After October’s trip to coastal Goa, it was time to hit the mountains this time around.
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Ride to Villa Aroor, Koppa (November 2024)
November is the month when winter season usually sets in, and after October’s trip to coastal Goa, it was time to hit the mountains this time around. We wanted to just do a relaxed trip to an offbeat place for variety. The better half had already chosen the next place on the Ninja trip calendar as usual. This time it was a 120-year old, boutique heritage bungalow called Villa Aroornestled in the tea plantations of rural Truga short distance away from Shimoga and Chikmagalur towns. Generally Karnataka is more famous for coffee estates and Tea plantations are quite rare and few in number, but this region in Koppa seems to have favoured Tea over coffee, and there are almost 3000-4000 acres of tea plantations in this high-altitude region between Balehonnur and Koppa, much to our surprise. Villa Aroor as we found out later, belongs to the Mysore plantations group who has been in the tea growing industry since many decades and owns ~2000 acres of tea plantations there, in addition to another ~2000 acres of coffee estates.
This was just an extended weekend plan and the place was hardly ~330km from home, so it would be a simple plan of relaxing on one day, exploring the place a bit on the second day with some easy hikes, and relaxing and returning leisurely on the third day.
We left home by around 5.30AM and took NICE road towards the Hassan highway. Winter season made its presence felt as we encountered thick fog and very cold morning winds which literally froze our fingers despite the gloves. Taking a short break at the first toll on Hassan highway, roughly 60km from home
Breakfast was done at Paakashala, Yediyur, roughly ~120km into the ride. Routine splash and dash breakfast break
Taking another quick break at the last toll of Hassan highway, before breaking off towards Belur and Chikmagalur
Stopping at Magadi lake near Chikmagalur to take in some scenic views in the winter morning sun
By roughly around 10.30AM we were in Chikmagalur town. We were still too early to our destination, so we decided to take a short break at one quaint little cafe called Butter & Co., located on Indira Gandhi road in Chikmagalur town.
We were the first customers there as they apparently open only at 10.30AM.
Since we had breakfast just a couple of hours ago and weren’t hungry as such, we just settled for hot chocolate, cold coffee and shared a piece of Three Milks pastry.
Post this break, we resumed our journey towards Koppa, taking the Chikmagalur – Aldur – Balehonnur route. While the same roads were so nice during some rides in the previous months, they had got battered and were broken in several patches this time around. Nonetheless the scenery was enjoyable and we were coasting at a relaxed pace, enjoying the fresh air and sights of the greenery of coffee estates all around.
We had to break off from the Balehonnur-Jayapura road to take a diversion towards Koppa. These were then very narrow roads but the road quality was excellent, allowing us to enjoy some twisties in peace (from potholes).
Roughly 20km into this road, the tarmac patch ended and the last mile connectivity to the property was through their private tea estate road with mud and stones, not less than off-roading for this sportbike 
After a kilometre or so of following the direction boards on the mud and stone trails inside the tea estate, we arrived at the bungalow by roughly around half past noon.
The friendly staff greeted us with refreshing welcome drinks, and on casually enquiring we were happy to hear – our luck continues with regards to occupancy, and once again we happened to be the only guests in the entire property on the dates that we were staying there (in spite of there being three other rooms apart from ours) .
There were four rooms in total, each with different color themes and differentiated amenities. We had opted for the ‘Yellow room’, themed in yellow and brown interiors, had spacious bathroom with dressing area, and a giant size Jacuzzi. What better way to enjoy the mountains’ cold weather!
The interiors were put together with a lot of attention to detail to ensure a tastefully antique yet contemporary theme, with the fireplace and retro switchboard, etc.
Large and spacious bathroom and dressing area with a portion of it overlooking the mountains
Huge Jacuzzi – one of the largest ones I have experienced in recent times!
The bedroom had another door which opened up to this large private garden area, overlooking the vast expanse of tea plantations. Apt for lazing around with a morning or evening cup of tea or coffee.
Private garden accessible from the room
There was also a sit-out next to this small garden where they would serve snacks or tea/coffee, which we later enjoyed sitting at and watching the sunset
The living room was compact but airy and spacious thanks to the glass walls on three sides. It was decently stocked with some interesting books and indoor games for timepass moments.
The passage leading to the rooms. This was a 120-year old bungalow, and as is the case with most heritage properties of this vintage, the ceiling was really really high, almost 3X the height of normal contemporary houses.
Soon it was time for lunch and we stepped into the dining room to check it out. It was again tastefully done up, with a large table made of a single piece of antique wood, and two sides of the room opened up to the picturesque vistas around.
There was also a gourmet DIY Coffee table kept in the dining area, in case guests wanted to help themselves to savour different coffee brews, all from home-grown coffee from the bungalow’s owning company’s estates.
Meals were set menu type, prepared after taking into consideration preferences before every meal. They were quite eager to serve a mix of traditional (Malnad) fare from the local region, and we gladly agreed. We are eggetarians and they were happy to serve us something with egg and veg dishes in every meal. Lunch spread consisted of Rotis, Rice with some flavourful Sabjis and Gulab Jamuns to end the meal on a sweet note
After lunch and some timepass, we stepped out in the evening to take a stroll around the property and enjoy the views of the setting sun against the backdrop of the tea estates all around.
Evening snacks of Pakora and peanut masala were served with piping hot cups of tea at this lovely sit-out area overlooking the sunset
After playing some indoor games for a while, it was soon time for an early dinner. The folks here must have got fed up of folks such as myself asking “What’s in the menu?” for every meal, so they had a notice board where the next meal’s menu was written, lol!
Dinner was a lovely mix of local dishes, each one more delicious than the other.
After a good night’s sleep, we woke up early the next morning and decided to take a stroll around the bungalow area. I also decided to get the drone out to catch some morning views of the property’s location.
Ninja with the morning sunshine, drenched in early morning dew
Bird’s eye views of the bungalow nestled amidst the tea estates
Continue reading BHPian KarthikK’s road trip experience for more insights and information.
