Karnataka
Western Ghats peaks, coffee country and monsoon falls.
Legend
- Treks
- Hikes
- Mountains
- Lakes
- Waterfalls
Quick Stats
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- 118
- Landforms
- 5
- Terrain
- Western Ghats
Trails & landmarks
Mullayanagiri
Karnataka's highest peak — a grass-topped Baba Budan ridge with a tiny Shiva shrine at the summit.
Kudremukh Peak
The 'horse's face' — a shola-grassland traverse permit trail inside Kudremukh NP.
Kumara Parvatha (Pushpagiri)
One of South India's toughest single-day climbs — 13 km one way through shola forest to a rocky summit.
Tadiandamol
Coorg's highest peak — coffee estates at the base, mist-wrapped shola shrubs near the top.
Baba Budangiri
The Sufi saint's hills where coffee first came to India — three peaks, Manikyadhara springs and Dattatreya cave.
Kodachadri
Jeep + trek to a biosphere peak above the Arabian Sea — iron pillar of Mookambika at the summit.
Nandi Hills
Bengaluru's favourite sunrise hill — Tipu Sultan's summer fort above a sea of clouds at dawn.
Skandagiri
Bengaluru's classic night-trek peak — ruined Tipu fort at the top above a cloud blanket.
Savanadurga
Asia's largest monolith — a granite dome split into Karigudda and Biligudda, with a temple at the base.
Shivagange
A cone of granite with cave temples and a perennial spring — legend says it's half of the Sahyadri that Shiva dropped.
Madhugiri Fort
Asia's second-largest monolith — seven fort gates, steep rock patches with railings near the summit.
Ramadevarabetta
Vulture-sanctuary rocks where 'Sholay' was filmed — short climb to a Ram-Laxman shrine.
Makalidurga
A ruined hill-fort with railway tracks curling around its base — classic Bengaluru weekend trek.
Devarayanadurga
Rocky hillock of temples — Yoga & Bhoga Narasimha shrines and Namada Chilume spring at the base.
Anthargange
A labyrinth of volcanic caves to squeeze through — 'hidden spring' of Kolar.
Chamundi Hills
Mysore's guardian goddess hill — 1008 stone steps past the giant Nandi to a 12th-century shrine.
Ettina Bhuja
The 'bull's shoulder' — a knife-edge grass ridge in Charmadi Ghats with a sheer drop on both sides.
Ombattu Gudda
Nine-hill ridge through the Kadumane rainforests — leech-heavy, wild, unforgettable.
Narasimha Parvatha
The western buttress of Agumbe — 20 km of primeval rainforest trek with king cobras beneath the leaf litter.
Kavaledurga Fort
A ninth-century Keladi fort hidden in the Western Ghats — seven lines of walls and a silent Shiva shrine at the top.
Gudibande Fort
A tiered fort built by Byre Gowda — each step has a cistern and the top has a ruined mantapa.
Yana Rocks
Two black karst limestone towers — Bhairaveshwara Shikhara and Mohini Shikhara — rising out of the Sahyadri jungle.
Siddara Betta
A medicinal herb hill dotted with caves — Siddhas are said to have meditated here for centuries.
Nishani Motte
A 14 km shola-grassland trek from Kakkabe — Coorg's second-highest peak with sweeping valley views.
Mullayanagiri Trek
A 4 km ridge walk from Sarpadhari to the Shiva shrine — meadow, fog, and the highest view in the state.
Kudremukh Trek
22 km return through three streams and shola pockets — horse-face summit opens to the Arabian Sea.
Kumara Parvatha Trek
13 km one way from Kukke Subramanya — gruelling climb through Bhattru Mane to Shesha Parvata.
Tadiandamol Trek
Short coffee-to-peak climb — 8 km from Kakkabe past the Pakkudi river to Coorg's highest point.
Brahmagiri Trek
Irupu Falls → Nariman peak through Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary — overnight cave stay possible.
Kodachadri Trek
13 km from Nittur through the Hidlumane Falls — shola pockets and an iron-pillar Mookambika shrine.
Skandagiri Night Trek
Permit-only moonlight climb — Bengaluru's most famous night trek, sunrise above Nandi's cloud sea.
Savanadurga Trek
Monolith climb from the Narasimha temple base — rocky steps across sheer granite, no trees.
Madhugiri Trek
Seven fort-gates on a 2 km rock wall — ropes installed at the final three exposed patches.
Shivagange Trek
Stone steps through four temples, a hanging rock bridge and cave corridors to the final cone.
Yana Karst Trek
A half-kilometre jungle walk between two jet-black limestone towers — shrine-cave at Bhairaveshwara's foot.
Bandaje Falls Trek
A two-day jungle descent from Ballalarayana Durga to a 200 ft horseshoe fall deep in the Sahyadris.
Ballalarayana Durga Trek
A ruined Hoysala fort on a grassland ridge — often combined with Bandaje Falls for a two-day circuit.
Devaramane Peak
A ridgeline meadow above a 14th-century Kallubettu temple — Mullayanagiri fills the eastern sky.
