Run to the hills (almost): Chikkamaglur

srikanthpotluri · 25th May 2010, 15:42

We were planning to go to CMG badly till all the friends dropped out and we ended up at Munnar, though happy with it, will visit CMG later.

By the way where are the pictures?

ravikn · 25th May 2010, 15:47

Amitoj,
Great pics of Belur temple and resort

Please do upload some more. pls do let us know the SLR you used. wonderful pics

ampere · 25th May 2010, 16:11

The homestay really looks nice!

The CCD is picture, was it in Hassan or new one has come up in NH48?

PS: By any chance, are you an Iron maiden fan?

sanju.iitm · 25th May 2010, 16:21

The homestay looks nice.Guess you had a great time there.

amitoj · 25th May 2010, 16:45

Glad you all are liking the photos.

Quote:

Originally Posted by prguru

Any idea how many people can this place accommodate ?

I think they have 5 rooms, with atleast one of them with 4 beds. They have a dormitory as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Aah haa, so the travelogue starts. Keep going Amitoj and we are waiting for loads of photographs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by srikanthpotluri

By the way where are the pictures?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ravikn

Please do upload some more. pls do let us know the SLR you used

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanju.iitm

The homestay looks nice.Guess you had a great time there.

Kaushik, i finally got to use the GND filter!

Will upload the rest later in the evening.

Ravi, its a Canon 450D.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere

The homestay really looks nice!

The CCD is picture, was it in Hassan or new one has come up in NH48?

PS: By any chance, are you an Iron maiden fan?

The CCD was around 50 Kms before Hassan.

Yeah i used to listen to Maiden a lot back in the day. As you can see, it has stayed with me over the years

amitoj · 25th May 2010, 20:17

Day 2:
We were told that the jeep will be there at the homestay by 5:30AM. And right on time, at 5:15 we were woken up by a knock on the door and nice hot coffee.
But this was the beginning of the most disappointing part of the trip. The jeep was NOT open top. What is the point of a jungle safari if you can not stand up and take in a 360 degree view. I dont know whether this was the worst part or that the jeep had screechy brakes that would scare the trees away! And then there was the guide who could not guide his way to his backside with a flashlight. When asked a question, his reply was, "I am new here". To which my reply was, "so are we!" Anyway, in around one hour long stretch-your-imagination-and-call-it-a-safari, we spotted numerous peacocks in the bushes, a glimpse of a group of deer that ran away as soon as the driver hit the brakes. Also spotted the Malabar Squirrel but since it was on the other side of the jeep, i could not take its photo. The ones i managed to capture were these:

Run to the hills (almost): Chikkamaglur-img_4121.jpg

Run to the hills (almost): Chikkamaglur-img_4151.jpg

I will leave their identification to the experts.

Reached back around 8:30AM and gorged down some delicious breakfast. The food throughout our stay was as good as home cooked, and had lot of local flavor.

Our hosts had suggested that we do a trip to Mullayanagiri peak after breakfast, return for lunch, relax and then either do the coffee walk or a half an hour trek. With that in mind, and directions from the staff, we headed to the peak, roughly 30 kms away. Once the ascend started, the road became narrow, though pothole free. Some section of road was being relaid, and i reluctantly drove through that section, hoping my tyres will not be permanently damaged. By the way, came across a couple of autorickshaws going that way as well, and they were being driven as if they were from Bangalore

We reached the peak in around 45 minutes. As is customary with such peaks, it was entirely covered with mist. There was a climb of around 500 steps right to the peak, which we decided not to do, given that our 1 year old would need to be carried and besides, at the peak we will be met with the same mist. So clicked a few pics there itself.

Run to the hills (almost): Chikkamaglur-img_4165.jpg

Run to the hills (almost): Chikkamaglur-img_4175.jpg

Decided that we will get a better view as we go down the hill, under the clouds. Which came true somewhat. Here are some pics on the way down.

Run to the hills (almost): Chikkamaglur-img_4238.jpg

We came back to the resort at around 2PM, hogged again and decided to relax a while. We finally decided to not do anything for the rest of the day except relax and roam around the gardens etc.

