Chikmagalur

Chikmagalur, set among the misty hills of the Western Ghats in Karnataka, is the birthplace of Indian coffee and the beating heart of the country's coffee culture — a landscape of rolling green plantations, cardamom and pepper vines, silver-oak shade trees, and the rich aroma of roasting beans that has earned it the title "Land of Coffee." The story began in the 17th century when, by tradition, the legendary traveller Baba Budan brought seven coffee beans from Yemen and planted them in the hills that now bear his name — the Baba Budangiri range — making this the oldest coffee-growing region in India.

• Today an estate stay or plantation walk, learning how the cherries are picked, pulped, dried, and roasted, and waking to fresh filter coffee in the cool mountain air, is the quintessential Chikmagalur experience.
• The region is also a trekker's and nature-lover's paradise: Mullayanagiri, at about 1,930 metres, is the highest peak in Karnataka and a spectacular sunrise climb; the Baba Budangiri ridge, Kemmanagundi hill station, and the Z Point and Mullayanagiri trails offer sweeping Western Ghats panoramas; and the Hebbe, Jhari (Buttermilk), and Kalhatti waterfalls tumble through the forest.
• The Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary protects tigers, elephants, and the great Indian bison, while the magnificent Hoysala temples of Belur and Halebidu lie within easy reach.
• The Mullayanagiri sunrise, Hirekolale Lake at dusk, and the Sringeri Sharada Peetham — one of the four mathas established by Adi Shankaracharya — add spiritual and scenic depth to a journey through Karnataka's fragrant coffee country in the Western Ghats.
• For vegetarian travellers, the Malnad cuisine of these hills is a treat: akki rotti (rice flatbread), kadubu (steamed rice dumplings), neer dosa with coconut chutney, bisi bele bath, and of course estate-fresh filter coffee.
• The best season is September to March, with the post-monsoon months greenest.