Chikmagalur

Coffee is said to have reached India when Baba Budan, returning from Mecca in the seventeenth century, carried seven beans strapped to his body past an Arab export ban and planted them in these hills, which are still called the Baba Budangiri range. The district became the centre of Indian coffee and remains so, with estates growing arabica and robusta under shade trees across the slopes, many taking guests. Mullayanagiri, at 1,930 metres the highest point in Karnataka, is climbed from a road below the summit. Hebbe and Kalhatti falls, Bhadra tiger reserve and misty ghat roads fill the rest.

The landscape

• The coffee estates - arabica and robusta under shade trees, open to stay.
• Mullayanagiri - Karnataka's highest peak, with a short climb to the top.
• Baba Budangiri - the range named for the man who brought the beans.
• The waterfalls - Hebbe and Kalhatti in the surrounding hills.

When to go

October to March; the monsoon is very heavy and roads become difficult, though the hills are greenest. Coffee harvest runs from November to February. Blossom, briefly white across the estates, comes with the first spring rains.

Before you go

Roads to the peaks and falls are rough and some require jeeps. Estate stays vary from luxury to basic. The monsoon brings leeches and landslides. Weekend crowds from Bengaluru are heavy.

Nearby

Kudremukh lies west; Bhadra reserve is north.

Key facts