Chikmagalur

About Chikmagalur: Chikmagalur literally means "The town of the younger daughter" in the native Kannada language. The town is said to have been given as a dowry to the younger daughter of Rukmangada, the legendary chief of Sakrepatna and hence the name. Chikmagalur was the place where coffee was first cultivated in India. Rivers like Tunga and Bhadra have their sources in the mountains here which are parts of the Western Ghats. Chikmagalur district also contains Mullayanagiri, the highest peak in Karnataka.
The city is placed amid a scenic landscape in a fertile valley; it is surrounded by lush green coffee plantation hills. The distance from Bangalore and its situation in the lap of Mother Nature, makes this place a perfect weekend gateway for all Bangalorians.

Duration of the trip: It was a 2 days and 1 night trip for us.

Transportation: We traveled this destination with our own car. We started from Bangalore at around 4:30 AM in morning on a Saturday and reached Chikmagalur at around 10:00 AM. For returning to Bangalore, we started around 4:00 PM on Sunday and reached by 9:00 PM.

On the Way to Chikmagalur

Details of the Trip:
Day 1: As I already mentioned, we started from Bangalore at around 4:30 AM in the morning and reached there by 10:00 AM. On the way, we stopped at a Café Coffee Day and had our breakfast over there.
Upon reaching to Chikmagalur, we boarded in The Planters Court. We booked two double bed rooms at Rs. 1075/- each (excluding taxes) as we were four people. The hotel has free parking facility in the campus itself which was something we didn't find in most of the other budget hotels in Chikmagalur.

Front view of the Hotel

Once we got into the room, we freshen up and decided to go for sight-seeing after having lunch. We had our lunch in Hotel Mayura, though it was as small vegetarian restaurant, but they served the best north Indian food I ever had in entire south India. Even the famous restaurants of Bangalore don’t serve such delicious north Indian food.
After enjoying the delicious lunch, we booked a cab from the nearby KSRTC bus stop for the sight-seeing purpose. Though we had our car with us, but none of us were confident enough to drive to the hill station, and so we didn't take any risk. So, from the bus stop, we booked a Tata Indica in Rs 2200/- with a deal of showing six most popular places around Chikmagalur in two days.
Athigundi is a small village on the way to Baba Budan giri. The place provides a fabulous scenic view to the tourists and an awesome place for photography.

Athigundi

Athigundi

Honnamana Halla Falls is a small fall again on the way to Baba Budan Giri. Though there is nothing much to see as it’s a smallest of falls, but there were many tourists who were enjoying the place.

Honnaman halla Fall

Bababudan Giri Datta Pet is the main attraction of the day. By the time we reached there it started raining, and the place was fully covered by mists with a visibility of less than 50 meters. However, the mist added a thrill in the journey.

Ayurvedic shop @ Baba Budan Giri

Ayurvedic shop @ Baba Budan Giri

Near the entrance of the Shirin

There were three large caves, said to have been sanctified by three siddhas contain their icons and ‘gaddiges’ (tombs), and an annual jatra is held here in their honor. The enthralling scenery around makes this many frequented pilgrim centers. This holy place is worshiped by both Hindus and Muslims. A beacon lighted here during Deepavali can be seen at Chikmagalur. The peak takes its name from the Muslim Saint, Baba-Budan, who resided here for more than 150 years.
Furthermore, these are the places that the first ever coffee in the country was grown way back in 1670 A.D.
Jhari Falls is said to be one of the best falls nearby Chikmagalur. To visit the place one has to walk to around two kilometers downwards from the road inside forest. Even so, the place is full of leaches should we didn’t take the risk to make it to this place.

Near Jhari Falls

By the time we finished visiting these places, it started raining heavily, and we got completely drenched. We came back to hotel and got freshened up. Later, we went for dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. Food was good there also but not in compare to the one we had for lunch in Hotel Mayura.
Day 2: We had our breakfast at the hotel and checked out in from there in the morning keeping our entire luggage in the car. As I already told that we didn’t want to take a risk of sightseeing driving own car and booked a car for the sightseeing, we needed some place to keep the car. We requested the lady behind the hotel reception, and she was generous enough to allow us.

On the way to mullayangiri

On the way to mullayangiri

\The first place we visited this morning was Seethalayan Matha, on the way to Mullayanagiri. Seethala Mallappana Kanive to the left side is said to have been hallowed by Sidha Seethalaya and contains a Matha and the dual shrine temple of Seethala-Mallikarjuna.

