Shravanabelagola situated about 143 kilometers from Bangalore in Hassan district. The 58-feet tall monolithic statue of Gommateshwara is located on Vindyagiri Hill in Shravanabelagola, this the world's largest monolithic statue. This is Jain religious temple. To know more about Shravanabelagola click here.
Yagachi Dam is located on the way to Chikmagalur from Belur. This dam was constructed on Yagachi river. This is a quite big dam and its good to visit. This is a advanture water sports center with multiple facilities.
Halebeedu was capital of Hoysala Empire during 12-13th century. Halebeedu means 'old city'. This is a tourist place near Belur (about 34 kilometers) in Hassan district and about 230 kilometers from Bangalore. There has some best architecture of Hoysala empire. Hoysaleshwara and Kedareshwara temple are most famous.
Manjarabad
fort is only star shaped fort in India. It was build in 1792 by Tipu
Sultan with help of French engineer.
Summary in short:
Travel Type: Historical place
Best Time to visit: Whole year, however better to avoid rainy session.
Time to spend: 1-2 hours
Nearest Major City: Sakleshpur City
Best mode of travel: Bus, Taxi
History
Tipu
Sultan built this Fort to fight agains of British East India Company.
At the time even Hydrabad's Nizam and Marathas already alignedwith
British. Sultan wanted to built high way from Mangalore to Coorg.
When Tipu sultan visited the fort to see it, then it was covered by
Fog. So he kept its name Manjarabad fort. Manjarabad is the
corrupted version of 'manju' or fog in Kanara.
How to reach,
The fort is located 10 kilometres from the Sakaleshpura town to its south west, which is on the right bank of the Hemavati River, 37 km from Hassan on the National Highway no 48 that runs from Bangalore to Mangalore. Sakaleshpura is the headquarters of Manjiraba taluk and is a municipality.
This
fort is located on hill top with elevation of 988 meters, so it gives
clear commanding view of surrounding. On a clear day even Arbian see
can be seen from the Fort. To visit this fort you need to climb
stairs for 15 to 20 minutes.
This
fort has build with Octagonal layout with eight walls. The external
wall of the fort built with granite stones.
There
has a deep well for water storage and one underground room to store
gun powder.
Gun
powder storage situated just beside of the water well. Even in Summer
days this underground room stays cool. According
to history a tunnel links the fort with the Srirangapatna fort,
which is located around 150 kilometers away.
Chenna Keshava Temple situated in Belur city situated in Hassan district in Karnataka state around 220 kilometers from Bangalore and 153 km from Mangalore. This is about 900 years old temple.
Summary in short:
Travel Type: Pilgrimage, Heritage
Best Time to visit: November to March
Time to spend: 1-3 hours
Nearest Major City: Bangalore, Mangalore
Best mode of travel: Bus, Taxi, Private Car, Auto
Timing: 7am to 1pm, 2pm to 8pm
History
Belur was early capital of Hoysala Dynasty on the bank of Yagachi river. Chenna Keshavatemple was build by Hoysala Dynasty. This temple was started in 1116 A.D. and it took 103 year to complete by three generations. It is said that this temple was built to commemorate the victory of Hoysalas over Cholas in the great battle of Talakkad. Another story about this temple is, King Vishnu-vardhana dreamt about Lord Keshava during his night stay at the Baba Budan forest and decided to construct the Chenna Keshava temple at Belur. Main temple is Keshava temple also there has other temple like Veera Narayana Temple, Andal Ammanavara temple etc. Chenna Keshava temple is the only functional Hoysala temple which pujas being performed both in the morning and evening. This tradition is being practiced for last 887 years.
How to reach
Train nearest train station is Hassan railway station about 40 kilometers away.
Bus very good bus connectivity from Bangalore, Mangalore, Mysore etc. cities to Belur.
Private Car can travel to Belur with your own car.
Air you need to reach to Bangalore or Mangalore then take other option.
What should visit on the way, if you are coming from Bangalore by private car then you can visit multiple places on the way. For more information please visit How to reach Chikmagalur section (click here).
List of Temples
Main temple is Keshava temple.
Kappe Chanigaraya temple.
Veeranarayana Temple
Sowmyanayaki Temple
Gurutvakarshaka Kamba
Andal Ammanvara Temple
List of all places to visit near Belur
Halebeedu Templeis situated about 15 kilometers from Belur. To see more about Halebeedu click here.
