Chikmagalur

After finishing our visit to Belur-Halebid by 3:00 PM, we headed towards Chikmaglur, aiming to reach our Apna-Sapna homestay before dusk. For some inexplicable reason, all the homestays in this region were highly priced on a per-person, per-night basis. The mountainous stretch from Chikmaglur to Attigundi (village) was excellent, with a fun twist and turns to drive on. The last part of the journey was on a dirt road, where we took a diversion for our homestay, a downhill road. As we neared the destination, we encountered three gates leading to three different coffee estates. Initially, it was a bit confusing, but we figured it out through some guesswork. What’s worth noting is that you don’t get any mobile signal here other than BSNL (the state-owned provider).

Upon arriving at the homestay, we were welcomed with a drink and shown to our rooms by the friendly staff. Since it wasn’t dusk yet, we freshened up and sat on their dining deck to watch the sunset. In the meantime, Aarush befriended their in-house puppy, which was a bit of a concern initially, but it turned out fine. The valley in front of the dining deck offered a fantastic view of both sunset and sunrise.

Another couple was there to celebrate their birthday, and we enjoyed their company that night. Surprisingly, Aarush fell asleep early, which was unusual compared to other days, given his active afternoon. The next morning, we woke up a bit late and missed the sunrise but enjoyed the morning serenity. The only encounters we had were with butterflies and flocks of chattering birds. Around 10, we all got ready for their estate trip in their 4x4 jeep.

The first part of the estate trip introduced us to different types of coffee and their processing. We witnessed how coffee is dried under the sun and even tasted the sweet coffee berries. We then went to a roaring waterfall within the estate, where Aarush and Santanu had a great time under the falls. While waiting for lunch, we had engaging conversations with the estate managers who kept us in good company with small talks and jokes. Through our chitchat, we all became so friendly that it hardly felt like a few minutes before we were all strangers. They even arranged a rifle shooting session for another guest celebrating his birthday.

Late in the evening, we were dropped back to our rooms, and after relaxing a bit, we went for an evening walk. We strolled through another estate, where we could hear the music of cascades dotting the scenic landscape. Eventually, we found a small stream of water gushing through their estates. The next morning, around 10, we started our leisurely journey back to Bangalore. On the way, we paid an extra 200 INR to the traffic police for taking a one-way route at Chikmaglur town.

This resort is more like a toned-down motel rather than a homestay, as it is managed by people rather than the owner directly. The food was average and cooked by a North Indian chef, nothing extraordinary, tasting like any common restaurant. In that sense, a touch of local cuisine or a genuine host was missing. The standard of the rooms was very basic. The positive aspect for us was that since all estate owners were there (it was coffee picking season), we had a nice time. The jeep trip and lunch at the bottom of their estate were free for us since we requested it.