Chikmagalur – A Trip with Family

Some trips are more about, time with family than ticking off touristy spots, off bucket lists. This was one such road trip, I took with family, last weekend.

With 4 kids, ages ranging between 18 months to 11 years; the weekend road trip from Bengaluru to Chikmagalur was more about being in the moment and going with the flow.

Where we stayed:

We had booked ourselves at Commune 18, after having read some good reviews on booking.com. This 16 acre property, built with nature all around, is primarily based on workcation theme, targeting the corporate crowd, who like to work away from the city noise, while communing with nature.

There are two sections – the older part which is rustic by design and a new part which is modern and comes with swimming pool facility. The older part is meant mostly for couples / corporate crowd. We stayed at the newly built section of the property, but often found ourselves wandering into their old area, which is colorful and has a more chilled out appeal to it. We connected our phone to their hi-tech music system, and entertained ourselves, on the 2 evenings we were there 🙂

On some evenings, their are guitar / ukulele and signing session, organized impromptu, around the bonfire pit.

What we did:

Coming to doing touristy stuff, we skipped Mullayanagiri, one of the main tourist spot in Chikmagalur, just thinking about the 400 steps we would have to climb with kids at toe. I did want to visit this highest peak in Karnataka, located in the Western Ghats of Chikmagalur Taluk. However, that will have to wait.

All touristy spots are about 45 – 60 minutes away from Commune 18 (which is about 8 kms away from the town).We chose to visit Jhari Falls instead and give our kids some time, with nature.

Jhari Falls or Buttermilk falls is located on the way to Baba Budangiri (pilgrimage center for both Hindus and Muslims) from Chikmagalur and is surrounded by dense forest and coffee plantations. The waterfall is situated in a private property and can be approached by shared Jeeps at the cost of Rs.700. However, when we arrived there, there were no jeeps available, hence trekking was the only option left for us.

Although, we were told that private vehicles weren’t allowed, there were people who braved driving on this red-soiled-rugged-and-steep path, up to a certain point. May be they were allowed since jeep weren’t available, I have no idea. In the hindsight, walking was a good option.

Our angelic kids walked 5 kms (approximate distance to and fro) without much complaints despite the fact that, the Sun was at its peak when we started our trek. It is advisable to carry water-bottle, sunscreen, a scarf to cover your head or an umbrella, if you plan to trek to the Jhari waterfalls. There are break-time options available, with small-time vendors selling cut fruits, buttermilk, cucumbers, coconut water and ice-creams en-route.

I am assuming that Buttermilk Falls was probably named for the white, milky and frothy appearance of its churning waters, which am sure looks majestic and grand during monsoon season. Traveling during peak summer, we had our doubts if the waterfall would be dry and was worth the visit. However, Buttermilk falls didn’t disappoint us.

There was ample water for us and the other tourists like us, to get in and stand under spots that offered gushing waterfall. I stood there absorbed in meditation for sometime, as chilled water soaked me top to bottom. One word of caution, there are no changing rooms. Throwing our concerns to wind, we simply waded into the water and hoped that our clothes will dry on its own, on our trek back. And they did, to some extent. Plus side of trekking on this sunny afternoon. 🙂

Having worked up our appetite, we were ready for some butter dosas at the Town Canteen, which we were told were a must try, along with their soft melt in the mouth gulab jamuns. Dosas were super buttery and tasted good, however, personally, I felt it was bit of a hype.

Coffee museum, at Chikamagalur, is closed over the weekends, which was surprising. I would assume, that museums would get better footfalls during a weekend. Anyways, we head to Panduranga Cafe on MG Road, only because we were told that they offered a small tour of their factory, located behind their shop. This one was mainly for the kids.

Our kids and us, spent some time, smelling coffee beans and learning the process that goes behind the making of filter coffee. The shop sells different variants of coffee along with masala tea and filter coffee maker. If you are planning to pick a filter coffee maker, I suggest you check the ones they have. We bought one, and are quite happy with it’s simple functionality.

Other details:

Travel dates – 6 to 8 May 2022

Time taken – Approximately 6 hrs ( with restroom and lunch break) from Bengaluru -Kanakapura to Commune 18, on Kadur Road in Chikmagalur.

Lunch – We chose to have a late lunch at Commune 18. Food options are limited however decent. They also have on sale grape wine. A bottle can be purchased at the cost of Rs.500, to be paid in cash at the cafeteria. You must try some.

On our Return journey to Bengaluru – We took a lunch pitstop at Empire Hotel, on the Highway offering both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food options.

Other places to visit in Chikamagalur – Gaalikere Lake, Muthodi forest, Kemmannugundi, Hebbe falls, Yagachi Dam water sports (contact: 098458 93857); Malayamarutha, Ayyanakere Lake, Kavikalgandi, Seethalayyana Mata along with many other temples.

Things to buy- Coffee, Tea, Cardamom, Pepper, Green Tea,Honey, Macroni biscuits, locally grown cucumbers.

Oh, btw did I mention that Commune 18 is a pet-friendly place? Here…meet Goli and George……….the resident pets who are very chilled out!