Seethalayan Matha

Then we proceed towards Mullaiyanagiri, the highest point of the district and in Karnataka, it rises to 1926.7 meters above the sea level and is situated at the south of the range. The small hillock in the temple compound is the highest point in Karnataka. The road to Mullayanagiri is very narrow with views from steep cliffs. Driving to the peak is impossible and includes a trek up the hill from the half-way point. There is a small temple on top of the hill. We heard that from the topmost point on the hill, the Arabian Sea is visible on clear days. However, ours was not a day of such weather.

Mullayangiri

Our driver warned us multiple times to start early in the morning for Mullaiyanagiri else it will start raining, but we couldn’t make it early. As a result by the time we reached there it started raining heavily. With the heavy rain also we tried to climb the stairs to the top, but we couldn’t make it beyond the half way. The rain and wind were so forceful; we were feeling we might be thrown down the hill at any point of time. Nevertheless, it was a life time experience to cherish.
We had no raincoat with us, and it was not at all possible to open the umbrella which left us drench like anything. It was impossible to return to Bangalore in such drenched clothes, and so werequested the lady in Hotel Planters Court to allow us a room so that we can change there, and she showed her generosity again by allotting us a room that too without any cost.
None of us wanted to leave Chikmagalur without the taste of Hotel Mayura, and so we went there again for lunch. After enjoying the delicious Kashmiri Biriyani, we started for Bangalore by 3:30 PM.

Note: From my experience below are the few tips I want to share.
1. Carrying woolens and rain coat is a must in Chikmagalur.
2. If you want to make it to the top of Mullaiyanagiri, start early for the place.
3. If you are not an expert driver, don’t take the risk of using your own car for sightseeing. Especially if you are from Bangalore don’t at all dare to.

Disclaimer: We went on this trip in June 2013. There are chances that price has got changed. Please check with Hotel and local cabs about current rates. I have tried to provide as much as details is possible for the trip. For any further information, feel free to post a comment in the blog or contact me@dutshilpi@gmail.com.

Coorg

About Coorg: Coorg is one of the most affluent hill stations in Karnataka. With its natural splendor and exotic scenic environment, Coorg has a special place among the hill stations in India. Nestled among the lush greeneries of the Western Ghats, Coorg offers unequal luxurious vacation period to its guests. Coorg is praised as the 'Scotland of India' and also renowned as 'Kashmir of the South' due to the majestic beauty and cool ambience of the hill station at an altitude in the range of 3500 ft above sea level. Dense teak wooded forests, lush green valleys, breathtaking coffee plantations and undulated challenging mountain ranges to make Coorg an exquisite location for the tourist seeking natural scenic spots and challenging treks. Tadiandamol, Brahmagiri and Pushpagiri peaks in Coorg are very challenging for the trekkers, and the surroundinges of these peaks are really eye feasting. Coorg is considered as a mind-blowing summer retreat for escaping from the hot summer days in downtown cities. Monsoon is one of the best times to visit this hill station; and many tourists arrive in Coorg to enjoy the wild beauty which unfolds to its maximum during the monsoon.

Duration of the trip: We visited Coorg Along with Mysore; so for us, it took three days and two nights. However, if one wants to visit only Coorg, a weekend should be more than enough.

Transportation: We booked a Toyota Innova from BookCab for the trip which picked us up from Bangalore, took us for sightseeing in Mysore and Coorg, dropped us back in Bangalore. The transport for the entire trip cost us around Rs. 12000/.

Details of the Trip:
Day 1:We started from Bangalore around morning 8:00 am. After visiting Mysore, we started for Coorg. We reached to Coorg around 01:00 a.m. We had already made our booking in Hotel Highton. We were five elders and one kid in the group, so we had booked one double deluxe and one family deluxe. There were few other types of rooms also available with variety of rates. The hotel was very clean and near to the Madikeri market.
Day 2: We had our breakfast at hotel and started for local sightseeing. The places we visited throughout the day were,
Talacauvery is the origin of Cauvery River from the Bramhagiri Hills. This place is treated as the holiest place in Kanataka. A small spring, Brahma kundike, situated 1276 m above sea level, marks the origin of the Caurvery, a temple was built on the spot where regular puja rituals took place. The temple is dedicated to Lord Agastheeswara, who is considered to be the link between great Sage Agasthya and river Cauvery.

Talacauvery from the top

Talacauvery from the Top 

Brahma kundike

From Talakaveri, steps lead-up to the nearby Brahmagiri peak, where the seven great sages called the Sapta Maharishis performed a special yagna.

