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.
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
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
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
Rani Jhari Viewpoint
Viewpoint · Mudigere
A cliff edge above Durgadahalli, near Sunkasale and next door to Ballalarayana Durga, where the Western Ghats fall away in one sheer drop to the Dakshina Kannada plain. It is a walk of about 1.5 km from the Kalabhairaveshwara temple at Durgadahalli — half an hour, no scrambling. Local legend gives it its name: Rani Padmini is said to have leapt from here rather than be taken by Tipu Sultan. Gatikallu viewpoint is a few minutes further along the same edge.
Free
Z Point
Viewpoint · Tarikere
A 45-minute walk from Kemmanagundi along a shola-edged path to a cliff nose looking out over the Bhadra valley. Named for the zig-zag approach.
Free