Recently we took a trip to Bangalore, and from there we also went to Chikmagalur. Today I’m going to talk about my experience in Chikmagalur and the resort we stayed in — Java Rain Resort.

Around Thursday at 6 in the morning, we left Bangalore and reached Chikmagalur around 12–12:30 after all the breaks.

Since the room wasn’t ready yet, we went to have lunch. The spread was good and the taste was amazing.

But one thing that stood out — no matter whether it was dinner, breakfast, or lunch — was the dessert spread. There was ice cream, caramel tart, and so many different things. I loved the dessert spread. For lunch, I didn’t feel like eating much, so I just had a kulcha and some chicken gravy.

After that, we were shown to our room. During that time, they gave us an overview of Java Rain Resort.

The Overview of the Resort.

It’s part of a 30-acre coffee plantation, and the resort itself is spread over 10 acres — the remaining 20 acres are dedicated to coffee.

There are a few types of villas in the resort: the Qahva, the Fika (which comes in three versions — Fika with private pool, Fika with jacuzzi, and Fika view), The Kaffa, and then the Shambhala, which is the biggest villa. In fact, let’s not call them rooms — every stay here is a villa, and it feels very luxurious. When you get a Fika View and Fika Pool together, they’re connected with a shared living room, which is really nice.

Now about our experience itself — we checked in, and I was blown away by the luxury. I didn’t even know there was going to be a big living room. We had two villas — one with a private pool and one with a view — and both had great views. The villa itself was spacious and beautiful.

We asked for extra beds and placed them all in the living room — there was an insane amount of space. In fact, there was even a tree inside the living room!

Three things I loved most about the villa:

1. The private pool. I’ve seen rooms with private pools before, but most of them are so tiny you can reach the other side with a little kick. This one was actually quite long — you could swim a few strokes, which I really enjoyed.
2. The bathroom. You wouldn’t expect me to say this, but the bathroom was one of my favorites. One part had a glass roof where you could see the sky while showering. The sinks were really well designed, and the space was just so nice. I ended up spending 30–40 minutes in the shower — usually I’m done in under 10!
3. The huge living room. So much space, and that indoor tree made it extra cool.

Later that day, I went swimming and loved it. The only downside was that they said the pool was temperature-controlled, but it wasn’t. Still, that was a minor thing. After swimming, I took that long shower I mentioned earlier.

Then we had dinner. Afterward, we played badminton in the outdoor games area — we played for around 45 minutes. Then came high tea: we had onion bhajis and tea, which was great.

Dinner, as always, had a good spread. This time, I went for dessert first — I’m not the kind of person who saves the best for last!

The next day — Friday — was going to be eventful. We planned to check out a few places around Chikmagalur. We left the resort around 5:30 a.m. to go to Mullayanagiri Peak — the highest point in Karnataka.

It was pitch black, and we couldn’t see anything without the headlights. The driver dropped us off in the parking area, and from there we had to trek up.

This was tiring, especially since I had only slept about four hours. I usually sleep much longer.

The trek was about 3 kilometers. We split into groups. One group was my mom, cousin, aunt, and uncle. Another was my dad, my brother, and my cousin sister. I was in the third group with a few others — we were a bit slower.

Later, the groups changed. My uncle and I wanted to catch up with my dad’s group, so we started slow-jogging. Eventually, we caught up. But they came back with some bad news — they were fixing the roads near the top, so it was risky to go all the way. It was possible, but dangerous. They decided to return.

But my uncle? He’s not like the rest — he went for it. He crossed three risky sections and went all the way to the top.

Meanwhile, my group — my dad, mom, brother, aunt, and I — started heading down. My cousin sister had already run down ahead of us.

It was a 20–30 minute walk back, and by then, a crowd had formed. We were among the first to reach in the morning, but now more families were arriving.

We had tea and some noodles at a small shop. Then we visited a few more places. First, a small waterfall — nothing extraordinary, just a few photos.

Next was Jhari Falls (or as I like to call it, Jerry Falls). We had to take a jeep to get there. It was full-on off-road — no proper road, just dirt tracks, hairpin bends, and really steep sections. It felt like the jeep might fall off at times, but the local drivers were pros.

At the end, just before parking, the driver reversed suddenly and it felt like we were going to fall — but we didn’t. It was quite an experience.

The falls were beautiful. We took photos and got close to the water. The only annoyance was the rude cameramen who wouldn’t move when we were trying to take pictures. Here is a photo I took.

Afterward, we took the same bumpy ride back and then visited Baba Budangiri — a holy spot. I liked it because of the cave temple — we had to duck low to avoid the rocky ceiling, which was interesting.

Then we went to Z Point. It’s a trekking spot with a view of a big valley. Personally, it was scary — the slope was steep and one wrong step could’ve been dangerous. I’m scared of heights, so I stayed in the middle area while others explored further.

Eventually, we all regrouped and headed back to the resort. But here’s the thing — the resort called us saying the buffet would close by 10 p.m., and we were still 20 minutes away. We asked them to hold the buffet, and to our surprise, the staff agreed. They held it for another 30 minutes just for us.

The spread wasn’t huge, but the gesture was really appreciated.

That night, we mostly rested. Played a bit more badminton, had high tea, and chilled. Later, we went to a few scenic spots like Crimson Peak and a sunset viewpoint. Got some great photos.

At night, my brother and I took a guitar and went to a small cabin with a view of the moon — it was beautiful.

That night, I finally had a really good sleep. We had planned to wake at 6 a.m. and go to a sunrise point — but we slept through the alarm and only woke at 6:45.

Then, we took some photos. Not to mention, there was a convertible in the resort, and they let us sit inside it and take photos, and that was probably for me the highlight of the resort itself.

The next morning was our last at the resort. We packed, went for a short walk, had breakfast, and left around 11 a.m.

Anyway, that’s it for this post, see you guys next time.