Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Travelogues (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/)

-   -   Bangalore -- Chikmaglur Trip (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/5444-bangalore-chikmaglur-trip.html)

After a long time the whole family got together decided we needed a break and a holiday and the search for a destination started, we came up with mangalore then kabini then BR hills and stuff, finally we decided CHIKMAGLUR
Reason behind the decision one of my brother in laws friend owns a coffee estate there (800 acres to be exact),so we had there bunglow at our expense with the cook for free.
Place decided , not the transportation, after lots of discussion about hiring a qualis and stuff we decided on SCORPIO and a SIERA.
The bad part was my uncles never let me get behind the wheel of either of the vehicles.
Friday 29th April we set out at 5am , head towards hasan thro nelmangla, neat roads just loved the curves and zig zag turns, none of the uncles were ready to step on the gas, so i decided to just play navigator role. We reached hasan at 9am, had breakfast and headed towards chikmaglur, we reached there to shop for nonveg to cook (the estate is 32KM from chikmaglur towards kemangundi) .
There is this state of the art chicken shop there fully AC fully automated, not seen one in bangalore till date, its so neat u cant tell its a butcher shop.
Once the shopping was done we carried on with the drive through the ghat section, the roads were ok ok , we reached there settled down and all the normal stuff happened eat booze jokes and stuff.
Next morning all of us decided to take a walk thro the estate it was a nice trek, later that afternoon we realised we were falling short of groceries so decided to try our luck at kemangundi which was just 14km from there.

This is the best part of the trip, man what a drive, anyone who loves driving and nature together please do this drive.

Its a narrow road only one car at a time width, lovely surroundings all around, to the left is the valley , no barricades no fencing get one wheel wrong and your history,its just like the WRC stuff we see on AXN , we could propose to FIA to hold a rally there its that good a challenge, the beat challenge would be to do it at night under lights.
To our bad luck we get no groceries there and we head back its fading light and the air is cool, everyone in the cars are silent holding their breath not speaking so as to not distract the drivers, me in the front seat is giving commentary like in the WRC , the driver was freaking out the drive, i asked if i could but he said not in my car,but it was awesome.
We reeached and again the normal booze , barbeque, junk food, music dance,jokes and stuff.
Brother in law had got a tent along so we set it up and i spent the night in the tent outside in the midst of the estate, what a night it was, could hear the pecocks , sunday morning was again up early,normall chatting and stuff, lots of money made in cards and housie for time pass, sunday afternoon we left the place, not one of us wanted to come back, everyone had ffalen in love with the trees, the fresh oxygen , the peace, the green,and the bungalow .
Sunday noon after lunch we left and we reached bangalore at 11 at night.

this trip there were 10 people cost us 10K in expenses all inclusive, the stay was free.
Some more on the estate, its a 150*100 bungalow in front is the valley behing is the hills,its just a sight to believe.

Yeah the Chikmaglur - Kemmanagundi drive is awesome... thats the one that takes u through the highest point in Karnataka, i believe... as per outlook's Weekend Getaways. The drive through Baba Budan hills is indeed breathtaking!

hi...even i have been there twice once with my family and the other was with the trecking group SPARKS in jayanagar...this was years ago...when i went with the trecking group we had the chance to wittness the rally of both two and four wheelers...we stayed at kemangundi and the rally took place there..dont know where they were heading for...it was great to see those awesone 4 or 6 headlights navigating through the narrow dark roads at high speeds...

your bad luck u missed them..

regards,

c10

Have driven down there my self and love the route... God how do I miss the Coffee 500... Had gotten introduced to Coffee 500 during my school days as my tenant was from Chickmangalur and I did the trip religiously for 4 years with him and had also travelled to Kemmangundi with college friends innumerable times.

hey all ! that's one hell of a nice place to head for the holidays. Good fun and great coffee. Can't miss out on that one...Lovely drive to the place...Got to get me a holiday there pretty soon... :)

