A Trip To Chikmagalur

rajesh1868 · 21st January 2011, 19:54

This was one trip that we really longed for. There was only one theme for the whole trip and that was - relaxation. Started planning some 2 months in advance. We had 2 choices on places to visit. One was Coorg and the other Chickmagalur. For some reasons, we chose Chickmagalur though Coorg too is an unexplored territory for us.Started reading reviews in many sites and somehow felt that these places may not give the break that we longed for. We just wanted to sit and enjoy the nature.For some 3 months I was having a 7.30 -21.30 schedule in office and mostly work from home during weekends as well. At last, thought of extending the budget significantly and booked at Thippanahally for a mountain view cottage. It was costly but we thoroughly enjoyed the days.

The previous weekend was also a long one for us as we had holiday for Nov 1st. We drove to home then (Kerala). Had serviced the car just before the Kerala trip. Only when we started did we realize that the balancing wasnt proper. There was a wobble when i touched 100 km/hr. As it was a busy schedule, we couldnt correct it then. So went to Sai Iyengar at Bannerghatta road to fix it on the eve of the journey. We started around 7am. Route taken was Nelamangala - Hassan . We again relaised that the wobble is still present. I should have done testing then itself but owing to the evening traffic i never bothered.

We reached Chikmagalur by 2pm. The roads near Hassan was horrible. Had lunch and took rest. The estate was beautiful and it was drizzling. We went for a walk inside the estate in evening

This is a slightly delayed travelogue that i took during November 2010 during Diwali weekend to Chikmagalur. Dont remember the details as i would have liked to. Infact i dont remember some of the place names nearby that we visited. I should have maintained a log. Mea culpa
Since im noting this after a gap, i dont remember all the details. This will mostly be a photo log

Dates:November 5-8 2010
Car:WagonR Duo LXI
Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ35
Travellers:Me and my wife
Stay at: Thippanahalli Homestay
Special mention:Garmin205W with Satguide map

Sunflowers en route

Inside the estate in homestay

Our cottage

Ragul · 21st January 2011, 21:13

Lovely canopy of forest cover!! Will definitely go there for sure! How was the stay experience?

Thanks

lloydofcochin · 21st January 2011, 21:23

Rajesh,

Nice start there. Beautiful pics, esp of the Canopies, dreamy stuff

Waiting for more.

Cheers
Lloyd

Surprise · 21st January 2011, 22:46

Nice photographs. Looking forward for the further coverages

selfdrive · 22nd January 2011, 00:07

Nice pics, I hope they are teasers and there are more to come!It is amazing how much even a couple of days with nature can rejuvenate us. Even better if they are unspoilt by commercialisation.
I always wanted to go to Chikmagalur and Coorg. Only managed to go to coorg, which was fabulous. I hope to go to Chikmagalur sometime

idlebrain · 22nd January 2011, 01:31

Nice pics. Could you please share more details about cottage? like facilities, pricing, location etc. Thanks.

rajesh1868 · 22nd January 2011, 08:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ragul

Lovely canopy of forest cover!! Will definitely go there for sure! How was the stay experience?

Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by idlebrain

Nice pics. Could you please share more details about cottage? like facilities, pricing, location etc. Thanks.

Thanks idlebrain and Ragul
This is their website Thippanahalli Home stay
For mountain view we had to pay 5k/day. This includes food and unlimited coffee anytime. This should come within some 10 kms from the town but you feel you are in some forest.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lloydofcochin

Rajesh,

Nice start there. Beautiful pics, esp of the Canopies, dreamy stuff

Waiting for more.

Cheers
Lloyd

Thanks Lloyd

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surprise

Nice photographs. Looking forward for the further coverages

Thanks Surprise. More to come

Quote:

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Nice pics, I hope they are teasers and there are more to come!It is amazing how much even a couple of days with nature can rejuvenate us. Even better if they are unspoilt by commercialisation.
I always wanted to go to Chikmagalur and Coorg. Only managed to go to coorg, which was fabulous. I hope to go to Chikmagalur sometime

Thanks selfdive. There are some more to come. Will be posting as i get time. Chikmagalur now is not that much commercialized. Hope it remains that way. It may be Coorg for me next time

rajesh1868 · 25th January 2011, 16:43

Room doesnt have fan and doesnt require. It was very cold in the night. After a good sleep, we woke up .
Had refreshing coffee at the sit out.