Yagachi Damis located on the way to Chikmagalur from Belur. This dam was constructed on Yagachi river. This is a quite big dam and its good to visit. This is a advanture water sports center with multiple facilities. For details click here
Chikmagaluris a small and popular hill station in Karnataka. It’s located in western-ghat. This is the land of coffee, elephant and leopard and of course natural beauty. From Belur to Chikmagalur city distance about 25 kilometers.
Shravanabelagola situated about 143 kilometers from Bangalore in Hassan district. The 58-feet tall monolithic statue of Gommateshwara is located on Vindyagiri Hill in Shravanabelagola, this the world's largest monolithic statue. This is Jain religious temple.
Where to stay.
There are many hotels near to the Chenna Keshava Temple and in entire Belur city. You can find any from popular websites. However few hotel phone number is here.
Hotel Mayura Velapuri (KSTDC) 089706 50026 / 08177-222209
Karnataka Hotels Belur (KSTDC) Temple Rd, Belur 573115, India
There are multiple restaurant on Temple road and in Belur city. Everywhere you will get good veg and non-veg restaurant. Hotel Ksrtc, Vishnu Sagar Veg Restaurant, Al Kareem Hotel are good.
Coorg is one of the best tourist destination in South India. This is located in south-west part of Karnataka state in western ghat. This is best place to enjoy hills, jungle, trek and water sport. Madikeri city is the nearest small town at Coorg.
Summary in short:
Travel Type : Adventure/ Nature.
Best Time to visit: During and post monsoon will get full green view also you can do water sports during this time. However winter is great to visit. So overall from July to March is great time to visit, specially from October to March is best time for trekking. But Coorg is a place to visit anytime of the year.
Time to spend: 2-3 days.
Nearest Major City: Mysore
Best mode of travel: Personal car, bus from Bangalore, Mysore or Mangalore.
Trekking route.
Madikeri city
How to reach
Train: Train service is available till Mysore (120km) however you can visit to Bangalore (260km) or Mangalore (140km) from there cab or bus service is available.
Bus: From Bangalore and Mysore bus is available.
Private Car: From Bangalore it will take about 4-5 hours to reach there.
List of all places to visit for sightseeing in Coorg and distance from Madikeri as follows:
Raja seat - 0.5km - Raja's Seat is a seasonal garden of flowers and artificial fountains. It is one of the most important tourist spots in Madikeri of Coorg.
Raja's seat view point
Sunset from Raja's seat
Sunset video from Raja's seat
Omkareshwar Temple - 0.5km
Abbey Falls - 5.5 km
Mandalpatti - 18 km - Situated on an altitude of 4050 feet Mandalpatti is Madikeri’s famous hilltop.
Kote Abbe Falls - 24km
Nisargadhama - 28km - Kaveri Nisargadhama is a delta which is called as island by local people, formed by river Kaveri
Dubare Elephant camp/Forest - 28km - Located on the banks of River Cauvery in Coorg, Dubare Elephant Camp is one of the most popular tourist spots in Coorg. Hotels are available there for night stay.
Dubare Elephant Camp Coorg Timings
Day
Timing
Monday
9:00 am – 11:00 am 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Tuesday
9:00 am – 11:00 am 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Wedesday
9:00 am – 11:00 am 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Thursday
9:00 am – 11:00 am 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Friday
9:00 am – 11:00 am 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Saturday
9:00 am – 11:00 am 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Sunday
9:00 am – 11:00 am 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Golden Temple - 32 km - This temple falls between Mysore and Coorg, so its better to visit while going to returning from Coorg. The Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery is the largest teaching center of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in the world. Located in Bylakuppe, part of the Mysuru district of the state of Karnataka, the monastery is home to a sangha community of over five thousand lamas (both monks and nuns), a junior high school named Yeshe Wodsal Sherab Raldri Ling, a religious college (or shedra for both monks and nuns) and hospital.
Golden Temple in Coorg
Buddha statue in Golden Temple
Chelavara Water Falls - 36km - Chelvara Falls is a natural waterfall formed by small stream, a tributary of Kaveri near Cheyyandane village which is on Virajpet - Talakaveri State Highway around 16 km from Virajpet, in the state of Karnataka, India.
