[Burgman_tales]

Bangalore has started getting brief spells of unbearable heat, this April was quite hot and unbearable. We (Wife & i) hadn't done any outstation trips for some time, so there was an itch to go outside somewhere cold(er). Ooty/Kodaikanal were out of the picture as I am a fairly new driver with some highway miles but no experince on the hills except Nandi hills.

We were torn between Coorg (Madikeri) and Chikmagalur. Coorg has a lot more places and we had finalised a place to stay etc. Then we came across some threads on the Thippanahalli homestay at Chikmagalur and were absolutely fascinated by it.

They are not available on any of the platforms like MMT, we talked to them on Whatsapp from the number available on their website, made full online payment for a mountain view room for 2 nights stay. They had free cancellation allowed upto 1 week before the stay, only date change allowed after that.


We started on 17th May (Friday) at around 7am to avoid the Bangalore city traffic. Breakfast was at the very crowded Sambrama hotel . Their food arrives fast and is very yummy but there is some wait to get a table.


I thought I will get some respite from the bad drivers in Bangalore but ran into this wrong side driver in Hassan

Wrong side driver

Anyways, we reached Chikmagalur and the city honestly seemed very "city-like" and we were slightly disappointed. But the homestay was outside the town and we were welcomed by some very beautiful roads. Adding videos and photos of the road leading to the homestay and from inside the homestay.

https://youtu.be/_jRr8nhYwUY

https://youtu.be/R2XtNH_UzYo

Entrance to the property


A temple inside the property


Our room from outside


Inside the room



Room from the pathway below



Had great homely food for our entire stay, forgot to take pics most of the time because we are always too hungry and eager to jump into the food




This building is where the homestay owners live in. It's a 200 year old building if I remember correctly.



One of many peacocks we saw inside the property:



The very sassy pet "Snow"


Some more random beautiful shots inside the property:




And few shots of my beloved Altroz DCA amidst the lush green and reds:






We honestly weren't planning to do a lot of sightseeing and wanted to just chill at the stay but decided to go around a bit at least for a good drivearound. We were planning to go to Mulayangiri peak by ourselves but hired a cab thanks to the advice of Nithin the homestay owner. He advised against self drive on hearing that I learnt driving just a few months ago. Thank god we listened to him! There was crazy traffic at the peak and I would have definitely panicked there with no space for parking and making turns.

https://youtu.be/XP1xolKAcB8

I really hated the place because of the crowd. It was a Saturday morning and there was a lot of crowd to even walk in peace up the stairs. There were a lot of people doing unnecessary running etc too. I would advise anyone against visiting there on weekends.


Though the view from up there was good.



While getting down from the peak we saw a very irresponsble Innova. 2 kids had their heads/bodies outside the window all the way down the peak.



We came to the homestay, had some delicious lunch and rested for a while. Then we started in our own car to the nearby Hirekolale Lake. The drive there was very beautiful through some inner roads and is captured in the video shared above.




On the next day we started from the homestay after breakfast. We made brief stops at Halebeedu and Belur temples. They have very beautiful architecture. There are tons of really good pictures of them on the internet, so I won't upload a lot of them







After walking around in temples we were famished and stopped at Hotel Raama at Hassan for lunch. It was veg only but the food and service was really great.

We thought the trip back would be smooth but first we got stuck just outside Hassan at one place for like 30 minutes. No idea what happened at that junction but loads of idiots drove on the wrong side and jammed oncoming traffic as well.

Again, there was some prolonged traffic jam (~1 hour) somewhere midway between Hassan and Bangalore. No clue why but we just sat in the jam.

This caused a lot of delay when entering Bangalore. There was an orange alert for rainfall on that day and it started raining cats and dogs. I was driving for the first time in such heavy rain. I could not hear anything outside from the downpour and literally everyone was driving with hazards on. On the way home we saw multiple accidents most likely caused due to people not driving carefully in the rain.

Overall, a very enjoyable stay because of the beautiful homestay and scenic roads.

Summary of Itinerary -
1. Friday morning Bangalore to Chikmagalur. Chill at homestay for 2nd half.
2. Saturday morning to Mulayangiri (strong recommendation not to do this on weeekend). Drive to nearby places in 2nd half.
3. Sunday morning start drive back with Halebeedu/Belur temple visits and lunch break at Hassan

Previous TeamBHP threads:
1. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ch-rain-3.html (Wanderlust Traveller: Chikmagalur (KA) in search of rain)
2. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...du-thrown.html (Driven: Bangalore to Chikmagalur, with a little of Belur and Halebidu thrown in)

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[anshu1101]

Lovely travelogue!

I along with my family, stayed at the Thippanahalli homestay in late May this this year (from 31st May if I recall correctly) for 2 nights. It was a fabulous stay to say the least. Lovely rooms with a great view of the Mullayanagiri peak and good food. The menu was limited (as is the case with most homestays) but it was lipsmacking. I made an unplanned visit to the Hoysaleshwara temple on the way back as well, and am I glad that I did it!! It is one of the most beautiful temples that I've even seen! Took the services of a guide to get to know more about the temple, and I must say - Rs 600 well spent.

Thippanahalli Homestay is a hidden gem, thanks to the fact that it is not available on popular travel portals like MMT etc. And I hope it stays that way.

Cheers!

[Raghu M]

Simple, well written sir. I am planning a trip with my family, the property pics you shared are pretty good. Definitely a try for us. Thank you!

[Kkumar]

A nice travelogue with beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing such a hidden gem. Keep on munching miles.

[Prowler]

Nice travelogue interspersed with great pictures. You could add the cost and the booking details to help others.

[Burgman_tales]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Nice travelogue interspersed with great pictures. You could add the cost and the booking details to help others.

Our room cost approx Rs 8500 per night including all meals for 2 people. There is another set of rooms which doesn't overlook the mountains and costs Rs 7500 per night.

[ALTIMAed]

While at Chikmagalur, you could have visited Kemmenguddi. While doing my graduation at MIT Manipal, we an adventurous lot rode down. It was 8 PM (we were a gang of 12 on 6 bikes - Rx 100s / KB 100 RTZ Delta and yours truly on a friend's Yezdi). At 8PM we reached Chikmagalur to fill up the parched bike tanks. Amazed at seeing so many outstation bikes, the petrol pump attended asked us, where we were heading to, the answer being Kemmengudi. Monsoon had just started. The attendant looked at us as if we were mad. In broken English / Hindi he tried to dissuade us from going. In about 15 mins, we realized the reason. Single track road, pitch dark, grass growing in the middle of the road. Since it was raining, the grass was wet. Three bikes skidded, the rider and pillion fell, though did not hurt themselves. I could not see anything as at low engine rpm, the Yezdi's headlamp beam was worse than candle light. We did manage to get to the top and managed to get accommodation for 2 nights. By the time we reached, it was past 10 PM (if I remember correctly). Our palms were freezing and wet. Each one of us, warmed our palms by placing them on the bike silencers. Next morning, we were welcomed by fantastic views / fresh air / green all around / it felt we were in heaven. Our coffee bill nearly equaled our food bill!!!

[Pro_rags]

Great travelogue and nice pics. Thippanahalli bungalow is an awesome place. The bungalow was built by the British and then was bought by the current owner's family. They also have another Heritage home converted to a home stay. True heritage home with modern facilities.
https://www.aralaguppeheritage.com/