By road
~245 km from Bangalore
South India · Karnataka
Chikmagalur, Karnataka
Where Indian coffee began · ~245 km from Bangalore
Getting there
By rail
Kadur, ~40-49 km
By air
Mangalore International Airport, ~105-157 km
Best time to visit
September to March — trekking season in the Baba Budan hills
Don't miss
Mullayanagiri
Baba Budangiri
Hebbe Falls
Belur and Halebidu temples nearby
Things to do
Mullayanagiri trek (Karnataka's highest peak)
Estate tours
Jeep trails
Where to eat
Sources: open-meteo, wikimedia, Photo: S N Barid · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Trekking shoes, warm layer for peaks, estate-walk clothing
A quieter corner
Z Point beyond Kemmangundi, a knife-edge sunrise ledge
About Chikmagalur
- Hills
Where it is
Chikmagalur, officially Chikkamagaluru, is a town in the Malnad region of Karnataka, in the foothills of the Western Ghats west of Bengaluru, below the coffee-clad slopes of the Baba Budangiri range.
History
Tradition holds that the Sufi saint Baba Budan brought seven coffee beans from Mocha in Yemen in 1670 and planted them on the hills above the town, beginning coffee growing in India. The region later formed part of the Kingdom of Mysore, and under British rule planters covered its slopes with coffee estates.
People
Kannada is the main language, and life across the district revolves around coffee, from large estates to smallholdings and the workers who pick the ripe berries in the winter harvest. Arecanut, pepper and cardamom grow alongside, and the temple town of Sringeri draws pilgrims from across India.
Known for
- Coffee estates and the Baba Budan legend
- Mullayanagiri, Karnataka's highest peak
- Hebbe and Kalhatti falls
- Kudremukh and Bhadra wildlife reserves
- Sringeri and the Hoysala temples nearby
Did you know?
Legend traces the Hoysala dynasty to Angadi in this district, where a young man named Sala is said to have killed a tiger to save his teacher, a scene that became the dynasty's emblem.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.