Tala Kaveri - 43 km- Talakaveri or Talacauvery is the place that is generally considered to be the source of the river Kaveri and a holy place for many Hindus. It is located on Brahmagiri hills near Bhagamandala in Coorg district, Karnataka.
Tala Kaveri
Iruppu Waterfalls - 75km
Where to stay: If you want to cover most of the places its better to stay at Madikeri city. In Coorg most of the places are spread and distance is quite more. So its best idea to stay at center point. But if you plan for trekking then you can stay outside of city.
There are lots of hotels in Madikeri city and at outside city lots of homestay are there. You will find hotels in all online website and homestay as well. Usually hotel cost remains about Rs. 1200-3000 or more. Homestay cost also around Rs. 1500 / person per day including food (2021).
A homestay in Coorg
Restaurant for food: Coorg people like wine and pork a lot. However there are lots of vegetarian restaurant available. If you don't have any issue must try their traditional pork items which is excellent. Another traditional food is bamboo cooked meat/chicken also good.
Local food for breakfast
Special things at the place: Coffee garden, traditional food and wine.
Butterflies in Coorg
Coffee garden in coorg
Coffee beans in coffee plant in coorg
If you like my blog please share and comment. For videos on Coorg please visit 'Bhromon India' YouTube channel.
Chikmagalur is a small and popular hill station in Karnataka. It’s located in western-ghat. This is the land of coffee, elephant and leopard and of course natural beauty. Chikmagalur is a district of Karnataka as well.
Travel Type: Trekking, Nature, Family enjoyment
Best Time to visit: October to March
Time to spend: 2 days
Nearest Major City: Bangalore, Mangalore.
Best mode of travel: Bus, Car, Taxi, Trek Trekking route: There are four popular beautiful and adventure trek routes available on Baba Budan Giri hill range.
History
Chimagalur (Chikka-magaluru) meaning 'Chikka' or Younger, 'Magalur' mean Daughter and 'Ooru' mean city. Meaning of the name is dowry or younger daughter of Rukmangada, the legendary of chief Sakrepatna. In 1670 Baba Budan bring coffee plant from Mokka and started plantation in Chikmagaluru which is the first coffee plantation in India. The full range of hill has been given to his name.
How to reach there
If you are coming from other states of India, can come to Bangalore or Mangalore by Air or Train. Chikmagalur is about 150 kilometers far from Mangalore and about 250 kilometers from Bangalore.
Chikmagalur don’t have any rail station and nearby rail station is Kadur which is about 40 kilometers away from Chikmagalur. Train ticket cost can check from IRCTC website.
Road connectivity is very good to Chikmagalur from Bangalore and Mangalore. You can take prepaid taxi, out-station Ola, Uber etc. to reach there. Very good A/C, Non-A/C, Sleeper bus service also available to reach Chikmagalur.
Bus & Car Travel Time and Cost
From Bangalore, by private car or taxi, it takes about 5:30-6:30 hours depending on road traffic condition. On the way you will get beautiful view of villages and coconut trees. You may take multiple break if wish to tea-coffee.
By Taxi
You can book hatch back, sedan or SUV car depending on your requirement and cost will be about 5,000 Rupees to 7,500 depending on car type for round trip.
By Bus
You can book A/C or Non-A/C bus ticket to reach Chikmagalur. Sleeper and Chair car bus also available. Bus fair will be around Rs. 650 – Rs. 1,100 depending on demand of ticket. Usually bus starts journey from Bangalore around mid night (about 11 pm) and reach there at very early morning (about 5 am). To book bus you can KSRTC (Govt. bus) or any online service on Red Bus, Make my trip etc companies.
Package tour also available and it costs about Rs. 6,700 – Rs. 9,000+.
This road has multiple toll.
From Mangalore, by private car or taxi it takes about 4:00- 5:00 hours. There has very limited Bus service so you may need to book prepaid taxi to reach Chikmagalur. Taxi fare will be about Rs. 3000 for one way journey.
Please watch full video of Bangalore to Chikmagalur journey from below.
What to see on the way from Bangalore to Chikmagalur
If you are coming to Chikmagalur from Bangalore these following places you can visit on your journey. To complete all of these you must start journey at very early morning.
Shravanabelagola Shravanabelagola situated about 143 kilometers from Bangalore in Hassan district. The 58-feet tall monolithic statue of Gommateshwara is located on Vindyagiri Hill in Shravanabelagola, this the world's largest monolithic statue. This is Jain religious temple. To know more about Shravanabelagola click here.
