I had visited Chikmagalur while I was a student. Although I was far too young to appreciate and absorb the finer details of the place , the experience stayed with me forever. I could remember vividly , that it was bitterly cold and dark at night since power supply was erratic those days, also there was nothing much to do after sunset except sit round a camp fire and chat with your friends. Located at a distance of about 230 kms from the state capital Bangalore and at a distance of 130 kms from Mangalore , Chikmagalur can be easily reached by road since there are many buses operating to the town and also regular taxi services from most major cities like Bangalore , Haasan,Mysore and Mangalore.
To give a little background detail on the place, Chikmagalur which literally means the younger daughters town is located in the Sahyadri range of Western Ghats popularly known as the Malnad area of Karnataka. It is a magical place filled with thick tropical forests, coffee estates,rivers, streams ,waterfalls and a view of the seven hills. There are innumerable waterfalls around the place , most of which are known only to the locals.
When I visited Chikmagalur in 2009 I was amazed to see that over the years things had changed a lot and it had become a very popular tourist destination .Whereas, on my first visit as a student , we were put up in a government guest house, the only place available for tourists, and in spite of that , those days the guest house had remained unoccupied most of the time except when there were group bookings or when government officials visited the place. All that has changed now and how? there are innumerable resorts and guest houses, hotels within the city and on the hills and the lush greenery on the hills. Most of the Coffee growers owning huge estates running to hundreds of acres have discovered that they have a chance to earn better by having a home stay within their estates.
The place we stayed in was called Eagle Eye resort , which was situated at a distance of about 18 kms from the city of Chimagalur , amidst a coffee plantation , had a commanding view of the Sahyadri mountain range including the majestic Kudremukh hills located at a distance of about 89 kms. The view changed every minute as the clouds moved in and out covering and uncovering the mountains in different patterns.It was truly an amazing site that one could gaze for hours together.The cottages all have large balconies overlooking the mountains and most of our time was spent there . The tariff came with all meals served at the resort and entertainment every evening including a camp fire.We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were sad when it ended far too quickly. Mornings were meant for long walks through the coffee estate to a lake and a waterfall nearby and generally lazing around the place gazing at the faraway mountains and clouds playing hide and seek.
