What to expect
Highlights
- The twin black karst rock spires.
- The Shiva cave shrine at the base.
- The forest walk through rich Sahyadri greenery.
Yana
Yana is famous for two towering spires of black crystalline karst rock — the Bhairaveshwara Shikhara and the smaller Mohini Shikhara — rising abruptly from dense Sahyadri forest, among the most unusual rock formations in the Western Ghats.
Practical guide
Plan Yana
Who's going?Tailor Yana to your trip
Typetrek
Nearest baseSirsi
DistrictUttara Kannada
Best timeOctober to February
Time needed2 to 3 hours including the walk
EntryFree
Places to visit8→A cave shrine to Shiva at the base of the Bhairaveshwara rock makes it a pilgrimage site as well as a trekking and nature spot, reached by a forest walk.
Getting there
How to visit
- ~40 km from Sirsi and ~25 km from Kumta; drive to the trailhead, then a forest walk of ~30 minutes to the rocks.
- Wear good shoes for the walk; it can be slippery and leech-prone after rain — carry water and go in daylight.
Distance by road
- Panaji (Goa)100 km
- Hubballi165 km
- Udupi175 km
- Mangaluru270 km
- Bengaluru500 km
Road km to Uttara Kannada; ghat roads and traffic vary — allow extra.
Timing
Best time
October to February; the forest is lush just after the monsoon but wet and leechy.
Weather in YanaSeasonal guide
Live forecast loads in your browser.
Today at Yana
Sunrise6:20 am
Sunset6:43 pm
Golden hour best light5:43 pm–6:43 pm
Blue hour after sunset6:43 pm–7:08 pm
Sun sets toward compass bearingW · 278°
Moon tonight🌖 Waning gibbous · 64%
South-west monsoon. June to September brings heavy rain to Karnataka. Trails, falls and ghat roads can be slippery, swollen or closed at short notice, and forest departments sometimes suspend access. Check locally on the day before you travel.
Sun and moon are calculated for this location and shown in IST. Photography windows are the hour around sunrise and sunset; the sunset bearing is degrees clockwise from true north. Moon phase is accurate to about half a day.
Visitor notes
- A forest trail to a pilgrimage rock — footwear off at the shrine, wear shoes for the walk, and watch for leeches after rain.
Photos
Yana in pictures
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Stays, food & things to do near Yana
Verified hotels, homestays, restaurants, experiences, sights, shops and rentals around Yana — commission-free, with direct contact. Filter by what you need.
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Top experiences around Sirsi
7 more places around Sirsi, each worth a day of its own.
templeSirsi Marikamba Temple
The largest temple to the goddess Marikamba (Durga) in Karnataka, at Sirsi, famous for its biennial Marikamba Jatra — one of the biggest fairs in the state.
waterfallUnchalli Falls
28.0 km · ~47 min by cab
Also called Lushington Falls — where the Aghanashini river plunges about 116 m into a forested gorge near Siddapura, viewed from a platform after a short forest walk.
waterfallSathodi Falls
A wide waterfall where a tributary of the Kali drops into a pool amid forest near Yellapur, backed by the Kodasalli reservoir.
waterfallMagod Falls
A waterfall near Yellapur where the Bedti (Gangavali) river drops in two leaps of around 200 m into a wooded gorge, seen from a viewpoint.
heritageSahasralinga
Over a thousand Shiva lingas and Nandis carved into the bed and banks of the Shalmala river ~14 km from Sirsi — exposed in the dry season and submerged in the monsoon.
heritageSonda Vadiraja Matha
The Vadiraja (Sode) matha at Sonda ~20 km from Sirsi — one of the Ashta Mathas of Udupi and a major Dvaita pilgrimage centre around the Vadiraja Brindavana, with a Jain basadi nearby.
templeManjuguni Venkataramana Temple
11.1 km · ~19 min by cab
A forest Venkataramana (Vishnu) temple ~26 km from Sirsi — a regional pilgrimage sometimes called the “Tirupati of Uttara Kannada”.
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Add a nearby businessTrek facts
Yana — at a glance
TimingsDaylight; forest walk
Best timeOctober to February; wet and leechy just post-monsoon
Entry: Free or nominal
Getting here
How to reach Yana
~40 km from Sirsi, ~25 km from Kumta; drive to trailhead + ~30-min walk
Getting back
Work out your return before you settle in for the sunset. Public transport here thins out sharply in the evening, and Yana is easier to reach than to leave. We do not publish departure times: there is no official live feed we are permitted to republish, and a wrong time here would strand you. Check the operator directly on the day.
- KSRTC — the Karnataka state bus operator; route and schedule enquiries. Online booking.
- Indian Railways — live running and seat availability for the nearest railhead, named under “Getting here” above.
Ask at the bus stand for the time of the last service back, not the next one. If you miss it, an auto or app cab is the fallback — agree the fare before you get in.
Getting around Yana
We have not assessed physical access at this place yet. Across India, step-free routes, handrails and accessible toilets are the exception rather than the rule, and pavements are often interrupted — if step-free access matters to you, contact the site or a local operator before committing to the trip.
If you need help at Yana
112All emergencies (police · fire · medical)The single number to call in any emergency (ERSS).100Police101Fire108Ambulance (emergency / EMS)1091Women’s helpline (distress)1098Child helpline1363Tourist helpline (India, 24×7, multilingual)
Emergency numbers are verified against official government and state tourism sources. 112 works anywhere in India.
Nearby
What’s near Yana
On the map
Where Yana is
Good to know
Yana — frequently asked
When is the best time to visit Yana?
October to February; the forest is lush just after the monsoon but wet and leechy.
What are the entry fee and timings at Yana?
Entry: Free or nominal. Timings: Daylight; forest walk.
How do I reach Yana?
~40 km from Sirsi and ~25 km from Kumta; drive to the trailhead, then a forest walk of ~30 minutes to the rocks. Wear good shoes for the walk; it can be slippery and leech-prone after rain — carry water and go in daylight.
How much time do I need for Yana?
2 to 3 hours including the walk.
What else is near Yana?
Nearby you can pair Vibhooti Falls (1.9 km), Manjuguni Venkataramana Temple (11.1 km), Benne Hole Falls (11.4 km), Mirjan Fort (19.5 km).
Read before you go
Yana guides, stories & itineraries
We have not published a story about Yana itself yet. These cover Sirsi, the town it sits in, and the wider district.
Karnataka-wide guides & itineraries
Route-level itineraries and practical guides for the rest of Karnataka.
Heritage guide
Mirjan Fort: Laterite Walls, Pepper Routes and a Monsoon Visit
6 min read · Read →
Regional guide
Banavasi: How to Read Karnataka’s First Historical Capital
6 min read · Read →
Day-trip guide
Magod Falls and Jenukallu Gudda: One Careful Yellapur Day
5 min read · Read →
Day-trip guide
Day Trips from Karwar: The Whole of Uttara Kannada from One Base
6 min read · Read →
Story
Tagore in Karwar: Four Months That Gave a Beach Its Name
5 min read · Read →
Story
The Last Ward: How Karwar Got Its Name, and Its Language
6 min read · Read →
Image credits
Photographs: Photos Worldwide, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0), VasuVR (CC BY 4.0). Wikimedia Commons.