*photo taken from wikipedia
Shettihalli Rosary Church This Church also called drowning church of Karnataka, and why it called the below picture tells it. This church was build about 450 years ago and once the Gorur Hemavaty dam has been set this church has gone inside the water. Except Summer whole year this Church remains in water. This is lonely place so you will not get anything to see except Church and Hemavaty reservoir.
Gorur Hemavaty dam
Hemavaty river has been started from Gorur Hemavaty dam. This is huge dam and in below picture you can see only one section of this. Gorur Dam is located is about 12 kilometers away and from the church so you can visit there too.
Halebeedu Halebeedu was capital of Hoysala Empire during 12-13th century. Halebeedu means 'old city'. This is a tourist place near Belur (about 34 kilometers) in Hassan district and about 230 kilometers from Bangalore. There has some best architecture of Hoysala empire. Hoysaleshwara and Kedareshwara temple are most famous. To read more about Halebeedu visit this link.
Belur Belur city is located in Hassan district around 220 kilometers from Bangalore and about 35 kilometers from Chikmagaluru. I would suggest you must visit to Belur once while going to Chikmagalur or at the time of returning. If you want to visit the temple casually may be 30-40 minutes is okay but if you want to see it in details then it will take 2-3 hours. Belur main attraction is Chenna Keshava Temple which was built by Hoysala Dynasty, it was start on 1116 AD and it took 103 years to complete. This was build to celebrate victory of Hoysala over Cholas in Talakkad. To know details about Belur temple click here.
See full video on Belur at below youtube link.
Places to visit in Chikmagalur Chikmagalur has multiple places to visit and covering all places in a day is not possible, because you need to travel more than 200 kilometers in hill road. So its better to plan for two days if want to cover all places. Chikmagalur city Chikmagalur city located in at the feet of Baba Budan Giri Hill range, from city you can see these hills. Its better to do early breakfast and start travelling early morning, if possible by 6am. Chikmagalur travel - sightseeing , food and hotels video is here
1. Mullayangiri Mullayangiri is one of the highest peak of Baba Budan Griri hill range with height 1130 meters from sea level. This is very beautiful hill.Car can go till a level and you can get small shops over there for tea-coffee and snacks. From the base point need to trek to reach at the top point of Mullayangiri which has more than 500 steps.
View from Mullyangiri hill top.
2. Jhari Falls
Jhari fallas located about 22 kilometers from Chikmagalur city on the way to Baba Budan Giri, before 12 kilometers. Jhari water falls is down from the road and you need to take local Jeep to reach there. Road condition is really bad hence private car not adviseable to go. You can pack own car or local taxi and can take Jeep to reach the point. At Jhari falls you will get few snacks shop for tea-coffee-egg omelet etc.
Duration to cover the place: 3 hours
Way to travel: Trek/local Jeep
Cost: Rs. 600 per jeep for max. 6 people.
Distance from main road: Down to 4 kilometers.
Timing: 8AM to 5PM.
Peak season: September to December (Post rain).
Neel Kurinji is the another attraction for Baba Budan Giri hill range. This flower blooms after every 12 years. Last time it came on 2006 and this year in 2018 it was there. So next it will come again 2030.
Neel Kurinji we found near Jhari Falls
Coffee: Without coffee Chikmagalur is incomplete. On Chikmagalur market you will get lots of coffee shops who sales local coffee in many packets from 100 grams to kilo-grams. When you visit Chikmagalur must buy some coffee from there, its cheap and good quality.
Coffee trees and green and red coffee bin
3. Baba Budangiri
Baba Budan Giri is hill range situated about 36 kilometers from Chikmagalur. Budan giri height is 1895 meters and road connectivity is there to reach. Muslim saint Baba Budan was Muslim (Sufi) saint in 17th century. He went to Saudi from India and bring coffee plant from there. He first start coffee plantation Chikmagalur range, this was first coffee plantation in India. This hill range name has came from his name only.
Duration to cover the place: half day
Way to travel: Trek, car.
Timing: 8AM to 5PM.
Peak season: September to March
Baba Budan Giri Hill Range
Near by visiting places -
Caves: Three large caves are there to see.
Seethala contains a 'matha' and the dual shrine temple of 'Seethala-Mallikarjuna'.
