The Baba Budan Hills (also known as Baba Budangiri or Dattagiri) is a prominent mountain range located in the Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka. It is part of the Western Ghats and is immensely famous in Indian geography for two main reasons: Coffee and Iron Ore.
The number 'Seven' is considered sacred in Islam, which is why legend says Baba Budan smuggled exactly seven coffee beans. The original planting site is still venerated by locals today.
The Baba Budan Hills are historically renowned as the birthplace of coffee cultivation in India.
The Legend: According to history, in the 17th century, a Sufi saint named Baba Budan went on a pilgrimage to Mecca. While traveling through Yemen, he discovered coffee. Since it was illegal to export live coffee seeds from the Arab world, he secretly smuggled seven raw coffee beans hidden in his beard.
He returned to India and planted them in the hills of Chikkamagaluru. The hills were later named after him. Today, Karnataka produces over 70% of India's coffee, and it all started on these very slopes!
Economically, the Baba Budan Hills are highly significant for their vast mineral wealth.
The hills contain extremely high-grade Iron Ore deposits (primarily magnetite). The iron ore extracted from the Baba Budangiri range and the nearby Kemmangundi area has historically supplied the Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant (VISL) at Bhadravati.
No, it is not a national park, but the surrounding forests are part of the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, which is rich in biodiversity and home to tigers, leopards, and elephants.
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