Kalhattigiri Falls

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 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 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.

A garden of paths cut through the rock a few hundred metres east of the main flower park, planted along the cuttings and also kept by the Karnataka Horticulture Department. It faces west and it is where people gather for the sunset if they do not want the climb to Z Point. Small — half an hour covers it — and best combined with the botanical park next door rather than made a trip of its own.

The restaurant attached to the government hill resort, and effectively the only regular kitchen at the top of Kemmanagundi — everything else on the hill is a tea stall. Jungle Lodges has run it along with the guest houses since March 2021, and meals are built into the resort packages. If you are not staying, ring ahead or ask at the reception rather than assuming you can walk in, and if you are heading out to Hebbe Falls or Z Point for the day, carry water and something to eat, because there is nothing at either end.

A small waterfall on the footpath between Raj Bhavan and Z Point, about a kilometre up from the gardens — water coming off the hill above and dropping into the valley beside the trail. Nobody drives to it; you meet it because you are walking to the viewpoint, which is why it is often missed by visitors who only do the gardens. Modest for most of the year and worth the detour after rain.

A second Horticulture Department guest house, this one down at Kallathi village beside the Kallathigiri falls and the rock-cut Veerabhadra temple, about 10 km from the Kemmanagundi gardens. It is basic government accommodation rather than a hotel and it exists mainly because the falls draw people, but it is a genuine option if the rooms at the top of the hill are full. Enquire through the Horticulture Department; there is no booking site.