This is the view from the sit out.

Soon we were out for a walk

MohsinRoadster · 27th January 2011, 10:07

Excellent pics for perfect kickstart.. Greenery at its best.
Awaiting more.

sushrutha · 27th January 2011, 10:27

I quite like you photos.
Have you set your camera's saturation mode to WARM instead of Neutral? Seems like most of the pics of Mullaingiri & estate have been taken in this mode.

ravikn · 27th January 2011, 10:27

Beautiful pics and nice narration. Awaiting to hear about the whole experience

ravib · 27th January 2011, 22:41

What kind of pictures man ! WOW ! Amazing.... Please do post more...

-Ravi

rajesh1868 · 28th January 2011, 15:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by MohsinRoadster

Excellent pics for perfect kickstart.. Greenery at its best.
Awaiting more.

Thanks Mohsin!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sushrutha

I quite like you photos.
Have you set your camera's saturation mode to WARM instead of Neutral? Seems like most of the pics of Mullaingiri & estate have been taken in this mode.

Thanks!. im not aware of a saturation mode. it appears warm probably because i had set white balance to 'shade'

Quote:

Originally Posted by ravikn

Beautiful pics and nice narration. Awaiting to hear about the whole experience

Thanks ravi!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ravib

What kind of pictures man ! WOW ! Amazing.... Please do post more...

-Ravi

Thanks ravib!

Continuing..

We went out for a drive up the Baba Budhan Giri range. The homestay is at the base of this range.It was a good cool drive, slightly foggy

Some views from the drive

Soon reached a small stream

Did some experiments on long exposures. These are my first attempts.So would be happy to receive guidance. It has been overexposed a bit

Only now I realized there was a bird in the frame

rajesh1868 · 3rd February 2011, 12:13

We continued our drive up to Baba Budhan Shrine and then to Manikyadhara

View from Manikyadhara

Same hilltop zoomed 35x and handheld

The whole area was soon covered with thick fog. Our view of the hill now looked like this

Foggy Surroundings

Nothing matters for this guy

After spending some time, we started our return. There was this waterbody that we saw on our way up which where we decided to stop.
When we reached, the whole area was completely foggy and was very beautiful. By the time the camera came out, it started to get clear

A tree nearby. looked like a prayer area

libranof1987 · 3rd February 2011, 16:42

Beautiful set of pictures!

I am considering taking a trip there 1st week of march. I know it is not really the appropriate time but would it be worth it?

21st January 2011, 19:54	#1
rajesh1868 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: 515134 Posts: 321 Thanked: 336 Times	A Trip To Chikmagalur This was one trip that we really longed for. There was only one theme for the whole trip and that was - relaxation. Started planning some 2 months in advance. We had 2 choices on places to visit. One was Coorg and the other Chickmagalur. For some reasons, we chose Chickmagalur though Coorg too is an unexplored territory for us.Started reading reviews in many sites and somehow felt that these places may not give the break that we longed for. We just wanted to sit and enjoy the nature.For some 3 months I was having a 7.30 -21.30 schedule in office and mostly work from home during weekends as well. At last, thought of extending the budget significantly and booked at Thippanahally for a mountain view cottage. It was costly but we thoroughly enjoyed the days. The previous weekend was also a long one for us as we had holiday for Nov 1st. We drove to home then (Kerala). Had serviced the car just before the Kerala trip. Only when we started did we realize that the balancing wasnt proper. There was a wobble when i touched 100 km/hr. As it was a busy schedule, we couldnt correct it then. So went to Sai Iyengar at Bannerghatta road to fix it on the eve of the journey. We started around 7am. Route taken was Nelamangala - Hassan . We again relaised that the wobble is still present. I should have done testing then itself but owing to the evening traffic i never bothered. We reached Chikmagalur by 2pm. The roads near Hassan was horrible. Had lunch and took rest. The estate was beautiful and it was drizzling. We went for a walk inside the estate in evening This is a slightly delayed travelogue that i took during November 2010 during Diwali weekend to Chikmagalur. Dont remember the details as i would have liked to. Infact i dont remember some of the place names nearby that we visited. I should have maintained a log. Mea culpa Since im noting this after a gap, i dont remember all the details. This will mostly be a photo log Dates:November 5-8 2010 Car:WagonR Duo LXI Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ35 Travellers:Me and my wife Stay at: Thippanahalli Homestay Special mention:Garmin205W with Satguide map Sunflowers en route Inside the estate in homestay Our cottage
	(2) Thanks

