5 mistakes you’re making if Chikmagalur isn’t in your summer itinerary

There are summer holiday spots, and then there is Chikmagalur – a place where mornings smell faintly of coffee, roads leading up to the mountains vanish into mist unexpectedly, and vast tracts of hill slopes are perennially cloaked within the canopy of rainforests and clouds. But year after year, tourists keep flocking to mundane hill stations while silently overlooking South India’s most poetic hideout.
If you have failed to include Chikmagalur in your summer itinerary, here are five blunders that you might be committing.

Unlike the other hill stations, Chikmagalur isn’t quite what you would expect from a stereotypical destination for holidays. Chikmagalur exudes an enigmatic vibe that makes one feel like a part of a monsoon movie set. One minute, you find yourself driving through the thick rainforest passages with hardly anyone around in another car, but the very next second, the entire landscape unfurls itself in front of you in the form of lush green coffee plantations shrouded in clouds.

While everyone enjoys their daily cups of coffee without giving it much thought, little do they know that the region of Chikmagalur is famously known for being the birthplace of coffee growing in India. According to folklore, the Sufi mystic Baba Budan brought seven coffee beans from Yemen and sowed them here, thus revolutionising the Indian experience with coffee for eternity. The coffee grown in Chikmagalur is among the best in India today, but there is more to see besides the plantations.

Among the greatest pleasures Chikmagalur has to offer is the quietude. As opposed to other commercial hill stations which now have more traffic jams than viewpoints, Chikmagalur has retained many places where one can appreciate peace away from all the hustle and bustle. Estate holidays are typically located deep within forests or plantations, where one wakes up to birdsong rather than car horns, and spends quiet nights under an eerie darkness.

Getting there, to Chikmagalur, is an important aspect of the trip. There are numerous routes in the Western Ghats region near Chikmagalur which make for extremely rewarding driving experiences. The hairpin bends, occasional waterfalls, sudden vistas into valleys, and unexpected rains will ensure you have a great time. What makes a Chikmagalur route special is the absence of altitude sickness that is bound to occur on trips to the Himalayas.

In the world of Indian summer travel talks, the Himalayan regions tend to hog most of the attention. This is because most people believe only these places provide relief from heat during summers. However, this isn't true for Chikmagalur, which has its own charm even during summer. This is evident from the cloud cover that moves close to the hills, the sudden rain that occurs in afternoons, and the dense greenery around.