After the Jhari Falls, our next stop was Mullayanagiri. We reached the base by 5:00 pm, the roads are narrow and winding. The sights are spectacular !! The misty blue green mountains are a glorious sight.

Mullayanagiri is the highest peak in Karnataka (approx. 6400ft). The mountain ranges are called Chandra Drona ranges due to their crescent moon shape (Chandra meaning moon in Hindi); they are also called Baba Buden range and are part of the Western Ghats that run along the west coast of the country.

R K Narayan in his book The Emerald Route describes the legend of Baba Buden, a Muslim saint after whom the mountains were named. “The first generation of coffee plants of India was cultivated in this area. A Muslim saint, Baba Buden after whom the range of mountains is named, arrived from Arabia and settled in this mountainous country bringing with him a handful of coffee seeds; he planted them for his own use around his tabernacle and this was the beginning of coffee cultivation in India.”

The cave containing his tomb is a sacred site for the Muslims. But here’s where the story gets interesting; the cave is also called Dattatreya Peeta and is believed to have provided shelter to Guru Dattatreya and is also a sacred site for the Hindus.  Lord Dattatreya is the combined form of Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva – the Hindu trinity. “It is believed that Dattatreya disappeared into the cave and will reappear when Vishnu incarnates next as Kalki avatar to redeem the world.” says R K Narayan in his book. These legends have earned this place the infamous title of Ayodhya of South India !? There is both a temple and a dargah here.

We wanted to climb up, they views would be worth the walk. But it was getting dark and we decided otherwise.

This covered our sight seeing the first day !! The itinerary is here 👉 An itinerary for Chikmagalur 🌳

Till next post, take care !!