Next day we planned to head back and stop over at Halebid temple. I was really looking forward to this one, since unlike the Belur temple, there is no ongoing Puja done at this temple. It is a protected site.

Coming up next, the Halebidu temple.

rjstyles69 · 25th May 2010, 20:57

amitoj good stuff there pal. From the last pic its evident that he roads have been tarred to Mulayanagiri. Dint you guys head over to Bababudangiri its just a matter of a few kms.
Also are they done with the construction work on the peak for the temple at Mulayanagiri ? The last I was there they had put up a board at the base asking tourists/pilgrims to carry one brick each to the peak. I carried a brick and realized that it was a mistake only after I went thru half way on the steps. I was lugging my DSLR bag with 3 lenses and 2 liters of water and the weight simply was bogging me down.

amitoj · 25th May 2010, 21:14

Last day of the stay, May 23rd.
We woke up leisurely, had a leisurely breakfast, got ready and had a last leisurely stroll in the gardens.
Finally, we bid adieu to the bungalow and headed back home, via Halebid. It was a bright sunny day and i was hoping that we dont have to walk around barefoot inside the complex. That would just burn the feet.

Halebid temple is 11 kms off the Belur Hassan Road. When we reached there, i was relieved to see that it has a huge garden and you only need to take your footwear off to enter the temple.

The temple is another marvel of the Hoysala architecture. It is being proposed as a World Heritage site. I will now shut up and let the pictures do the talking.

The main temple

Run to the hills (almost): Chikkamaglur-img_4308.jpg

Inside the temple, it was unbelievably cool

Run to the hills (almost): Chikkamaglur-img_4264.jpg

The famous carvings

Run to the hills (almost): Chikkamaglur-img_4288.jpg

Run to the hills (almost): Chikkamaglur-img_4290.jpg

Side view

Run to the hills (almost): Chikkamaglur-img_4292.jpg

The lake

Run to the hills (almost): Chikkamaglur-img_4294.jpg

We spent a good one hour in there. Under the shade it was extremely pleasant and sitting under the shade of a tree just made you forget about everything and just soak in the calm.

Finally we decided to get a move on. There is a road from Halebid to Hassan so that you dont have to travel 11 kms back to the Belur road. But i would suggest you do just that and get back on the Belur road. The Halebid - Hassan road is wide enough for one vehicle only and it has sharp drops on the edges as well. And then from Hassan to the point where Magadi road starts, it is nothing but a stretch of constant diversions. Once you are on Magadi road though, its a breeze. Also, once you get onto Magadi road, switch off your GPS.

We finally reached home at 5, with a unanimous decision that wherever we go next, a home stay will be the preferred choice of stay.

The end. And thank you for reading.

ampere · 25th May 2010, 21:16

Amazing pictures there! The eagle looks majestic!
Initially I thought stone carvings were yet another carving till I saw Belur Halebid.

PS: I think its an eagle! Is it not?

amitoj · 25th May 2010, 21:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

amitoj good stuff there pal. From the last pic its evident that he roads have been tarred to Mulayanagiri. Dint you guys head over to Bababudangiri its just a matter of a few kms.
Also are they done with the construction work on the peak for the temple at Mulayanagiri ? The last I was there they had put up a board at the base asking tourists/pilgrims to carry one brick each to the peak. I carried a brick and realized that it was a mistake only after I went thru half way on the steps. I was lugging my DSLR bag with 3 lenses and 2 liters of water and the weight simply was bogging me down.

Thanks Riju. Your travelogue was of great help and inspiration when planning the trip. Every time i looked at the windmills, it reminded me of the pictures you had taken. We crossed Nature Stay home stay on the way to Woodways. However, whenever we go to that side next, we are now going to stay at Greendale.

Yes the road to Mulayanagiri is now tarred all the way to the top, though it is still wide enough for one vehicle only.

We didn't climb the stairs to the temple. We were sure our faith would withstand the ordeal

amitoj · 25th May 2010, 23:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere

Amazing pictures there! The eagle looks majestic!
Initially I thought stone carvings were yet another carving till I saw Belur Halebid.

