Charmadi Ghat (Charmady) is a ghatti beginning from

Belthangady taluk Belthangady is a town panchayat and the headquarters of Belthangady taluk of the Dakshina Kannada (South Canara) district of Karnataka state in India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the ...

Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is located in the states and territories of India, state of Karnataka in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangaluru. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east and the ...

and ending in

Mudigere Mudigere is a Town and Taluk in Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is 30 km from the district headquarters. Mudigere is known for its coffee and black pepper production. Geography and climate Mudigere town is loca ...

taluk of

Chikmagalur Chikmagalur (officially Chikkamagaluru, ), previously known as ''Kiriya-Muguli'' is a city and the headquarters of Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the foothills of the Mullayanagiri, Mullayanagiri peak of the We ...

. It is one of the points in Western ghats through which motorable road passes connecting Dakshina Kannada with

Chikmagalur district Chikmagalur, officially Chikkamagaluru () is an administrative district in the Malnad subregion of Karnataka, India. It was called Kadur (''Cuddoor'') district till 1947. Coffee was first cultivated in India in Chikmagalur. The hills of Chikm ...

. The section of ghat is known by the name of Charmadi Ghat. It lies on National Highway 73 which connects

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

Tumkur Tumkur, officially Tumakuru, is a city and headquarters of Tumakuru district in the Karnataka state of India. Tumkur is known for Siddaganga Matha. Tumkur hosts India's first mega food park, a project of the ministry of food processing. The Ind ...

. The nearest places are Charmadi village,

Ujire Ujire is a town near Dharmasthala in Karnataka, India. It is in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district. Ujire is an important junction for travelers in this region. The road at Ujire deviates to Dharmasthala (towards Hassan, Bengaluru) ...

Belthangady Belthangady is a town panchayat and the headquarters of Belthangady taluk of the Dakshina Kannada (South Canara) district of Karnataka state in India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the ...

, Puttur,

Kottigehara Kottigehara is a village located atop the Charmadi ghat in Mudigere taluk of Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka state, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dep ...

, Balur and

Kalasa Kalasa is a taluk located in Chikmagalur district in Karnataka. Kalasa is home to the Kalaseshwara Temple dedicated to Shiva. Kalasa lies 92 Kilometres West of Chickmagalur and is located on the banks of the Bhadra River. Kannada language is s ...

and

Banakal Banakal is a town in Mudigere Taluk, Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka, India, in the Charmadi hills in the Western Ghats and on the banks of the Hemavati River The Hemavati is a river in southern India's Karnataka and an important t ...

. Charmadi Ghat starts from Charmadi village ('' above the MSL'') (11 km from

) and ends near

('' above MSL'')(16 km from

). Charmadi Ghat connects the north eastern part of Dakshina Kannada to Chikmagalur district and the prominent highway is connecting Ujire (9 km from

Dharmasthala Dharmasthala() (earlier known as Kuduma) is an Indian temple town on the banks of the Nethravathi River in the taluk of Belthangady of the Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, India. The town is known for its centuries-old Dharmastha ...

) to Kottigehara (about 50 km from Chikmagalur). Ballarayanadurga is a fort atop a hill located about 10 km from Sunkasale, on the Kottigehara - Kalasa route. Ballarayanadurga fort can be accessed from 2 sides - the shorter route from Sunkasale, located on the way from

Horanadu Horanadu, also known as Sri Kshetra Horanadu, is a Panchayat village in Kalasa Kalasa is a taluk located in Chikmagalur district in Karnataka. Kalasa is home to the Kalaseshwara Temple dedicated to Shiva. Kalasa lies 92 Kilometres West ...

or the longer route from Bandaje. In the Charmadi ghat, there is a waterfall named Bandaje Arbi (''arbi'' in Tulu means 'waterfall') which falls from a height of 200 feet. Gadaikallu peak has an elevation of 1700 feet.

National Highway 73

The National Highway 73 (previously national highway 234) climbs the Western ghats from Charmadi. This ghat section has 12 Hairpin curves and receives very heavy rainfall of over 7000 mm during the monsoon. Some of the prominent peaks in this region include Jenukallu Gudda, Baalekallu Gudda and Kodekallu Gudda. In

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

and Tulu, ''kode'' means 'umbrella', ''kallu'' means 'rock' and ''gudda'' means 'hill'. The roads in this ghat section are very narrow. Baalekallu Gudda is located at the 11th hairpin curve. On a clear day, the

coastline is visible from the top of Charmadi ghat. This ghat section is very deep compared to the other Ghat sections of Karnataka. Compared to other places in Dakshina Kannada, the winter is quite chilly in Charmadi because of the elevation.

Image gallery

File:Kodekallu gudda - Charmadi ghat.jpg, Waterfall in Kodekallu Gudda of the Charmadi ghat Sign showing the 8th Hairpin curve of Charmadi ghat.jpg, Sign by Charmadi ghat Charmadi Ghat.jpg, Charmadi Ghat File:Charmadi near Ujire.jpg, File:Annappa Temple at Charmadi Ghat.png, Annappa Temple at Charmadi Ghat

References

External links

A Drive Through Charmadi

Villages in Dakshina Kannada district {{DakshinaKannada-geo-stub