Places to see
The falls, peaks and temples people come for. None of these are booked through us — they are here so you know where you are going.
Amruteshwara Temple, Amruthapura
Temple · Tarikere
A Hoysala temple of 1196, built by Amrutheshwara Dandanayaka, a commander under Veera Ballala II, in a quiet village north of Tarikere. Smaller than Belur or Halebidu and almost never crowded, which is the point: you can take your time over the 140 panels that run round the outer hall wall — the Ramayana on the south side, Krishna and the Mahabharata on the north — and the lathe-turned pillars inside. The Bhadra reservoir is ten minutes away for the sunset afterwards.
Free
Ayyanakere
Lake · Kadur
Built in the 12th century by Rukmangada Raya, the chieftain of Sakkarepatna, and enlarged by the Hoysalas in 1156 — one of the largest tanks in the state, about 18 km from Chikkamagaluru. Backed by the Baba Budangiri range; good early-morning birdwatching along the bund.
Free
Baba Budangiri
Peak · Chikkamagaluru
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.
Free
- fort
Ballalarayana Durga
Fort · Mudigere
A ruined Hoysala hill fort at 1,509 m, attributed to the reign of Veera Ballala. The walk up is about 3.8 km from the Kalabhairaveshwara temple at Durgadahalli, two and a half hours at a steady pace, and the usual route continues along the ridge to Bandaje Arbi falls — one of the district’s best two-day traverses. Rani Jhari is on the same ridge.
FreePermit needed
Bhadra Reservoir, Lakkavalli
Lake · Tarikere
The dam across the Bhadra at Lakkavalli backs up a lake dotted with islands, and the islands are where the river terns nest. From about February to June more than a thousand of them wheel over the water, close enough to a boat that you need no binoculars. The rest of the year the backwaters are quiet, with elephant and gaur coming down to drink on the sanctuary shore at dusk. The dam garden is open to the public; the water is best seen from a Forest Department boat.
Free
Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary
Sanctuarie · Tarikere
A Project Tiger reserve of about 492 sq km around the Bhadra reservoir. Tiger, leopard, elephant, gaur, sloth bear and over 250 bird species. Jeep safaris run from the Muthodi range gate with Forest Department naturalists.
FreePermit needed
Charmadi Ghat
Viewpoint · Mudigere
The road from Mudigere down to the coast, twenty-odd kilometres of hairpins through evergreen forest with waterfalls spilling straight onto the tarmac in the monsoon. The lay-bys near the top look down the whole escarpment to the plains. It is a drive rather than a destination, and one of the great ones: stop at Alekhan Horatti for the falls and at any bend for the view.
Free
Devaramane
Viewpoint · Mudigere
A ridge of grassland above the village of Devaramane with an old Kalabhairaveshwara temple at the top, one of the few places in the district where you can watch the sun set over the Western Ghats from a temple courtyard. The road reaches the top, so it suits people who want the view without the trek. The village is coffee and cardamom country and the homestays here are among the quietest in Mudigere.
Free
Deviramma Betta
Peak · Chikkamagaluru
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.
Free
Ettina Bhuja
Peak · Mudigere
A bare rock dome shaped like an ox's shoulder, which is what the name means, standing clear of the grassland above Byrapura. The walk up is about four kilometres through estate and then open hillside, steep only at the end, and the summit ledge looks straight down the escarpment to the coastal plain. It is the easiest of the district's big-view peaks, which makes it the busiest on winter weekends.
FreePermit needed
Gangamoola
Peak · Sringeri
The forested hill inside Kudremukh National Park that is the source of the Tunga, Bhadra and Nethravathi rivers. A Varaha idol and a small shrine mark the spot.
FreePermit needed
Hanuman Gundi Falls
Waterfall · Mudigere
Also called Soothanabbi Falls, inside Kudremukh National Park. Roughly 350 steps descend to a 22 m fall in a rock amphitheatre.
