The district town and the usual base: Mullayanagiri and Baba Budangiri rise behind it, and most estate homestays are within an hour’s drive.
A range named after the Sufi saint Baba Budan, who is credited with bringing the first coffee seeds to India. The Dattatreya Peetha shrine here is revered by both Hindus and Muslims. Grassy shola slopes, wind-swept ridges and long ridge walks.
A steep grassy cone opposite Mullayanagiri with a shrine at the top that opens once a year, on Naraka Chaturdashi, the first day of Deepavali, when thousands climb it in the dark for the morning darshana. Every other day the hilltop temple is shut and the hill is yours: a long, steady climb from the Deviramma temple at Bindiga — three to four hours up, about two down — to the best outside view there is of the Chandra Drona range, Mullayanagiri and Baba Budangiri in one frame.
An irrigation lake ringed by the Chandra Drona hills, about 10 km from Chikkamagaluru town. Still water and a clean western horizon make it the town's default sunset spot.