Step for Bramhagiri

Brahmagiri Peak

Abbey Falls, the main attraction of Madikeri, breathtaking waterfall where the Kaveri River cascades down a rock face from a height of 70 feet. A hanging bridge has now been built across the gorge here offering a good view of the falls. The falls can be reached by a narrow road from Madikeri. Cars can reach the entrance of these falls from where a downhill walk of 500 metres (on slightly paved steps) takes one to the waterfalls.

Way to Abbey Falls

Abbey Falls

Hanging Bridge infront of Abbey Falls

We had our lunch on the way near Nishargadhama and proceed to the Dubare Elephant camp.

By the time we reached Dubare Elephant Camp, it was around 2:30 PM, and the camp remained open from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM, reopened by 4:30 PM. As we had to wait for a long time, we decided not to waste time.
We went for a rafting in the nearby Cauvery River. As it was not monsoon, it can merely be called as rafting, however, we enjoyed that too a lot. Rafting costs Rs 100/- per head.

From there we went to the famous Bylakuppe Tibetan settlement. We reached the gates of the Monastery which itself gave an idea of the kind of architecture inside. As soon as we entered inside the temple, it was altogether a different world for me. Being a Bengali, most of the places I had visited since my childhood have been the hill stations around East, North India and Buddhaism, monasteries are integral parts of those places. The sprawling campus, the temples took me back to my childhood.
This Tibetan settlement is the second largest Tibetan settlement outside Tibet. There are over 7,000 monks and students at the Tibetan monastery. Among the monasteries of this settlement, Sera Ja Monastery, Sakya Monastery and TashiLunpho Monastery are some of the popular ones.
The major attraction of this settlement is the Golden Temple. This Golden Template houses a 40ft tall Buddha Statue.

By the time we finished, visiting different monasteries, it already started getting dark and the inhabitants of the monasteries started their evening prayer ,which was a great feeling which can’t be expressed in words.

However, I don’t want to bore my readers with my nostalgia and so let’s move on :)

Post visiting the settlement, we came back to our hotel. In the late evening, we went to Madikeri market for shopping. Coorg is famous for Coffee, Spices, homemade chocolates and honey. So we bought all of them in adequate quantity.

Day 3: We checked out from our hotel and again started for Dubare Elephant Camp. We crossed Cauvery river in a boat which charged Rs 20/- each including the entry fee to the camp.
Before I visited this place, I was in an impression that what would be so special about an elephant camp that people like about it. But it changed by the time I left that place.
This place has around 150 Elephants, which are being trained under naturalists. In the Dubare elephant camp, there are many activities offered Jungle Lodge and Resorts which visitors not only can enjoy also can participate in a very nominal cost. The various activities conducted here are,
Elephant Grooming: Elephants been given a scrub-bath in the River and also watch how oil is applied on their forehead, tusks and other aspects of Elephant grooming.
Elephant feeding: Visitors can watch the food being prepared for the Elephants and how they are fed.
Commands: The Mahouts demonstrate the various commands the Elephants can obey.
Elephant Ride: This was the only activity that we took part. One can take an elephant ride for 10-15 minutes at Rs 100/-.

As we had a kid with us, he enjoyed it thoroughly, which added the real value to visit this place.
Other than all these activities, Dubare Elephant Camp holds a great historical importance as the elephants used in Mysore Dassehra Festival are trained in this camp.
We then proceed to Nishargadhama. There was a hanging bridge over the entrance, which was very enjoyable as it was shaking while walking. Though this place claimed to be a wild life sanctuary, we hardly found any animal other than deer and rabbit. Furthermore, the maintenance of this place is very poor. However, one thing I liked about this place is, the sculptures made by coloring trees. Entry ticket for this place is Rs 30/- per head.

After visiting this place we had our lunch at the same restaurant like the day before and proceed towards Bangalore.

Note: From my experience of Coorg visit, I want to advise visitors on few points,
1. Don’t visit Coorg during Oct-Nov as we did, because due to continuous rain you neither will be able to cover all the places to visit nor you can do river rafting as the rain is not sufficient for the same.
2. Don’t hire cabs from BookCab if you are not well versed with all the routes. We were not much aware of the roads; taking advantage of that the driver took us in the same road repeatedly to increase the kilometer count to charge more. Furthermore,  the driver imposed what places to be visited instead of showing the places we were interested in.
3. Coorg trip will be much cheaper if one can reach there by bus and hire cabs from there for local sightseeing.

Disclaimer: We went on this trip in Oct 2012. There are chances that price and timings have got changed. Please check with Travel Agencies and Hotel about current timings and rates. I have tried to provide as much as details is possible for the trip. For any further information, feel free to post comments in the blog or contact me@dutshilpi@gmail.com.