₹50 entry
Hebbe Falls
Waterfall · Tarikere
A two-stage fall dropping roughly 168 m through dense coffee-estate forest below Kemmanagundi, inside the Bhadra reserve. Private cars stop at Kemmanagundi; the last stretch is a rough estate track that only the local 4x4 jeeps run, then a walk of a kilometre or so across the stream to the pool.
Free
Hirekolale Lake
Lake · Chikkamagaluru
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.
Free
Horanadu Annapoorneshwari Temple
Temple · Mudigere
A temple to the goddess of food, deep in the Bhadra valley below the Kudremukh range. What draws people is not the architecture, which is modern, but the rule of the house: nobody who comes is allowed to leave hungry. Free meals are served to every visitor all day in a hall that seats hundreds, and pilgrims may stay the night. The drive in from Kalasa through areca gardens and paddy is one of the prettiest in the district.
Free
Jhari Falls
Waterfall · Chikkamagaluru
Also called Buttermilk Falls for the way the water froths white over the rock. It falls in a coffee estate below Attigundi, reached by a shared jeep down a track that private cars are not allowed on, and the last stretch is a short walk to a pool you can stand in. Busy at weekends in season; go early.
Free
Kalasa and the Kalaseshwara Temple
Temple · Mudigere
A small temple town on the Bhadra, the base for Kudremukh, Horanadu and the Kyathanamakki hills. The Kalaseshwara temple sits on a rise above the river, an old stone shrine with a Dravidian shikhara and a wooden mantapa in the Malnad style. Kalasa itself is worth an hour: a bridge over the Bhadra, a market that sells estate coffee and honey, and every trekking permit office within walking distance.
Free
- waterfall
Kalhatti Falls
Waterfall · Tarikere
Also written Kallathigiri. The stream falls about 40 m directly behind the Veerabhadra temple, so the approach is through the temple courtyard. Easy access, no trek involved — a good stop for families and older travellers.
Free
Kemmanagundi
Viewpoint · Tarikere
A hill station developed as the summer retreat of the Mysore royal family, also called Sri Krishnarajendra Hill Station. Terraced rose garden, Z Point ridge walk and Shanti Falls are all within walking distance of the KSTDC guesthouse.
Free
Kudremukh National Park
Sanctuarie · Mudigere
About 600 sq km of rolling montane grassland and shola forest along the crest of the Western Ghats, one of the largest stretches of that landscape left anywhere. The park protects the source of three rivers and a good population of lion-tailed macaques, tigers and Malabar civets that you will almost certainly not see. What you will see is grass to the horizon, streams every few hundred metres, and cloud moving through the valleys. Kudremukh peak, Gangamoola, Kadambi and Hanuman Gundi falls are all inside it.
FreePermit needed
Kudremukh Peak
Peak · Mudigere
The third-highest peak in Karnataka at 1,894 m, named for a ridge profile shaped like a horse's face. A roughly 18 km return trek through rolling grassland and shola forest inside Kudremukh National Park.
FreePermit needed
Kyathanamakki Hills
Viewpoint · Mudigere
A ridge of open grassland above Kalasa, reached by a rough jeep track that is the reason most people go with a local driver. From the top the view runs across the whole Kudremukh range to the west and down into the Bhadra valley to the east, and in the monsoon the cloud pours over the ridge like a tide. No shop, no shelter, no fee: take water and leave nothing.
₹50 entry
Manikyadhara Falls
Waterfall · Chikkamagaluru
A fine, cold spray falling year-round near the Baba Budangiri shrine. Pilgrims consider the water sacred. Reached by a stepped path lined with tea and snack stalls.
Free
Mullayanagiri
Peak · Chikkamagaluru
The highest peak in Karnataka at 1,930 m. A short, steep stepped climb from the road-head leads to a small Shiva shrine at the summit. The sunrise view over the Baba Budangiri range with mist filling the valleys is the single most photographed scene in the district.
Free