Adi Subramanya and Biladwara

A short distance from the main temple, Adi Subramanya is the older shrine where worship is offered at an anthill rather than an image - the form in which Naga worship is most directly expressed here, and for many pilgrims the more affecting of the two. Nearby is the Biladwara, the cave where Vasuki is said to have taken refuge from Garuda and where Subramanya gave him protection. Visit both; they take half an hour together and they explain the theology of the place better than the main temple does.

The Kumaradhara

The river runs below the temple and bathing in it before darshan is the practice rather than an option - there are ghats and a bridge across, and the water comes clear off the Ghats above. It is cold and the flow after monsoon rain can be strong, so follow local direction rather than assuming. Visit at first light, when the ghats fill with pilgrims and the mist is still on the water. The Kumaradhara joins the Netravathi downstream and reaches the sea at Mangalore.

Kumara Parvatha

The peak behind the temple, at around 1,712 metres, and one of the hardest trekking climbs in Karnataka - roughly thirteen kilometres of sustained ascent from the Kukke side through forest and grassland, with Shesha Parvatha as a false summit before the top. The views from the ridge across the Ghats are exceptional. Access runs through Pushpagiri sanctuary with forest department permits and seasonal closures. Visit between October and February, confirm arrangements in advance, and treat the difficulty seriously - this is a genuine mountain day.

Bisle Ghat Viewpoint

A detour off the Sakleshpur road, the Bisle viewpoint looks out over unbroken forest with three ranges of the Western Ghats visible from one point - Kumara Parvatha, Pushpagiri and the Patta Betta among them. It is a small platform on a quiet road through the Bisle reserve forest and there is nothing there beyond the view, which is the appeal. Visit in the morning before cloud builds, or in the late afternoon. The road through the forest is narrow and worth taking slowly; it is one of the better short drives in this district.

Dharmasthala and the Coast

Dharmasthala is sixty kilometres north and the two shrines are almost always visited together - a Shiva temple administered for eight centuries by a Jain family, with free meals and accommodation on a scale few institutions match. Beyond it Mangalore and the coast are around a hundred kilometres, with the beaches at Panambur and Tannirbhavi and the Kadri temple. Visit Dharmasthala as the second day of a Kukke trip; our bangalore to dharmasthala cab page covers it in full.