Innovative Film City

About IFC: Located 40km from the heart of Bangalore and spread over 50 acres of land, Innovative Film City is an entertainment paradise with world-class facilities. It houses 27 different facilities ranging from, Amphitheatre, Retail High Street, Food Courts, Theme Restaurants, Entertainment District with India's first Dinosaur Park, Haunted Mansion, Cartoon City with India's biggest Roller Coaster, Aqua Kingdom, Miniature city, Ripley's Enchanted Mirror Maze, Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum, Funplex within 4D- Theatre, Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum, Go-Karting, Mini Golf, Innovative Wannado City, Adventure Sports, Roller Skates, Fossil Museum, Fossil Hunt, Double Decker Carrousel, etc.

Transportation: We hired a cab from City Cab by calling 4343 4343. It took approximately 3:00 hours to reach Innovative Film City from Marathahalli, Bangalore in a rate of Rs 800/ each way. We were four people.
Other than the hired cab services or personal cars, BMTC has arranged bus services from KR Market and Kempgowda Bus Stop to Innovation Film City and vice versa.

Details of the Trip: Innovative Film City is a perfect outing place for weekends. The place has been designed keeping the likings and interest of people of different age group in mind. The entire film city segregated in multiple sections like Main Street, Wild Wild West, Cartoon City, Gardens and Amphitheater.

Main Street

Teddy Museum is entire city for teddies of different kinds like, cricketer teddy, musician teddy, Indian Priest, Formula1 Racer, Disco Dancer, Wild teddy, golf player, film director, teddy at a nightclub, teddy wearing khadi, dandiya playing teddy and many more which is not imaginable at all for a teddy.

Innovative Talkies: This place will remind one about the old village talkies with a rustic setting, equipped with a bullock cart & ticket counter. When we went inside it was picturing the movie, "Sholay".

Innovative Toddler’s Den is a play area with an adorable snakes & ladder's floor with a collection of rides straight from the neighborhood park. It also has a classroom, movie show, a tiger family and another play area. It has an enclosure not too far from the play area with psychedelic coloured balls for the kids to hop, skip and jump!

Mining: Another attraction just by the main street on Innovative Film City. A dark lane will take you to a mine themed sandy place, detail decorated by mining accessories like yellow colored light-fitted helmet, shovel and shaft driven wooden path to carry sand filled bucket. My wife, a girl of eastern coalfield area and had never seen a real mine, was very exited about this place.
There is also a treasure hunt game inside the mine. Once can use to shovels and dig to get the treasures.

Innovative Wannado City is a miniature city replica of Bangalore armed with all the settings and props you may need to do a role play. It is a very interesting and fun layout of a regular city with its basic public amenities.
The city has its own Hospital, Police Station, Radio Station, TV Station, High Court, Fire Station, Archaeological Cave.
In the TV station, you can actually read news or conduct an interview and burn the event in a CD in a very minimal amount.
Similarly, in the Radio station, you can sing song or recite something, which will be played in the Film City.

Wild Wild West is entirely designed to make it look like the barren land of the Americas. The deserted setting, stubble and horses of the place will definitely make you think twice if you are in Bangalore.

Other than the Main Street, Wild Wild West, there are some other attractions of IFC like,
Mirror Maze is a complete dark room, beautifully decorated with red arches and mirrors. As easy it is to go inside of the maze, more difficult it is to come out of the same. The surprising corners, dead ends and continuous circles and your reflection in the mirror will keep confusing you till you get exhausted.


Walking through this Dino park, will remind you about your childhood memory of Jurassic Park and surely will make you feel you are actually in the Jurassic Park, surrounded by several dinosaurs.

Fossil Museum is very aptly placed adjacent to the Dino Park, with a collection of remains and relics from the prehistoric era. From the tiniest detail of preserving claws to having a collection of the dinosaur heads, this museum is a fascinating walk down the Jurassic era with over 219 dinosaur species fossils.
There are incredible stories about the extinction of this species coupled with actual fossil remains of their skulls and other body parts which is sure to give you a whole lot of information for a day.

There is another treasure hunt outside this museum as well and there are attractive gifts also.
Haunted Mansion: The dimly lit, dingy, old, dirty but huge mansion will definitely touch the nerve of yours. The place has everything starting from Skeletons, ghosts, half beard man, zombies and many more. The sound effect of this place adds the more horror to the place.

