Chikkamagaluru district

At about 1,930 m the highest peak in Karnataka, a grassy summit of the Baba Budan range near Chikkamagaluru topped by a small Shiva shrine (Mullappa Swamy); a motorable road climbs to a saddle, from where a short stepped path leads to the top and sweeping Western Ghats views. This trek guide belongs to the Chikkamagaluru planning base in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved.

A sacred mountain range north of Chikkamagaluru named after the Sufi saint Baba Budan, credited with first bringing coffee to India; its cave shrine (the Dattatreya Peetha) is revered by Hindus and Muslims alike, and the ridge has grassy trails and viewpoints. This hill station guide belongs to the Chikkamagaluru planning base in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved.

A thin, sacred cascade on the Baba Budangiri slopes where pilgrims stand in the spray, believed to have healing powers; reached by a short walk down steps from the road near the Dattatreya shrine. This waterfall guide belongs to the Chikkamagaluru planning base in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved.

A calm irrigation lake ringed by coffee hills a few kilometres from Chikkamagaluru town, a popular spot for sunset views over the water with the Baba Budan range behind. This heritage guide belongs to the Chikkamagaluru planning base in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved.

One of the largest lakes in Karnataka, a centuries-old tank below the Baba Budan hills near Sakharayapatna, ringed by farmland and hills — a quiet birding and sunset spot. This heritage guide belongs to the Chikkamagaluru planning base in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved.

A tiger reserve on the Bhadra river around Muthodi, its dry and moist deciduous forest sheltering tigers, elephants, gaur, sambar and rich birdlife; jeep safaris run from the Muthodi range. This wildlife guide belongs to the Chikkamagaluru planning base in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved.

A 45-metre cascade beside the living Kalhatti Veerabhadreshwara Temple on the road below Kemmanagundi. Karnataka Tourism places it 10 km from the hill station; wet rock becomes hazardous during strong flow. This waterfall guide belongs to the Kemmanagundi planning base in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved.

A Hoysala temple of 1196 CE to Amrutesvara (Shiva) at Amruthapura in Tarikere taluk, on a star-shaped plan with a fine tower, a long inscribed hall and detailed friezes — a quieter cousin of Belur and Halebidu. This temple guide belongs to the Kemmanagundi planning base in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved.

The temple of goddess Sharadamba at Sringeri, seat of the Sharada Peetham — the first of the four mathas founded by Adi Shankaracharya — on the bank of the Tunga river; a major centre of learning and pilgrimage. This temple guide belongs to the Sringeri planning base in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved.

A 14th-century temple in the Sringeri math complex blending Hoysala and Vijayanagara styles, famous for its twelve zodiac pillars set so that sunlight falls on the pillar of the solar month, and for its finely carved outer walls. This temple guide belongs to the Sringeri planning base in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved.

A broad tiered waterfall of about 40 feet in forest above Kigga, 15.6 km by road from Sringeri, reached by around fifty laid steps from a car park. People bathe at the base in moderate flow, but it is loose boulders and slick rock — not a paddling pool. This waterfall guide belongs to the Sringeri planning base in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved.

At about 1,894 m the second-highest peak in Karnataka, a "horse-face"-shaped summit in the Kudremukh National Park; a permit-controlled day trek crosses rolling shola grassland and streams to the top. This trek guide belongs to the Kudremukh planning base in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved.

A waterfall inside the Kudremukh National Park, reached down a long flight of steps, dropping around 30 m into a rocky pool amid rainforest; also known as Soojipara. This waterfall guide belongs to the Kudremukh planning base in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved.

A riverside temple to Adi Shakthyathmaka Annapoorneshwari, goddess of food and nourishment, at Horanadu on the Bhadra, where every pilgrim is offered a free meal; a key stop on the Sringeri–Kalasa temple circuit. This temple guide belongs to the Kudremukh planning base in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved.

A tiered waterfall on a Bhadra headstream that drops about 168 metres in two stages, the upper Dodda Hebbe and the lower Chikka Hebbe. It stands in the middle of a working coffee estate roughly 8 km below Raj Bhavan, and the last stretch is not driveable in an ordinary car: the accepted way in is a shared four-wheel-drive jeep from Kemmanagundi followed by a walk of about a kilometre, with stream crossings. Full and loud from June to about December; a trickle by March.

The Karnataka government's own accommodation on the hill, run by Jungle Lodges and Resorts, which took over the guest houses and the restaurant here on 1 March 2021 by government order. Rooms are spread across named blocks and cottages — Virupaksha, Budangiri, Narayana Kuteera and Kallathi — and packages include meals, a guided Z Point trek and the jeep trip down to Hebbe Falls. Book direct through the numbers below rather than an agent; this is the only sizeable place to sleep at the top of Kemmanagundi.

The math runs seven pilgrim guest houses beside the Sharada temple — Shankara Kripa, Sharada Kripa, Yatri Nivas, Bharathi Tirtha Vihara, Shankara Sadana, Srinivasa Kripa and Bharati Tirtha Krupa — with rooms and shared dormitory halls for groups. Only a minimum kannikai is collected, towards upkeep rather than as a room rate.

Dining hall. Sri Sharada Temple complex, Sringeri, Karnataka 577139.

The terraced flower garden that is the centre of Kemmanagundi, laid out on the hillside and maintained by the Horticulture Department of Karnataka, with roses grown in quantity. The hill station was Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV's summer retreat and he gave it to the state; the gardens and the Raj Bhavan guest house inside them are what he left behind. Level walking, benches, and the view straight out over the valley — the part of Kemmanagundi that suits people who are not going to walk up to Z Point.

The vantage point above Kemmanagundi, reached by a steep uphill walk of about forty-five minutes from Raj Bhavan — no vehicle goes up, and Shanthi Falls is passed on the way. The reward is the open western face of the Baba Budan range falling away in ridges, and it is the sunset walk everyone staying on the hill is sent on. Start it with daylight in hand: coming down the same path in the dark, on loose ground, is how people get hurt here.

The desk beside the Sharada temple main entrance that allots the math guest houses. The math's own facilities page says rooms are first come, first served and advance reservation is not accepted; a later math announcement launched online booking for a pilot batch of 100 rooms at yatri.sringeri.net. Both are the math's own words, so check on the day.

The state Horticulture Department's guest house, standing inside the Krishnarajendra botanical park and still called Raj Bhavan after the Mysore king whose summer retreat this was. It is the landmark everything on the hill is measured from — the Z Point path and the Hebbe Falls jeeps both start here — and it takes visitors in a plain, government-run way rather than as a resort. Rooms go through the Horticulture Department, not through a booking site, so enquire ahead; turning up unannounced in season is optimistic.

The Veerabhadra temple built into the rock at Kallathi, about 10 km from Kemmanagundi, where the stream comes over the cliff above and falls past the shrine. The temple is attributed to Vijayanagara times, and local tradition ties the place to the sage Agastya. It is a living temple rather than a monument, so footwear comes off and the rock underfoot is wet and slick most of the year. The waterfall itself has its own page on this site.

A homestay of independent cottages on Glendale Farms at Ballavara, on the Kemmanagundi road below the hill station, taking guests since 2010. It sits in its own grounds with a swimming pool, a campfire and walks out through the plantation, and it books direct on its own site and phone rather than through a platform. Being partway up the hill it works as a base for both Kemmanagundi and the Baba Budan range, and it is a different proposition from the government rooms at the top.