Coorg & Chikmagalur Honeymoon — Four Nights in Two Coffee Districts

The long drive is the first one, done once: west and south-west out of Bengaluru, about 260 km and the better part of six hours, with Bylakuppe as the break — Namdroling Monastery's golden hall is on the road and worth the half hour. The coffee starts at Kushalnagar and the estate is beyond Madikeri. Nothing is scheduled after arrival: the verandah, the first walk into the shade canopy and a dinner on the estate, which is what the first evening of a honeymoon should be.

The jeep leaves before first light for Mandalpatti, the grass ridge above Madikeri where the cloud lies in the valleys below you at sunrise and lifts as you watch — the road is jeep-only and the forest department's permit is arranged for you. Back for a late breakfast. Abbey Falls afterwards, at the end of a plantation path, and the afternoon is yours: the Kaveri at Dubare, the bamboo island at Nisargadhama, or nothing at all. Raja's Seat at sunset, looking west over the ranges, and the estate dinner.

Out of Kodagu by the Kushalnagar road and north through Hassan, about 180 km and four and a half hours between the two districts. Belur is on the way and the Chennakeshava temple of 1117 is the right hour's stop — a World Heritage Site since 2023, and still a working temple with the bracket figures under its eaves. Into the Chikmagalur estate by mid-afternoon, which is higher and quieter than Kodagu, with Mullayanagiri on the skyline. The evening is the estate's.

The summit in the morning while the ridge is clear: the road climbs to within 464 steps of the top of Mullayanagiri at 1,925 m, the highest ground in Karnataka, and the view on a clear day runs to the coast. Baba Budangiri along the range if you want the second summit and the coffee legend that goes with it. Then back down to the estate for the afternoon — the pulping house and the drying yard if the season is on, a walk through the arabica under the shade trees, and the second candlelit dinner.

A last estate morning and then the road east to Bengaluru, about 240 km and five hours through Hassan, for an evening flight. Your Live Traveller journey ends at the airport. If you would rather finish on the coast, Mangaluru airport is 150 km west through the Charmadi ghat and the trip can end there instead — say so when you enquire and we will route the last day accordingly.