Bangalore to Chikmagalur
Chikmagalur is a beautiful town situated in the south western part of Karnataka. Literally meaning ‘younger daughter’s land’, Chikmagalur is said to have been given as dowry to the younger daughter of Rukmangada, the legendary chief of Sakrepatna.
Chikmagalur is situated at a distance of 250 km from Bangalore and is well connected by road and rail.
By road, the fastest route from Bangalore is to take the NH 48 via Hassan. While taking this route the major towns one passes through are Neelamangala, Kunigal, Channarayapattana, Hassan and Belur.
The roads from Neelamangala are wide and 4-laned till Channarayapattana. From Channarayapattana to Hassan and till Belur the roads are 2-laned. The roads are very good and only get bumpy when you reach Chikmagalur. This route has a lot of restaurants and petrol pumps on the way.
You can even have a small stop over at Belur and Halebid on the way and visit the historical temples there.
The alternate route is to take the NH 206 from Neelamangala to Tumkur and then drive through towns like Arasikere and Kadur and reach Chikmagalur. The roads are good till Arasikere, but get potholed after Arasikere and are mostly bumpy till you reach Chikmagalur.
It takes about 5 hours to reach Chikmagalur from Bangalore on both the routes.
You can hire a cab or rent a car from Bangalore to Chikmagalur.
The fare of the cab would depend on the type of car you have hired or rented.
There are KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation) buses running from Bangalore to Chikmagalur every 30 minutes from the KSRTC stand.
The nearest airport to Chikmagalur is Bajpe airport in Mangalore, 170 km from Chikmagalur. It takes around 3 hours from Mangalore to reach Chikmagalur.
The nearest railway station is Kadur, 40 km from Chikmagalur. It takes around 4 hours and 30 minutes by train to Kadur from Bangalore city junction. There are around 5 trains plying between Kadur and Bangalore city junction including the Intercity express, Ranichennamma express and Chalukya express and passengers. From Kadur it will take less than an hour to reach Chikmagalur.
At 1037 meters above sea level, Chikmagalur is famous for its coffee and tea plantations, as well as cardamom, arecanut and pepper cultivation. It is said that the first coffee beans were brought to India from Yemen by a Muslim saint Baba Budan after whom the Bababudangiri range is named. Karnataka’s highest peak, the Mulliangiri peak, is in this range.
Bangalore to Chikmagalur