21st January 2011, 21:13	#2
Ragul BANNED Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,259 Thanked: 954 Times	Re: A Trip To Chikmagalur Lovely canopy of forest cover!! Will definitely go there for sure! How was the stay experience? Thanks
	() Thanks

21st January 2011, 21:23	#3
lloydofcochin BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 437 Thanked: 183 Times	Re: A Trip To Chikmagalur Rajesh, Nice start there. Beautiful pics, esp of the Canopies, dreamy stuff Waiting for more. Cheers Lloyd
	() Thanks

21st January 2011, 22:46	#4
Surprise Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 2,523 Thanked: 454 Times	Re: A Trip To Chikmagalur Nice photographs. Looking forward for the further coverages
	() Thanks

22nd January 2011, 00:07	#5
selfdrive Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Zurich Posts: 2,962 Thanked: 3,534 Times	Re: A Trip To Chikmagalur Nice pics, I hope they are teasers and there are more to come!It is amazing how much even a couple of days with nature can rejuvenate us. Even better if they are unspoilt by commercialisation. I always wanted to go to Chikmagalur and Coorg. Only managed to go to coorg, which was fabulous. I hope to go to Chikmagalur sometime
	() Thanks

22nd January 2011, 01:31	#6
idlebrain BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Atlanta, US Posts: 117 Thanked: 16 Times	Re: A Trip To Chikmagalur Nice pics. Could you please share more details about cottage? like facilities, pricing, location etc. Thanks.
	() Thanks

25th January 2011, 16:43	#8
rajesh1868 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: 515134 Posts: 321 Thanked: 336 Times	Re: A Trip To Chikmagalur Room doesnt have fan and doesnt require. It was very cold in the night. After a good sleep, we woke up . Had refreshing coffee at the sit out. This is the view from the sit out. Soon we were out for a walk
	(1) Thanks

27th January 2011, 10:07	#9
MohsinRoadster BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 301 Thanked: 31 Times	Re: A Trip To Chikmagalur Excellent pics for perfect kickstart.. Greenery at its best. Awaiting more.
	() Thanks

27th January 2011, 10:27	#10
sushrutha Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Chikmagalur/Ban Posts: 1,703 Thanked: 333 Times View My Garage	Re: A Trip To Chikmagalur I quite like you photos. Have you set your camera's saturation mode to WARM instead of Neutral? Seems like most of the pics of Mullaingiri & estate have been taken in this mode.
	() Thanks

27th January 2011, 10:27	#11
ravikn BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 344 Thanked: 25 Times	Re: A Trip To Chikmagalur Beautiful pics and nice narration. Awaiting to hear about the whole experience
	() Thanks

27th January 2011, 22:41	#12
ravib Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,579 Thanked: 1,803 Times	Re: A Trip To Chikmagalur What kind of pictures man ! WOW ! Amazing.... Please do post more... -Ravi
	() Thanks

3rd February 2011, 12:13	#14
rajesh1868 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: 515134 Posts: 321 Thanked: 336 Times	Re: A Trip To Chikmagalur We continued our drive up to Baba Budhan Shrine and then to Manikyadhara View from Manikyadhara Same hilltop zoomed 35x and handheld The whole area was soon covered with thick fog. Our view of the hill now looked like this Foggy Surroundings Nothing matters for this guy After spending some time, we started our return. There was this waterbody that we saw on our way up which where we decided to stop. When we reached, the whole area was completely foggy and was very beautiful. By the time the camera came out, it started to get clear A tree nearby. looked like a prayer area
	(2) Thanks

3rd February 2011, 16:42	#15
libranof1987 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: All over! Posts: 7,615 Thanked: 18,342 Times	Re: A Trip To Chikmagalur Beautiful set of pictures! I am considering taking a trip there 1st week of march. I know it is not really the appropriate time but would it be worth it?
	() Thanks