Chikmagalur Travel Guide

Chikmagalur, known as the "Coffee Land of Karnataka," sits in the foothills of the Mullayanagiri range, home to Karnataka's highest peak at 1,930 metres. Coffee cultivation here traces back to the 1670s, when the Sufi saint Baba Budan is said to have planted the first seven beans smuggled out of Yemen on the hillside that now bears his name, and the district still produces a large share of India's arabica crop. Estates carpet the slopes in deep green, with the scent of drying coffee cherries settling over the town during harvest season between November and February. Waterfalls, trekking trails and viewpoints across the range draw visitors from Bangalore and Mysore for weekend breaks, and the cooler air at elevation makes it one of Karnataka's most reliable hill-station getaways.

Being the largest producer of coffee in the country, Chikmagalur is mainly all about its coffee.  So if you’re a coffee enthusiast as well as a nature lover, taking a walk through one (or a few) of the numerous coffee plantations in the city is a must-do activity. Many of these coffee estates not only allow visitors to take guided tours through the plantations, but they also provide home-stays right within the estates, so you can literally wake up to and end your day with the smell of coffee in the air.

Chikmagalur is a very popular trekking spot and boasts of many incredible trekking trails, such as the Mullayangiri trek, the Kemmanagundi trek, and the Baba Budangiri trek. Mullayangiri is the highest peak in all of Karnataka and is the best place to get a perfect view of the sun rising from behind the mountains.