Waterfalls: There has three waterfall near by with epic associations namely Gada Theertha, Nallikayi Theertha and Kamana Theertha.
Gada Theertha: According to mythology, Gada Theertha was created by the Pandava prince Bhima with his gada.
Dattatreya Peetha: A cave here is believed to have been the residence of Sri Dattatreya Swamy. An annual Jatra or Urs, which is held for three days after the Holi Festival according to Hindu calendar, is attended by both Hindus and Muslims.
At Baba Budan Giri
Sunset from Baba Budan Giri hill range another plus point. You can spend the evening there to watch a beautiful Sunset.
4. Coffee Museum
India's only coffee museum is located just 5 kilometers away from Chikmagalur city and near to Zilla panchayat bhavan and RTO. Its a great place to visit to know about coffee related things. including its history, plantation, processing. They shows a 10 minutes video to which cover everything about coffee.
Yagachi Dam is located on the way to Chikmagalur from Belur. This dam was constructed on Yagachi river. This is a quite big dam and its good to visit. This is a advanture water sports center with multiple facilities.
Duration to cover the place: 1-2 hours
Way to travel: Car, Auto.
Timing: 7AM to 6.30PM.
Boating: Rs. 600 for Speed Boat upto 4 person
Banana Ride: Rs. 500 up to 6 person
Jet ski: Rs. 300 per Person
Kayaking: Rs. 200 for 2 person.
6. Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary
Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in western ghat and about 79 kilometers from Chikmagalur near Lakkavali village. Main attraction is tiger, elephant, leopard, Chital, Sambar, 300 types or bird, butterflies etc.
Safari timing: 6 am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm.
Safari fees: 500rs per person.
Best time to visit: October to February.
Accommodation: Jungle Greens Home Stay (Muthodi village) & River Tern Jungle Lodge, near Lakkavalli, Bhadra Dam.
7. Habbe Falls
Hebbe falls is quite outside of Chikmagalur and it is about 10km away from Kemmangundi and 65km from Chikmagalur. This falls goes down from 551 feet high and has two state, Dodda Hebbe (big falls) and Chikka Hebbe (small falls).
Trek is an option to reach at there but be aware of leeches hence its advisable to take Government approved forest jeep to make the travel.
Hotel: If you wish to stay there can book hotel in Kadur, especially at KM road, there has plenty of AC/Non-AC hotel available, few are decent.
Trekking in Chikmagalur
At Baba Budan Giri there has multiple trek route, which are enjoyable. Popular routes are -
Baba Budan Giri to Mullyangiri 12 kilometers
Budangiri to Gaalikere 4 kilometers
Budangiri to Manikyadhara Falls 7.5 kilometers.
Attigudi Junction to Baba Budangiri 6 kilometers.
Restaurants
In Chikmagalur you will get lots of restaurants everywhere in the city. However most of these are in MG Road.
Mayura Deluxe is a very good pure veg restaurant in Chikmagalur city. Idle, Dosa and other south Indian food are really good and reasonable price.
Hotel Taj on Indira Gandhi Rd, Joythinagar is a very good Veg & Non-veg restaurant to have lunch and dinner.
Siri Cafe is another popular destination in Chikmagalur. People used to visit there while going to hills. They serve excellent tea, coffee and snacks. Phone number 076760 47172.
Where to stay
Many hotels are available near to bus stand, MG Road and in Chikmagalur. There also has many resort, home-stay. Usually hotel rent starts from Rs. 1000 (weekdays), 1500 (weekend) and can go according to hotel quality.
home-stay where we stay. 2BHK, per room charge was Rs. 1750. owner contact: 95382 80008
Main temple is Keshava temple.
Kappe Chanigaraya temple.
Veeranarayana Temple
Halebeedu Temple is situated about 15 kilometers from Belur. To see more about Halebeedu click here.
Chikmagalur is a small and popular hill station in Karnataka. It’s located in western-ghat. This is the land of coffee, elephant and leopard and of course natural beauty. From Belur to Chikmagalur city distance about 25 kilometers.
Shravanabelagola situated about 143 kilometers from Bangalore in Hassan district. The 58-feet tall monolithic statue of Gommateshwara is located on Vindyagiri Hill in Shravanabelagola, this the world's largest monolithic statue. This is Jain religious temple.