[SIZE=2]I also heard that this was the route of the K1000 rally. I cant believe I dint see this thread for this long. I have my own experience to share on this route. Four friends and I had gone to Kemmangundi from bangalore in a carb esteem, and on our return we took this route downhill to Chikmagalur. We started after lunch by around 3. The road was narrow and winding and in many places there was no tar left, as it was the end of a rather heavy monsoon. To add to the twisting winding roads, there was loose gravel and mu from recent landslides. We loved the danger, and the breathtaking scenery. Mountains in the mist, ravines so dark and deep. We saw a little hill we all wanted to climb. So we parked at its foot and started climbing. It took us half an hour to get to its peak. And then... it started to rain, a heavy drizzle that turned into a heavy downpour and further worsened into a mighty storm. By the time we reached the car, trekking through knee high slush and grass, visibility was down to less than 10 feet and we all had leeches stinging our legs and we were completely wet, with no spare clothes. So we drove dripping wet under miserable conditions. There had been fresh landslides and at a few places, the road had a river running across it. One of them was so deep that the wheels were fully submerged and water started flooding the car! Sadly my friend jumped the clutch just then and the car stalled. There was no way we could get it to start as moisture had got into the delco(distributor). The force of the gushing stream was so high the car started drifting slowly toward the ravine. So we got out and pushed the car to higher ground. Next problem, how do we get out of here? We wait for 2 hours and no one turned up. It was getting dark and people had warned us that the road was not used except during the coffee harvest time (if that's what it is called). Cell phones do not work here. We saw a lorry approaching at around 9 pm and stopped him to ask for help. He said he would help us on our way back the next morning by towing us. He was going to the estate to haul a hitachi excavator back downhill. We waited till dawn in the freezing cold, and there were dogs around, near the estates. It was scary, as anyone who has spent a night in the woods will know, darkness is complete, but the it is not silent. Even the wind is enough to scare you when you are in a situation like this. Anyway, to end this rather long and winding story, early dawn we were able to contact our homes from the local telephone exchange, which was 20 minutes walk away. Apparently this was shut down the last night due to rains. The exchange was a small 2 room cottage manned by one illiterate guy with a telephone! People at home contacted my friend's uncle at Chikmagalur who arranged for a jeep to go in search of us. They eventually found us and towed us to their home. As we were getting the car fixed, we learned that he had sent 2 search parties late the night before who could not reach us due to rains. They had feared the worst and were going to call in the police if the morning's search couldn't find us. We had a hearty breakfast after over 18 hours since our last meal! It was an awesome experience.[/SIZE]

Hey Psycho, the Coffee 500 spirit lives on as the INRC Chickmangalur Rally. There was also a 'Kadur Safari' that was another incarnation.

Im planning to drive down to Chikmagalur from bangalore this weekend. Im not sure about the road conditions. Should I take the Bangalore-Neelamangala-Hassan-Belur-Chikmagalur or the Bangalore-Tumkur-Birur-Chikmagalur route? What would be approximate drive time? Please advise on the above. Are there A1 plazas enroute on either of the above routes.

Surely the B'lore - Hassan - Belur - Chikmagalur route is better. Roads until Belur are beautiful for sure, and won't take a toll on either effort, fuel or time. Even beyond, conditions are not bad.

That's the way to go!

There is a Kamat Upachar just after Channarayanapatna (about 10km after CRpatna towards hassan) and it is excellent...

Abhi

Hi
Theres also The Hassan Ashok, a 3 star hotel with pretty decent facilities.

I just came from Chickmagalur. The road I took was Belur - Hassan- CR patna- Nelamangala.

However you cant be wrong with either of the routes. Both are good.

Why A1 plaza? There are better places.

Agreed, road to Belur is awesome but in the night the bus drivers with their 6 headlights in high beam really scare you. Drove this last summer en route to the INRC

Hassan Belur toot is the best root and good scenery