The Cartoon City is the place where not only children, but elders also can enjoy forgetting their age. Roller Coaster, Dashing Cars, Carousel, Star Wars, Shark Attack, Bungee Jumping will definitely take you to your old childhood days.
Velocity, Go Carting track will bring the F1 Racer out of you. You have to play Rs 100/- for four laps.
Exhausted, tired and hungry, we decided to take lunch, and some rest for sometime before going further.

There is a food court in the IFC campus with various options from North India to South India. Furthermore who is not interested in traditional foods, they have options like Mc. Donald's and Cafe Coffee Day.
Our next destination was, Aqua Kingdom, the place I liked most in IFC. There is a pool with artificial waves and real sand bed beach, which will surely feel you at sea-beach for sometime. Other than the wave pool, you can't resist yourself from sliding through the huge water slides.
You won't even realize when the time flew in the dance floor with the DJ playing in DJ Tower. Kids Pool, Woonden Benches, Beach chairs, Lazy River will definitely wash way all your tiredness.

Make sure to carry an extra set of dress so that you don't miss the fun of water kingdom.
Ripley's Believe it or Not, Mr Robert Ripley's ghost of 63 years personally welcomes you to his humble abode where he has, over the years, created a collection of the freakiest of human and in-human phenomena. There are only 9 locations outside of North America which exhibits his collection and Innovative Film City is one of them – the only one in India! For the fans of Star Wars (and even people who have vaguely heard of it), nutty Darth Vader and Boba Fett greet you at the entrance – made completely of nuts & bolts! What starts with randomly assorted Believe it or Not facts, slowly grows into a very interesting expedition of nature & science. We travel through the underwater area where a host of 'shark-ing' facts come to the fore – from Megalodon shark to a metalo-maniac shark's remains.
All of us like to believe we are different in some ways. But this section of Human Oddities has a totally new take on the matter. A human unicorn, 1400lbs man and 8'11" man are only some of the people out here to prove to you exactly how different can difference be!
If humans shocked you with their mere existence, the next section of man made wonders is sure to wow you out! We proudly boast of a collection of beautiful artifacts to creative machines ahead of their times. Chinese Camel Bone Carving, Sinatra's painting of only butterflies, multipurpose Foglomobile made out on only roadside war debris, Humbug Major's Candy Machines are only to name a few!
The next section would creep you out unless ofcourse, at some point in time, you have fantasized about witnessing a Roman execution at the Colosseum! The torture chamber is full of ancient torture techniques – electric chairs, premature burial, liar's hell et al. It will actually leave you wondering how it was humanly possible to come up with the concept of having 14 spikes in a coffin to pierce you when you are buried alive in it. Come here to find out why, when and how!
And you can end this very fascinating tour with a little illusion room with puzzles, which play mind games with you and a miniature gallery proving that if not good, very interesting things come in small packages.
With every display, there is a frame with the details about the item. You must not miss to read them as they contain the most absurd facts!

Louis Tussaud Wax Museums Louis Tussaud was the great-grandson of Madam Marie Tussaud. He created his first wax museum in Blackpool, Lancashire. There are less than ten of his wax museums around the world and the only one in India is at Innovative Film City.
The collection at the museum cuts across reality and fiction! It is possible that you would have never imagined what Mona Lisa would look like in real-life – but we at the museum give your imagination a life like visual of her.
You can read with Shakespeare, sing with the Beatles, have a drink with Humphrey Bogart or even woo your favorite Disney Princess. Each wax statue has been created in the time-honoured Louis Tussad craftsmanship.

Gardens and Amphitheater are situated in a section which is a picture-perfect place for photo session. This place is decorated with a super miniature city. Furthermore, there is an amphitheater, which can be hired for arranging some events.

Last but not the least, in the list is Funplex. After completing the enjoying all the attractions, one must visit this place. Star war, Drum king, space ride is some of the attractions; you will definitely enjoy as much as your kids will. There is also a three lane blowing zone and a cricket net.
This section is not covered under the package, so make sure save enough cash to enjoy in this section as they don't accept cards. For the skating lovers, there is a zone where they can put there skating wheels, "Roller Skates." None of us is fond of skating, so we didn't go through this section. This section is also not covered under the package.
The park closes at around 7:00 p.m. Hence We had to put a full stop in our tour and head towards home.

Disclaimer: We went on this trip in Jan’2012 and there are chances that the rates and timing might have changed. Please check with cab service providers and Innovative Film City admin about current timings and rates. I have tried to provide as much information as I can regarding Innovative Film City. You can refer the link Innovative Film City for further details or to contact me @ dutshilpi@gmail.com or comment on the blog.