The Heritage Called Hoysala

The Hoysala Kingdom (1187 – 1343 CE)
The Hoysala dynasty ruled over the Southern Deccan region in India between the 10 th and 14 th centuries and comprised large parts of present day Karnataka, and parts of present day Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. The capital of the Hoysala Kingdom was Halebidu (originally Belur). Hoysala architecture is what the kingdom is most renowned for even today. Many temples built during this period still survive across Karnataka, most popularly, the Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu, the Chennakesava Temple at Belur, and the Kesava Temple at Somnathapura.
Art, music, language (Kannada), and religion (Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Srivaishnavism) flourished greatly in South India under Hoysala rule. The Hoysala dynasty, founded by King Nripa Kama II, hailed from Malenadu (in the Chikmagalur district) in the Western Ghats. Subsequently,
kings Vishnuvardhana Raya and Veera Ballala II established the Hoysala empire as an independent Kannadiga power in the Deccan plateau. It was eventually succeeded by the Vijayanagara Empire.

Chikmagalur
A coffee lover’s paradise, Chikmagalur is a hill station and popular holiday destination in the south-western Indian state, Karnataka. Famed for its coffee estates and rainforests, Chikmagalur is situated 3,580 feet above sea level in the Malenad region of the Western Ghats. It is accessible via road and rail; the nearest airport is in Mangalore (150 kms away). Chikmagalur is about 250 kms from the capital city of Bangalore.

Chikmagalur was founded by King Rukmangada. Its official name, Chikkamagaluru, means “younger daughter’s town” in Kannada.
Chikmagalur is where coffee was first grown in India about 350 years ago on the Baba Budan Giri Hills, named after the Sufi pilgrim Baba Budan who first smuggled and sowed coffee seeds from Mecca. Both Robusta and Arabica coffee grow in Chikmagalur.

Places of interest in Chikmagalur include trekking trails at Kemmanagundi and Baba Budangiri, Mullayangiri (the highest peak in the state), Kalhatti and Manikyadhara falls, Badhra Wildlife Sanctuary, Kudremukh National Park, and Kodanda Ramaswamy temple