Chikkamagaluru

Quick Plan at a Glance

• Trip Type: 3-day spontaneous bike trip + bus transit.
• Date: January 2026.
• Distance: 350+ km of pure riding.
• Vibe: Relaxed ride, misty mountains, and unplanned detours.

The Shift in Plans

My initial plan was a long motorcycle ride from Bengaluru to Chikkamagaluru, but my parents weren't thrilled about me riding a bike for that long. The plan was just with one other friend, "Jummu". Because of the bike veto, we shifted our plans a bit and took a bus to Chikkamagaluru instead.

After reaching the city, we roamed around a bit. We interestingly found a Jain temple, a Hindu temple, and a Masjid all on the exact same road. Exploring the famous "coffee street" on MG Road, we got to see the process of coffee making, which was completely different from what we had imagined.

1952 Cafe

It was already night by then, so we went to Kailash Parbat. Everything there was surprisingly expensive, so we just had some quick snacks and left to find a cheap hotel nearby to crash for the night.

Renting the Himalayan

In the morning, we rented a Royal Enfield Himalayan 411 and set off toward Mullayanagiri Peak. Honestly, having ridden the new RE Himalayan 450, the difference is massive—in torque, top speed, and the overall feel of the ride. The 411 feels like a very relaxed ride, but the 450 has both the relaxed cruising characteristics and those hooligan vibes when you twist the throttle. On long highway stretches, the 411 felt really underpowered because of its 5-speed gearbox.

Coming back to the trip: our original plan was for Mullayanagiri Peak, but we missed a crucial turn and just kept going straight on the road. That little mistake ended up taking us straight to Baba Budangiri instead. Honestly? We didn’t regret it at all, because the view from up there was legit crazy.

View from Baba Budangiri

Breakfast and College Decisions

We stopped for some egg Maggi for breakfast, which was perfectly spicy and tasty—yum for real. Right at that moment, I realized I had to choose an elective subject for my 5th-semester engineering, and there was absolutely zero internet up there. So, I literally had to call my friend and tell him to log into the college website and pick an elective for me! Once that crisis was averted, we left Baba Budangiri.

Through the Ghats

Devaramane Our next target was Devaramane viewpoint near Charmady. The road after Mudigere got a little narrow, but it was incredibly fun on the bike. This is where I really felt that lack of power. It wasn't exactly that it lacked power completely, but being used to the Himalayan 450, this particular horse felt horseless.

The view at Devaramane was beautiful. We ran into a bikers' group fully geared up with super adventure bikes like the Africa Twin and NX500. We relaxed with some buttermilk and then left for Dharmasthala via the Charmady Ghat. Devaramane View Point

This ride was easily the coolest part of the trip. But as we entered Dakshina Kannada, the vibe shifted instantly—we could physically feel the humidity, and the air got noticeably heavier and hotter. We visited the famous Dharmasthala Manjunatha Swamy temple.

At this point, we had a choice: head back to Chikkamagaluru or push further to explore more places, which would extend our trip by a day. Obviously, we decided to explore more and left for Sakleshpur. This was another massive stretch since we had already covered so much ground that day through the ghat roads. Up next was Shiradi Ghat, which turned out to be a genuinely nice ride. We rolled into Sakleshpur around evening and crashed in another cheap hotel. For bike trips like this, we really don’t care much about comfort or fancy stays.

Belur and Finally Mullayanagiri

The next morning, we left Sakleshpur and headed to Belur, which was conveniently on our way back to Chikkamagaluru. We visited the stunning Chennakeshava Swamy Temple, taking in the incredible architecture.

Chennakeshava Swamy Temple in Belur

We finally made it back to Chikkamagaluru with some time to spare. Since we had missed Mullayanagiri Peak on the first day, we decided to go for it. Sadly, the weather had other plans, and absolutely nothing was visible up there. We didn’t even go all the way to the peak—we just reached the checkpost, which is the last point for motorcycles, and decided to head back down.

We returned the rented bike, but since it had traveled way more than the allocated distance, we had to pay an extra amount for the 100-odd extra kilometers. Afterward, we hit up a nearby rider’s cafe for some pizza before catching our bus back to Bengaluru. Rider's Cafe in Chikkamagaluru