Mullayanagiri Hills, Chikmagalur

After the thrilling experience at Hebbe Falls, we were back on the road to our final destination of the day – Mullayanagiri. At 6,330 ft, Mullayanagiri Hill is the highest peak in Karnataka. Yet again, the ride to our destination was very exciting but not without dangers. At a couple of places we noticed that parts of road were lost to landslides. Some crazy drivers coming at maddening speeds don’t help things either. Add to that the wet roads and you got a nightmare ahead of you. Inexperienced drivers better stay away.

Needless to say, the higher you climb the colder it gets. That we were wet from the waterfalls we visited, only added to our woes. The upward climb seemed not to end, as we take hairpin after hairpin bends on narrower roads. And finally after an agonizing wait and some anxious moments when we had to back up at a hair pin bend to give way for another car, we finally ground to a halt. If you thought, we just reached the highest point in Karnataka, then hold on. What lay ahead of us, we were just not prepared for it. Some 600-700 odd steps that led to a temple (Yes, if there’s a hilltop in South India, there’s a temple sitting on it) is the highest point in Karnataka. But we were all equally determined to reach the highest peak in Karnataka. We huffed and puffed out way to the top. Tiring as it may be, it was well worth the effort in gold.
 

From the highest peak in Karnataka we had a fantastic view of miles and miles of greenery all around. The clouds hovered somewhere below us and we could actually see them move around the hill we were standing on, completely obstructing our view wherever they moved to. Mullayanagiri, is truly an amazing place to be. And we probably were there at the right time. We only wished we could stay there a little longer. But considering we had to go back that dangerous road to Chikmagalur, we decided to leave early.

We rode back to hotel with a strange feeling in our heads. On the one hand we were a little disappointed that our wonderful little weekend was coming to an end, and on the other hand we were all happy souls within. Happy to have had an experience so few are fortunate to…

 

Getting-there: Some 30-odd kms from Chikmagalur Town

Must-Do: Drive slowly and carefully and stay off the cliff-edges.
Must-Don’t: Rash Driving, Drinking, Littering.

My Rating: 8.5/10