Ettina Bhuja Trek
A 5 km climb to a 'bull's shoulder' knife-edge above Charmadi Ghats — classic Sahyadri grassland.
Hidlumane Falls Trail
The water-fall chain on the Kodachadri trail — seven rock steps of milky spray inside Mookambika forest.
Netravathi Peak
A less-walked peak near Dharmasthala — long grass ridge with the Netravathi river source nearby.
Nishani Motte Trek
14 km through Talacauvery forests — grassland summit marked by a small cairn.
Kurinjal Peak
Short jungle trek inside Kudremukh NP — rolling shola meadows and solitary tiger country.
Agumbe to Barkana Falls
A rainforest descent in India's 'Cherrapunji of the South' — ends at a 259 m single-drop waterfall.
Gokarna Beach Trek
A four-beach coastal walk — Kudle, Om, Half Moon and Paradise — separated by palm-fringed headlands.
Kabbaladurga Trek
A steep boulder-strewn hill near Kanakapura — less crowded alternative to Savanadurga.
Channarayana Durga
Ruined seven-gate Chieftain fort — wild Tumakuru boulder field with yogic cave shelters.
Horagina Betta
Sunset rock outside Bengaluru — short climb through scrub forest and a shrine at the summit.
Jog Falls
The Sharavati leaps 830 ft in four streams — Raja, Rani, Rocket, Roarer — India's second-highest plunge.
Abbey Falls
A coffee-estate fall just outside Madikeri — a hanging rope bridge crosses the frothing Cauvery.
Iruppu Falls
The Lakshmana Teertha plunges out of Brahmagiri — Ramayana legend and a riverside Ram-Lakshmana shrine.
Hebbe Falls
A two-stage 550 ft fall inside Kemmannagundi — open jeep ride through coffee estates.
Kalhatti Falls
A roadside fall near Kemmangundi — a 400 ft drop over a rock face beside the Veerabhadra temple.
Shivanasamudra Falls
The Cauvery splits in two — Gaganachukki and Bharachukki — around Shivanasamudra island.
Gaganachukki Falls
The western arm of the Cauvery's split — a curved segmented fall beside Dargah Hazrath Mardane Ghaib.
Bharachukki Falls
The eastern arm of the Cauvery's split — a wider, gentler horseshoe across smooth black basalt.
Unchalli (Lushington) Falls
The Aghanashini leaps 380 ft into a mist-filled canyon — discovered by an English officer in 1845.
Sathodi Falls
A wide 50 ft curtain fall inside the Kali tiger reserve — a cool stop on the Yellapur–Sirsi drive.
Magod Falls
The Bedti river drops 650 ft in two leaps — Jenukal Gudda viewpoint hangs directly over the gorge.
Mallalli Falls
The Kumaradhara plunges through Pushpagiri sanctuary — steep steps and a rock-pool below.
Chelavara Falls
A small monsoon fall below Tadiandamol — river drops off a cliff into a saucer pool.
Sirimane Falls
A small secluded cascade near Kigga — friendly pool for a monsoon swim on the Agumbe drive.
Hanuman Gundi Falls
A 72 m drop inside Kudremukh NP — 300 stone steps descend into the Bhagavati forest gorge.
Godachinmalki Falls
The Markandeya river drops in two tiers — a staircase + jeep trail descend through sugarcane country.
Gokak Falls
'Mini Niagara' on the Ghataprabha — a 170 ft horseshoe beneath a 19th-century hanging bridge.
Vibhooti Falls
A limestone fall near Yana — water filters through karst rocks and pours into a calm green pool.
Kunchikal Falls
A 455 m tiered fall on the Varahi — often claimed as India's tallest, visible only from afar after dam works.
Barkana Falls
A 259 m single-drop deep in Agumbe's rainforest — no road, 4 km jungle trek from Someshwara.
Dabbe Falls
A hidden six-tier Sharavati-basin fall — 4 km jungle descent from Hosagadde, leeches in rainy season.
Burude Falls
A three-step cascade in Sirsi's Aghanashini basin — tribal paths, monsoon swimming.
Benne Hole Falls
Kali tiger reserve — five separate monsoon cascades that look like butter streams (benne = butter).
Koosalli Falls
Six-tier coastal rainforest fall reached by stepping-stone jungle trek from Amasebailu.
Dudhsagar Falls (KA side)
India's fifth-tallest fall — reached from Castle Rock by jeep safari or along the Konkan railway line.
KRS Lake (Brindavan)
The Krishna Raja Sagar dam and its musical fountains — Brindavan's symmetrical terraces glow at dusk.
Ulsoor Lake
A 123-acre central Bengaluru lake — canoe rowers start before dawn around the little islands.
Hebbal Lake
Bird-rich wetland off the Kempegowda airport road — pelicans, cormorants, spot-billed ducks in winter.
Sankey Tank
An 1882 British-era reservoir under Malleswaram's rain trees — Bengaluru's favourite morning loop.
Hesaraghatta Lake
A grass-fringed reservoir on Bengaluru's northwest outskirts — grassland birds and a huge sunset sky.
Tungabhadra Reservoir
A vast reservoir on the edge of Hampi — old Vijayanagar forts poke out of its western shore.
