After a long gap and loong discussions, we decided to go again for a green tour ( hill station ). This time we planned to trek the highest peak of karnataka – Mullayangiri.

Here is our travel route : Bangalore > Birur> kallathi falls > Kemmanagundi > Hebbe Falls > Chikmaglur> Mullayangiri > Chikmaglur>Bangalore.

A little about Kemmanagundi

Kemmanagundi in the Baba Budangiri range of hills is also known as KR Hills after Krishnaraja Wodeyar who had made it his summer camp. Kemmanagundi, the name is derived from three Kannada words, Kempu, Mannu and Gundi literally maens red, soil and place respectively, together means a place with red soil.Kemmanagundi at a height of 1,434 meters, is surrounded by thick forests and a good climate round the year.

How to Reach Kemmanagundi:

Kemmanagundi is 260 km from Bangalore and 55 km from Chikmagalur. The best option to reach Kemmanagundi is private transport. There are no direct buses from Bangalore. You can take a bus to Shimoga and get off the bus at Birur (36 km) or Tarikere (30 km) and take a local bus or Jeep from there to Kemmanagundi.

By Bus: You will get KSRTC deluxe bus from Bangalore to Kadur, from there you have to take another bus to Kemmangundi.

By Rail: Kadur is the nearest station.

Our Journey
we guys went on train from Bangalore to Ariskeri( we missed a direct train to kadur ) and then to Birur. From birur, you will not find any Govt buses for kemmanagundi.You should hire a cab or wait for private buses.But there are very few private buses running from Birur to Kemmanagundi. We asked for cab but it sounds little expensive for us. So we decided to do break journey. We went to one place (apologies – forgot the name of that place ) from Birur which is 10 KM away from Kallathi falls and 20+ Km from Kemmanagundi.

As Kalhatti falls is very near to that place, we decided to cover it first.

Kalhatti falls

After a solid bath at falls ( we explored little around temple and invented another place for bath ), we hired a jeep to kemmanagundi.  On the way one can see many coffee gardens.  It was around 2 hours journey. By the time we reached top ( kemmanagundi), it was like we were in clouds – full of mist. So we did’nt had any option other than resting our butts for that night.

we stayed here

Along with these 😛

Main attractions in Kemmanagundi

Raj Bhawan

It is a guest house built in Kemmangundi which offers a spectacular view of the surrounding hills. From this Raj Bhawan you can see the sunset something to be cherished.

Z Point

This place can be reached by steep uphill of about 30mins from Raj Bhawan. It is a vantage point to view a spectacular sunset.

Trek Heroz

Felt like we hosted Indian flag on Mount.Everest.

Rose Garden

The Horticultural Department of the Kemmangundi maintained a beautiful rose garden here in Kemmangundi. You can see various variety of roses cultivated here. We missed it.

Hebbe Falls

Hebbe Falls is around 12 km from kemmanagundi.From 250 Feet height water flows down here so it is called as Dodda Hebbe. Another where water flows down of about 200 feet height is called as Chikka Hebbe. So the reason you can find a beautiful coffee plantation here. Its risky to go there by own vehicles unless you are expert in driving. You can hire a Jeep to Hebbe falls. Journey from Kemmanagundi to Hebbe falls is worth mention. Its complete complete green.

Mullayangiri

A little about Mullayangiri

Mullayanagiri (also spelt Mullayangiri or Mullainagiri), is the highest peak in Karnataka, India. Mullayanagiri is located in the Baba Budan Giri Range of the Western Ghats. With a height of 1,930 metres (6,330 ft), it is the highest peak between the Himalayas and the Nilgiris.

Trek to Mullayangiri

Chikkamagaluru (Chikmagalur / Chikmagalore) is about 250kms from Bengaluru (Bangalore), via Nelamangala – NH48 till Hassan and Belur. Trek to both Mullayanagiri (also spelt Mulayanagiri / Mullainagiri / Mulainagiri) and Baba Budan Giri starts from Sarpadhri, about 20kms from Chikkamagaluru. To reach Sarpadhri, one has to take a deviation towards Kemmanagundi (ask for ‘Giri’), from the Chikkamagaluru – Tarikere / Shivamogga (Shimoga) state highway. The road through the ‘Giri’ passes via Sarpadhri and Kemmanagundi and joins the same state highway back @ Lingadahalli.

Due to a unexpected trek at z-point kemmanagundi and some others mess-ups, we failed to trek mullayangiri but reached top on topless auto –  better call it as “Auto safari”

Sitalayyana Matt

There is a small temple of  Mullaya or God Shiva on top of the hill. This is a small hillock in the temple compound, which is the highest point in Karnataka.