Excellent location, average service but courteous staff. Take the sea facing room to enjoy the view of the beach!

And for all the leather enthusiastic people, this is where the Hidesign manufacturing unit exists! There is a Hidesign store and a factory outlet at Nehru Street. Check out the good deals at the factory outlet that is about 4 shops ahead of the Hidesign store (when the store is on your left).

 

Suggestions

Book your stay on the beach road, visit paradise beach to frolic in the ocean, spend countless evenings (or atleast all the evenings available on the beach road and definitely eat at Le Café-Pondicherry at its French best!!

Travelling to Pondi: Via bus, there are busses easily available from Bangalore.

Travelling in Pondi: Rent a bike, autos will take you everywhere and are tourist friendly (but you need to bargain on the price), local buses are extremely budget friendly.

 

Adieu Pondi...till we meet again :-)