Vani Vilasa Sagar
Early 20th-century Mysore-era stone dam — a picture-perfect arch amid scrub hills near Hiriyur.
Linganamakki Reservoir
The Sharavati's giant reservoir above Jog Falls — islands of submerged forest after monsoon.
Yagachi Dam
A quiet Hassan reservoir with jet-skiing and bird-watching — the Baba Budan range reflects in the water.
Ayyanakere Lake
One of Karnataka's oldest medieval tanks — rimmed by a 12th-century bund and a Chola-era temple.
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary
Salim Ali's Cauvery-delta island chain — boat safaris past painted storks, ibis, and mugger crocodiles.
Honnamana Kere
A sacred Kodagu lake hidden below Tadiandamol — goddess Honnamma's shrine on the bund.
Hidkal Dam
The Ghataprabha reservoir below the Sahyadri crest — kayaking and a long view across the blue spread.
Pilikula Lake
A Mangaluru nature-park lake with boats and a biological park — good half-day coastal break.
Shanti Sagara Lake
Asia's second-largest man-made tank — massive Davangere lake that spans kilometres of fields.
Kundavada Lake
Davangere's quiet sunset lake — bar-headed geese arrive in December.
Muthathi Cauvery Bend
A wide Cauvery pool inside Cauvery WS — fishing, coracle ride and a riverside Hanuman shrine.
Chiklihole Reservoir
A forested reservoir in south Coorg — least-visited corner of Kodagu's tiger-elephant corridor.
Harangi Reservoir
Cauvery-basin dam at the gateway to Dubare elephant camp — sunrise mist on the water is spectacular.
Bandipur NP Safari
The Nilgiri biosphere tiger reserve — open-jeep safaris through teak and elephant-crossing corridors.
Nagarhole NP Safari
Kabini's western shore — dhole packs, melanistic leopards and one of India's densest tiger populations.
Bhadra Tiger Reserve
Muthodi forest rest house safaris — hills of the Baba Budan biosphere with leopards and gaur.
BR Hills Trail
The bridge between Eastern and Western Ghats — Soliga tribal villages and a Biligiri Rangana temple on the ridge.
Dandeli-Anshi Trail
Kali Tiger Reserve — rafting on the Kali, hornbill hides and a 4×4 drive through Anshi's silent teak.
Bannerghatta NP
Bengaluru's suburban national park — lion and bear safaris plus a forest butterfly park.
Talakaveri Source Trail
The Cauvery's birth spring on Brahmagiri — 387 steps to a ridge over Kodagu's coffee hills.
Agumbe Rainforest Trail
India's second-wettest village — king cobra research station and a shola-canopy walk at Kundadri.
Nisargadhama
A bamboo-forest island on the Cauvery — hanging rope bridge, deer park and treehouses.
Someshwara Sanctuary
Evergreen Udupi sanctuary adjoining Kudremukh — Someshwara temple beside the river's source.
Pushpagiri Sanctuary
Lion-tailed macaque forests ringing Kumara Parvatha — Pandipare cave and medicinal plants.
Dubare Elephant Camp
Forest Department elephant camp on a Cauvery island — river-crossing tuskers and jungle walks.
Jayamangali Blackbuck Reserve
Thornscrub grassland near Madhugiri — one of the best places to see Indian blackbuck at dawn.
Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary
Muthathi to Hogenakkal on the Cauvery — mahseer fishing, coracle rides and sloth bear country.
Hampi Ruins Walk
UNESCO boulder-and-temple landscape of the Vijayanagar capital — Matanga Hill sunrise and Virupaksha spires.
Matanga Hill
Highest point of Hampi — a 500-step climb through boulders to the Veerabhadra shrine at dawn.
Chitradurga Fort Walk
Seven concentric walls around a granite hill — Onake Obavva's boulder and ancient rainwater tanks.
Bidar Fort Walk
A pink-laterite Bahmani fort with triple moats — karez underground canals, Rangin Mahal and Sufi shrines.
Bijapur Monuments Walk
Gol Gumbaz's whispering gallery — Adil Shahi tombs and Jama Masjid in a deccan sultanate capital.
Badami Cave Temples
Four 6th-century Chalukya cave-temples cut into a red sandstone cliff above Agastya Lake.
Aihole-Pattadakal Walk
The 'cradle of Indian temple architecture' — 125 Chalukya shrines in a single UNESCO cluster.
Shravanabelagola
614 stone steps up Vindhyagiri to the 17 m Bahubali monolith — one of the Jain world's holiest sites.
Paradise Beach Trail
A 6 km clifftop walk south of Om Beach — ends at a tiny sand-cove with only seaweed and sea.
Kurumgad Island Hike
A turtle-shaped island off Karwar — short climb to a lighthouse above the Arabian Sea.
Charmadi Ghats Drive
A 25 km Sahyadri drive between Mangaluru and Chikmagalur — 12 hairpins, waterfalls in monsoon.
Murudeshwara Seaside Walk
A 123 ft Shiva statue on a bluff above the Arabian Sea — cliff-edge gardens, a 20-storey gopuram.