Pune to Chikmagalur Road Trip is what the doctor ordered for leisure travelers and road trip lovers like us. North Karnataka has locations like Chikmagalur and Shimoga to visit. We had never been to Karnataka from Pune for a Road Trip. So we needed a bit of planning.
In this blog, I will discuss our plan, the stops or breaks that we took and the historic places we discovered on the way.
Let’s begin our
Best Time to Travel
The region receives heavy rainfall. Chikmagalur looks beautiful in monsoon. You can avoid the monsoon of Chikmagalur as the rains can be an obstacle to sight seeing.
Winters are cold and dry with temperatures between 11 to 20 degrees. Due to this, the winters here are overall pleasant.
The summers are good too as the temperature ranges between 25 to 33 Degrees on Avg. The air is clean and fresh.
To avoid the rains we traveled in October.
October can sometimes also bring T Storms and we feared it. On our way to Davangere we experienced one. Luckily we did not encounter one in Chikmagalur.
The Plan
We had many choices in North Karnataka to go for a road trip. Tourist places like Badami, Hampi and Coastal Karnataka.
For us the hills of Chikmagalur looked inviting. The attractions include the lush green pastures, tall betel nut trees, coconut tree farms, vast paddy fields and blue water bodies.
We wanted to stretch and include Gokarna and Agumbe too but we would have to add 4 – 5 days more to our 7 – 8 days plan.
We thought we could give the beautiful temples of Hampi and beaches of Karwar a miss this time.
So Pune to Chikmagalur Road Trip was it.
We had a total of around 7 to 8 days. We divided the Pune to Chikmagalur Road Trip in 2 parts,
1) one was Pune to Chikmagalur and
2) the other being Chikmagalur to Shimoga
So we booked a place to stay in Chikmagalur for 3 nights. We did not book our stay in Shimoga for a buffer.
Advice – You can book your stay on a refundable basis so in case of any changes, you will get the refund.
The rest was left to travel.
Pune to Chikmagalur Distance
Chikmagalur is at a distance of around 850 Km from Pune and 1000 Km from Mumbai. There are 2 routes,
1) From Pune to Kolhapur and Hubli and and
2) From Pune to Solapur and Hubli.
For the travelers in Mumbai, the Kolhapur route is the appropriate one. Even we chose this route.
Even after Hubli you can directly go from Shimoga to Chikmagalur. We decided not to go directly.
We needed 14 hrs of driving from Pune to Chikmagalur. 14 hours of driving can be hectic so we had to split the distance to around 550 Km on Day 1 and the balance 300 km on Day 2. So we thought we would stay at Hubli and thought of booking our transit stay during the road trip.
The Road Trip Begins
Pune to Chikmagalur via Davangere
After planning the itinerary, it was time to move. We left home at around 7 am from Pune. It took us around 3.5 hrs to reach Karad where we had a quick bite at Hotel Sai on the Highway. This place is right on the highway and is clean.
We reached Hubli at 2 pm and had lunch. We started experiencing the Karnataka vibes from this place. The difference in the language and food was evident.
We had traveled a distance of 450 Kms and were thinking of where to stay for the night. Since we were not tired, we thought we could go further than Dharwad and did so. At around 6 pm we entered an overcast Davangere.
The stay at Davangere wasn’t finalized so we chose Sai International Hotel.
The Sai International Hotel is not far from the main Highway. It had a Petrol Pump nearby and decent reviews.
The moment we entered Davangere it started raining. We had to refuel and at the petrol pump we saw this sight.
An elephant found shade under a petrol pump. We thought it was our lucky start and headed to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.
If you guys happen to travel to Davangere, do not forget to taste the Davangere Benne Dossa. It has two authentic joints of the same family. The sitting is normal but the Dossa is yum.
Davangere to Chikmagalur Distance
The distance between Davangere and Chikmagalur is 160 kms and there are 2 – 3 ways of going through. We thought we would choose roads randomly from here as an hour here or there would not make much difference.
Davangere to Chikmagalur Journey
The previous evening Davangere received heavy rainfall. But it was a bright and sunny morning. We had a light breakfast and quickly checked out. We searched through Google Maps and found a few internal roads and decided to move. We saw boards of Chitradurga, Bangalore and Chennai on the road and left it for some other day.
The fields of corn looked green with the lovely blue skies in the background. The roads seemed good and we traveled. Soon, the roads took us through some laid-back villages of North Karnataka. Check out some pics.
Unlikely Visit to a Medieval Relic - Musafir Khana
Something beautiful was about to happen. We accidently missed a few turns here and there and managed to get back on track. We had reached a village called Santhebennur.
We had no idea of what was coming. Here was a 16th Century Relic, Musafir Khana and Honda.
Though in ruins it seems to be nicely preserved and maintained. We got down from the car and took notice of this architectural beauty in the most unlikely of places.
Musafir Khana as the name suggests is a resting place for travelers in the Medieval Era. It has a water reservoir at the centre known as the Honda. Honda or Water reservoir was built around a temple in the centre which dates back to the 16th Century.
There are reports that the structures are deteriorating. The ruins are beautiful and tranquil. One can spend an hour or two at the site.
This is one of those places where you can spend hours. Since our destination kept calling, we had to get on the road.
Nearing Chikmagalur
After Musafir Khana and Honda at Santhebennur, we were on an internal road. This road too was beautiful. As we approached Chikmagalur, we saw some beautiful trees like Coconut Trees. We soon got to know that they are Arecanut or Supari Trees.
As we entered Chikmagalur, the pastures were green. We took some amazing road pics with a water body on one side and fields on the other side. Check them out.
As the hill station came closer, the skies were blue and we saw some amazing cloud formations.
We had a booking with a hotel initially but somehow we didn’t like it so we canceled it and moved into another hotel. Tresca was a boutique hotel and it served the purpose. The rooms were clean and we moved in.
We quickly settled in and ordered food.
Tip – On a Road Trip there is a high possibility of changes in plan. In that case it is better you do not book your stay with a non refundable feature, even if it is cheaper.
Go for the refundable booking which you can cancel later.
Moving Ahead
On our Pune to Chikmagalur Road Trip, we had arrived at Chikmagalur. The long journey of over 800 kms was over. For the time being we were relaxing.
We had to plan for the next few days. We had many options to choose from within Chikmagalur City and outside it.
Please share our blog to people who are interested in family road trips. And also to travel, wildlife, history and nature lovers.
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