Exploring Karnataka

Peak of Mullayanagiri

The Mullayanagiri area is designated as a litter free zone and even with the warning, garbage is still dumped at the peak and along the road.

Below the peak where the views are beautiful. Lakshmi with Arnav and Samhita.

 Coffee plant. If you look closely, you can see the beans. Once they turn red, they can be picked. You can't smell the coffee, it is deep inside seed.

Coffee estate tour. We have a picture of Vijay our drive on the right.

Since my SIL was visiting and we couldn't get reservations at Kabini, we decided to make a trip to Chikmagalur, Belur and Halebid.  We stayed at this wonderful homestay in Chikmagalur on a coffee plantation called Woodway Homestay.  Sushmita, a former Bangalorean, runs the place and her husband, Shreedev, a  3rd generation coffee grower manages the plantation but is actively involved with the homestay as well. Not sure why but I was expecting to meet an older couple, they are probably in their mid to late 30s with 2 young children. After moving to Chikmagalur, Sushmita needed something to keep her busy so she renovated her husband's childhood home and turned it into a homestay.  Her children attend an alternative school near Chikmagalur but she's planning on sending her older son  (7 years old) to the Valley School in Bangalore so he gets more exposure outside of their cousins and friends, her husband also attended the same school. The couple is very friendly and personable, and they have a good staff that helps take care of the place, all the meals are included as there are very few restaurants in Chikmagalur. The food is Karnataka style, delicious but a bit on the unhealthy side. Rushil ate mostly yoghurt rice and Sindhu discovered rasam rice but otherwise, the choices were limited for them. It was a great place to kick back and relax, enjoy the fresh, crisp air and take long walks through the estate.  We  drove to Mullayanagiri which is the highest peak in Karnataka. The views are beautiful, with lush green mountains, coffee estates, rice paddies, small waterfalls, a temple and other greenery but as you reach the peak, it gets cold and hazy,  definitely worth the trip. Later that day, we had a small tour of their coffee estate, Shreedev's family manages 300 acres with a staff of 60. Our driver Vijay had to translate for us but in essence, we were told that that the coffee plants reach maturity after 30  years and need to be replanted, there is only one harvest in January and the rest of the year, they spend clearing the weeds and replanting the older trees. Since the coffee beans were smuggled from Ethiopia, Shreedev says they  are still learning how to adapt it to the Indian climate and soil and coffee plants are very susceptible to bugs and can be easily wiped out. During the coffee flowering season, the bees collect the nectar from the coffee flowers and the honey that is produced has a coffee flavour, isn't that interesting? There are quite a few homestays in the area but I would recommend staying here. There are two other more upscale options are the Serai and the Taj which I heard are very good too.

 In front of  Belur temple

In front of the gopuram at Belur

The next day, we headed to see the temples in Belur and Halebid. Our first stop was Belur. We hired a guide and I was extremely impressed with the Karnataka state guides. Their English was impeccable, they were knowledgeable and well trained, the best guides I have encountered in India so far. Belur is a temple dedicated to lord Vishnu and was built using soap stone by a king during the Hoysala dynasty, approximately 900 years ago and  it took 3 generations to complete. It is an active temple with daily prayers and it even has a marriage hall that still hosts wedding ceremonies today.  The carvings outside the temple were detailed and well preserved as it was not destroyed by invaders. The guide pointed out that from the carvings on the temple that women during that period wore shorts, pants and had modern haircuts. The intricacy of the statues was stunning, you could see ornate jewelry on the women, bracelets that could move up and down the arm, and details of Hindu mythology throughout the exterior and interior of the temple. Interestingly the king who built the temple was a Jain and later converted to Hinduism.  The children patiently listened to the guide and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. My SIL visited Belur in the early nineties and felt that it was not as impressive and was more eroded this time around.

 Halebid exterior

 Halebid exterior

Halebid

Next we drove to Halebid. The children  lost their patience and mostly hung out inside the temple and avoided the sun. If we were to do it again, we would have spaced it out more and maybe visited Belur on the way to Chikmagalur and Halebid on the way back. There is also Shravanabelagola to visit but we ran out of time. Halebid was also built during the Hoysala dynasty but by a minister and the temple is dedicated to lord Shiva. Since Halebid was the capital of Hoysala at that time, it was invaded and parts of the temple were destroyed and other portions which were under construction were not completed. The carvings were equally intricate and in some cases even more at the Halebid temple. Halebid is located in a village and has more greenery surrounding it than Belur. We had lunch at the Mayura restaurant next to the temple, it's run by KSTDC so although not a 5 star, it had decent food and decent bathrooms.

If  you're in Bangalore for a few days, skip some of the local Bangalore sites and spend a day at Belur and Halebid, it's definitely worth the trip.