PS: I think its an eagle! Is it not?

Thanks! I am not sure if it is an eagle or a kite. I think eagles are supposed to have stronger legs. It looks like a pariah kite to me.
Black Kite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

rjstyles69 · 26th May 2010, 00:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitoj

Thanks Riju. Your travelogue was of great help and inspiration when planning the trip. Every time i looked at the windmills, it reminded me of the pictures you had taken.

Thanks and am glad pal. Just that you should have visited bababudangiri too. Take a look at this post here.

Jaggu · 26th May 2010, 01:56

Excellent captures and nice travelogue! Keep it coming.

ampere · 26th May 2010, 05:33

Home stays are a tricky affair. If they are good they are very good. If they are not, its difficult to voice our concern.
Because we are after all staying in someone's home. Need to do this homework very carefully.

amitoj · 26th May 2010, 06:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Thanks and am glad pal. Just that you should have visited bababudangiri too. Take a look at this post here.

Thanks for the link, Riju. Amazing captures, as usual. But since we had plans of going on a trek later that day, we didn't want to push it. Besides, keeping a one year old kid confined to the car almost becomes criminal after a very short while.
Although had I known that our laziness will get the better of us later in the day, i might have pushed for Bababudangiri then.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Excellent captures and nice travelogue! Keep it coming.

Thanks Jaggu, but ab khattam ho gaya. (its over now)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere

Home stays are a tricky affair. If they are good they are very good. If they are not, its difficult to voice our concern.
Because we are after all staying in someone's home. Need to do this homework very carefully.

Absolutely. But same applies to resorts and hotels too. You need to do your homework before going anywhere.

I wonder if anyone has experienced Greendale homestay there.

25th May 2010, 15:42	#16
srikanthpotluri BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 472 Thanked: 769 Times View My Garage	We were planning to go to CMG badly till all the friends dropped out and we ended up at Munnar, though happy with it, will visit CMG later. By the way where are the pictures?
	() Thanks

25th May 2010, 15:47	#17
ravikn BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 344 Thanked: 25 Times	Amitoj, Great pics of Belur temple and resort Please do upload some more. pls do let us know the SLR you used. wonderful pics
	() Thanks

25th May 2010, 16:11	#18
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,950 Thanked: 12,937 Times View My Garage	The homestay really looks nice! The CCD is picture, was it in Hassan or new one has come up in NH48? PS: By any chance, are you an Iron maiden fan?
	() Thanks

25th May 2010, 16:21	#19
sanju.iitm BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Bangalore, Dxb Posts: 64 Thanked: 2 Times	The homestay looks nice.Guess you had a great time there.
	() Thanks

25th May 2010, 20:17	#21
amitoj Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Windham, NH USA Posts: 3,348 Thanked: 3,105 Times View My Garage	Bhadra and Mullayanagiri Day 2: We were told that the jeep will be there at the homestay by 5:30AM. And right on time, at 5:15 we were woken up by a knock on the door and nice hot coffee. But this was the beginning of the most disappointing part of the trip. The jeep was NOT open top. What is the point of a jungle safari if you can not stand up and take in a 360 degree view. I dont know whether this was the worst part or that the jeep had screechy brakes that would scare the trees away! And then there was the guide who could not guide his way to his backside with a flashlight. When asked a question, his reply was, "I am new here". To which my reply was, "so are we!" Anyway, in around one hour long stretch-your-imagination-and-call-it-a-safari, we spotted numerous peacocks in the bushes, a glimpse of a group of deer that ran away as soon as the driver hit the brakes. Also spotted the Malabar Squirrel but since it was on the other side of the jeep, i could not take its photo. The ones i managed to capture were these: I will leave their identification to the experts. Reached back around 8:30AM and gorged down some delicious breakfast. The food throughout our stay was as good as home cooked, and had lot of local flavor. Our hosts had suggested that we do a trip to Mullayanagiri peak after breakfast, return for lunch, relax and then either do the coffee walk or a half an hour trek. With that in mind, and directions from the staff, we headed to the peak, roughly 30 kms away. Once the ascend started, the road became narrow, though pothole free. Some section of road was being relaid, and i reluctantly drove through that section, hoping my tyres will not be permanently damaged. By the way, came across a couple of autorickshaws going that way as well, and they were being driven as if they were from Bangalore We reached the peak in around 45 minutes. As is customary with such peaks, it was entirely covered with mist. There was a climb of around 500 steps right to the peak, which we decided not to do, given that our 1 year old would need to be carried and besides, at the peak we will be met with the same mist. So clicked a few pics there itself. Decided that we will get a better view as we go down the hill, under the clouds. Which came true somewhat. Here are some pics on the way down. We came back to the resort at around 2PM, hogged again and decided to relax a while. We finally decided to not do anything for the rest of the day except relax and roam around the gardens etc. Next day we planned to head back and stop over at Halebid temple. I was really looking forward to this one, since unlike the Belur temple, there is no ongoing Puja done at this temple. It is a protected site. Coming up next, the Halebidu temple.
	() Thanks

