Shyam Hegde (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia CommonsThis corner of Chikmagalur and its border with Shimoga district holds three of Karnataka's most significant temples within a genuinely driveable loop: Sringeri's Sharada Peetha (founded by Adi Shankaracharya, on the banks of the Tunga), Horanadu's Annapoorneshwari Temple (on the Bhadra River, dedicated to the goddess of food), and Kalasa's Kalaseshwara Swami Temple (a Shiva temple on the Bhadra, with idols of several other deities). Sringeri's temple complex also includes the older, stone Vidyashankara Temple, built in a distinct Hoysala-Vijayanagara style, standing beside the Sharadamba temple's gilded tower.
One small, genuinely charming detail at Sringeri: the stretch of the Tunga River beside the temple ghats is a protected fish sanctuary, home to large schools of mahseer that gather right at the steps — a sight worth building a few minutes into your stop for.
The distances are real enough to plan around rather than rush: Horanadu sits roughly 70 km from Chikmagalur town, Kalasa about 7 km further from Horanadu, and Sringeri a further stretch beyond that — most visitors treat this as a full day's driving loop, not a quick stop between other plans.
Horanadu from Chikmagalur
~70 km
Kalasa from Horanadu
~7 km
Entry fee
None (donations accepted)
Best done as
One full driving day
Stop 1
Stop 2
~7 km before Horanadu on this route
Stop 3
Donations accepted; some temples offer paid special darshan queues on busy days.
No permit required
No forest permit involved — this is a road trip between temple towns. Plan a full day given the real driving distances between all three.
Required documents
Yes, but plan for a full day of driving rather than a quick stop — Horanadu alone is roughly 70 km from Chikmagalur, with Kalasa and Sringeri further along the loop.
No, all three are free to enter, though donations are welcomed and some offer paid express-darshan queues on busy days.
It was founded by Adi Shankaracharya and is one of the four cardinal mathas of Advaita Vedanta in India — a major pilgrimage and scholarly centre, not only a temple.
The stretch of the Tunga River beside the temple ghats is a protected sanctuary where large schools of mahseer fish gather right at the steps — a genuinely striking, easy-to-miss detail worth a few minutes on your stop.
Coffee estate country, Chikmagalur, Chikmagalur
Wake up inside a working coffee estate in the Western Ghats
A family-run homestay inside a working coffee estate — home-cooked Malnad meals, a bonfire most evenings, and plantation blocks that start where the lawn ends.
2 guests1 bedrooms1 bathsHomestay
₹2,000 / night
A full driving day out of Good Earth Homestay, back in time for the evening.
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September to May — trails turn slippery and leech-heavy during the June–August monsoon
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Monsoon and post-monsoon, July to December, when the falls are at their fullest
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September to May — the Forest Department restricts access during the heaviest monsoon months
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