Hirekolale Lake-Chikmagalur

The immediate thought comes to mind when we hear about 'Chikmagalur' is hill station, rolling hills, coffee plantation, evergreen jungle, and lakes. Yes, during this visit we settled on two lakes which were not frequented by many or so we thought.

Hirekolale Lake is at a distance of 10 km from Chikmagalur city. The original idea was to be there for sunrise to capture the hues of orange, pink, tangerine, and lilac of sky; to hear the melody of birds welcoming the new dawn; to escape the hot summer morning. Again, late night shenanigans stopped us from doing so. The drive oscillated between thick forest, remote village, and coffee estates. By the time we arrived at the lake the sun was bright, blazing, and humid. Parked tourist bus guaranteed us the usual summer crowd.

The main goal of constructing this reservoir was to supply water to Chikmagalur town as well as nearby villages for irrigation. The well-known  Mullayyanagiri hills loomed behind the lake in cluster. As we walked towards the lake cold wind blew softly giving us temporary respite from scorching heat. We saw few people picnicking in the little shade and kids running amok. we wandered along the trail clicking photos in between for sometime. If it was dawn or dusk we would have spent considerable amount of time on the lake bank.  Slowly the crowd started dwindling. Few troublesome youth arrived from nowhere loitering around catcalling. This irked us to no end. The area was totally desolated. Sensing the distress we immediately left the place. Those youth could be nothing more than a mischievous bunch. Or they could be really dangerous. In a situation like this always trust your intuition. And both our instincts told us to get away from that place as quick as possible. And the scorching heat beat us down mercilessly.

No doubt the lake is serene and beautiful. We could only imagine its grandiose when the sun sets.

Distance: 10 KM from Chikmagalur
Entry Fee: None
Best Season: September-March
Best Time: Early morning or evening
Transport: Hire a car/opt for one day Chikmagalur tour in a private cab 
Points to Remember:
No boating
No pets allowed
Go in small groups if you're visiting during odd hours

Coffee Tales

"I'd rather take coffee than compliments just now."— Louisa May Alcott

Our previous post was about Coffee Museum, Chikmagalur. In that we couldn't add tiny tidbits about the evolution of coffee. These are quite intriguing and fun facts. Without much ado;

Arabian Nights: Around 1000 AD Arab traders brought back coffee to their homeland from Ethiopia. They created the first ever coffee plantation. They invented a drink named 'Qahwa', one which prevents sleep. It was illegal to carry coffee seeds out of Arabia for a longtime.

Coffee Alimony: In 1453 the Ottoman Turks introduced coffee to Constantinople. Although, the world's first coffee shop, "Kiva Han" opened in 1475, the Turkish law permitted women to divorce their husbands if they failed to provide them with coffee.

Penny Universities: In 1652 Coffee houses were in vogue and became intellectual forums, later dubbed as "penny universities" a penny being the price for a cup of coffee. It was in these coffee houses that the word TIPS (To Insure Prompt Service) originated.

Dutch Connection: In 1690 the Dutch smuggled coffee plants out of Arabia, and are credited to be the first to transport and cultivate coffee commercially in Ceylon and Java.

Bean Bouquet: In 1727 the coffee industry in Brazil was born out of a bouquet of flowers presented to Lieutenant Colonel Francisco de Melo Palheta by the wife of the French Guiana governor, who was enamoured by his good looks. The bouquet contained cuttings and fertile seeds of coffee.

      
Thanks to Boston: In 1773 Coffee was brought to New Amsterdam, later called New York by the British. Though coffee houses rapidly began to appear, tea continued to be the favoured drink in the New World until the Boston Tea Party, which made coffee drinking a patriotic duty in America.

Courtesy of the article is information availed from the Coffee Museum gallery. There are few more that could very well go into the list, maybe in the later post.