One day, coming from Bengaluru
1 day· easy·Chikkamagaluru
It is about 250 km and five hours each way, which makes a true day trip punishing. This assumes you arrive Friday night and leave Sunday morning, and gives you the single best Saturday available. If you only read one line: leave for the peak at 5:00 AM, because the view is gone by nine and no amount of planning gets it back.
Day 1
- 5:00 AM
Mullayanagiri for sunrise
Non-negotiable timing. The ridge is clear for perhaps two hours after first light and cloud fills the valleys behind you, which is the picture you came for.
- 9:00 AM
Breakfast in town
Come down for it rather than carrying food up. Nothing is open on the ridge and the summit has no bins.
- Late morning
Z Point, if the sky held
A 45-minute walk out along the ridge from Kemmanagundi. Worth doing only in clear weather — in cloud you are walking to look at cloud.
- Afternoon
Hirekolale Lake, then the road home
Fifteen minutes from town and on your way out. A last look at the hills before four hours of highway.