25th May 2010, 20:57	#22
rjstyles69 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bengalooru.. Posts: 4,343 Thanked: 842 Times View My Garage	amitoj good stuff there pal. From the last pic its evident that he roads have been tarred to Mulayanagiri. Dint you guys head over to Bababudangiri its just a matter of a few kms. Also are they done with the construction work on the peak for the temple at Mulayanagiri ? The last I was there they had put up a board at the base asking tourists/pilgrims to carry one brick each to the peak. I carried a brick and realized that it was a mistake only after I went thru half way on the steps. I was lugging my DSLR bag with 3 lenses and 2 liters of water and the weight simply was bogging me down. Last edited by rjstyles69 : 25th May 2010 at 21:00.
	() Thanks

25th May 2010, 21:14	#23
amitoj Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Windham, NH USA Posts: 3,348 Thanked: 3,105 Times View My Garage	Day 3: Return via Halebid Last day of the stay, May 23rd. We woke up leisurely, had a leisurely breakfast, got ready and had a last leisurely stroll in the gardens. Finally, we bid adieu to the bungalow and headed back home, via Halebid. It was a bright sunny day and i was hoping that we dont have to walk around barefoot inside the complex. That would just burn the feet. Halebid temple is 11 kms off the Belur Hassan Road. When we reached there, i was relieved to see that it has a huge garden and you only need to take your footwear off to enter the temple. The temple is another marvel of the Hoysala architecture. It is being proposed as a World Heritage site. I will now shut up and let the pictures do the talking. The main temple Inside the temple, it was unbelievably cool The famous carvings Side view The lake We spent a good one hour in there. Under the shade it was extremely pleasant and sitting under the shade of a tree just made you forget about everything and just soak in the calm. Finally we decided to get a move on. There is a road from Halebid to Hassan so that you dont have to travel 11 kms back to the Belur road. But i would suggest you do just that and get back on the Belur road. The Halebid - Hassan road is wide enough for one vehicle only and it has sharp drops on the edges as well. And then from Hassan to the point where Magadi road starts, it is nothing but a stretch of constant diversions. Once you are on Magadi road though, its a breeze. Also, once you get onto Magadi road, switch off your GPS. We finally reached home at 5, with a unanimous decision that wherever we go next, a home stay will be the preferred choice of stay. The end. And thank you for reading.
	() Thanks

25th May 2010, 21:16	#24
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,950 Thanked: 12,937 Times View My Garage	Amazing pictures there! The eagle looks majestic! Initially I thought stone carvings were yet another carving till I saw Belur Halebid. PS: I think its an eagle! Is it not? Last edited by ampere : 25th May 2010 at 21:19.
	() Thanks

26th May 2010, 01:56	#28
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,215 Thanked: 15,907 Times	Excellent captures and nice travelogue! Keep it coming.
	() Thanks

26th May 2010, 05:33	#29
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,950 Thanked: 12,937 Times View My Garage	Home stays are a tricky affair. If they are good they are very good. If they are not, its difficult to voice our concern. Because we are after all staying in someone's home. Need to do this homework very carefully.
	() Thanks