Chikmagalur

This article is about the municipality in India. For its namesake district, see Chikmagalur district.

Chikmagalur (officially Chikkamagaluru,^[3] IPA: [t͡ʃikːɐmɐɡɐɭuːru]), previously known as Kiriya-Muguli^[4] is a city and the headquarters of Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka.^[5] Located on the foothills of the Mullayanagiri peak of the Western Ghats, the city attracts tourists from around the world for its pleasant and favourable hill station climate, tropical rainforest and coffee estates. The pristine Baba Budangiri lies to the north of Chikmagalur, where it is believed that Baba Budan first introduced coffee to India.

Chikmagalur
City
Chikkamagaluru
Nickname:  The Land of Coffee
Chikmagalur in Karnataka
Coordinates: 13.313°N 75.737°E / 13.313; 75.737
Country	India
State	Karnataka
Region	Malenadu
Founded by	King Rukmangada
Government
• Body	City Municipal Council
• CMC Commissioner	H T Krishnamurthy
Area
• City	32.74 km2 (12.64 sq mi)
• Rural	1,581.53 km2 (610.63 sq mi)
Elevation _at_bus_stand	1,040 m (3,410 ft)
Population  (2011)[1]
• City	118,401
• Density	3,600/km2 (9,400/sq mi)
• Rural	186,967
Languages
• Official	Kannada
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	577101, 577102 [2]
Vehicle registration	KA-18
Website	chickamagalurcity.mrc.gov.in

Geography

Chikmagalur is situated in the Malenadu region of Karnataka in the Deccan plateau in the foothills of the Western Ghats. It is situated at an elevation of 1,090 metres (3,580 ft) above mean sea level, meaning it is the third highest city in Karnataka. The Yagachi River has its source near the town and flows in the south-easterly direction before uniting with the Hemavati river.

Chikmagalur is around 240 km from the state capital Bangalore, 183 km from Mysore and 305 km from Hubli.

Climate

Chikmagalur generally has a moderate to cool climate. The temperature of the city varies from 11–20 °C (52–68 °F) during winter to 25–32 °C (77–90 °F) during summer.

Climate data for Chikmagalur (1991–2020, extremes 1974–2020)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	32.5 (90.5)	35.0 (95.0)	36.7 (98.1)	37.0 (98.6)	37.0 (98.6)	35.5 (95.9)	31.0 (87.8)	30.5 (86.9)	32.0 (89.6)	32.0 (89.6)	32.5 (90.5)	32.5 (90.5)	37.0 (98.6)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	28.1 (82.6)	30.5 (86.9)	32.6 (90.7)	33.0 (91.4)	31.3 (88.3)	27.1 (80.8)	25.4 (77.7)	25.8 (78.4)	26.8 (80.2)	27.1 (80.8)	26.9 (80.4)	26.8 (80.2)	28.4 (83.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	14.8 (58.6)	16.0 (60.8)	18.1 (64.6)	19.5 (67.1)	19.8 (67.6)	19.3 (66.7)	19.0 (66.2)	18.8 (65.8)	18.4 (65.1)	18.1 (64.6)	17.1 (62.8)	15.2 (59.4)	17.9 (64.2)
Record low °C (°F)	10.0 (50.0)	11.1 (52.0)	14.0 (57.2)	15.0 (59.0)	14.6 (58.3)	15.0 (59.0)	15.2 (59.4)	16.0 (60.8)	14.6 (58.3)	12.0 (53.6)	11.1 (52.0)	10.9 (51.6)	10.0 (50.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	2.4 (0.09)	3.6 (0.14)	26.5 (1.04)	64.5 (2.54)	116.7 (4.59)	119.2 (4.69)	126.3 (4.97)	129.5 (5.10)	106.9 (4.21)	163.3 (6.43)	67.3 (2.65)	10.7 (0.42)	936.9 (36.89)
Average rainy days	0.2	0.4	1.3	4.5	7.0	9.3	11.6	9.9	7.3	8.6	3.8	1.0	64.9
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST)	48	47	47	54	63	76	80	79	75	72	66	57	64
Source: India Meteorological Department[6][7]

Rainfall

In 2022, Chikmagalur hobli received an annual rainfall of 1,590 millimetres (63 in).^[8]

In 2024, Chikmagalur received 1,459.80 millimetres (57.472 in) of annual rainfall. It was a massive turnaround of 75% excess, following a drought-like year in 2023.^[9]

Demographics

As of 2011 Indian Census, Chikmagalur city had a total population of 118,401, of which 58,702 were males and 59,699 were females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 11,633. The total number of literates in Chikmagalur was 96,359, which constituted 81.4% of the population with male literacy of 83.7% and female literacy of 79.1%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Chikmagalur was 90.3%, of which male literacy rate was 93.1% and female literacy rate was 87.5%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 16,423 and 1,734 respectively. Chikmagalur had 28545 households in 2011.^[10]

Languages of Chikmagalur City^[11]

1. Kannada (56.2%)
2. Urdu (23.4%)
3. Tamil (4.79%)
4. Telugu (4.50%)
5. Malayalam (2.86%)
6. Konkani (2.26%)
7. Hindi (2.13%)
8. Marathi (1.36%)
9. Tulu (1.32%)
10. Others (1.16%)

Religions in Chikmagalur city (2011)[12] Religion Percent Hinduism   69.91% Islam   25.45% Christianity   3.61% Jainism   0.91% Other or not stated   0.12%

Tourist attractions

Court road in Chikmagalur

• Mullayyana Giri and its adjacent peaks along the Chandradrona Mountain Range
• Ayyanakere Lake
• Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary
• Kudremukha National Park
• Bhadra Dam
• Horanadu and Sringeri - Pilgrim spots
• Yagati Mallikarjuna Temple
• Belur & Halebeedu

Transport

Rail and road are the two modes of transportation that are available in the city. NH-173 (formerly KM Road) passes through the town connecting with the port city Mangalore, located 150 kilometres (93 mi) away. State Highway 57 (Karnataka) connects the city to Mysore via Hassan in the south and to Shimoga, (via Lingadahalli) in the north.

A railway line connects Chikmagalur railway station to Kadur Junction railway station. The nearest international airport is Mangalore International Airport.

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation provides inter-state, inter-city and intra-city bus services to the city. Chikmagalur division of KSRTC has six operational depots, including three in Hassan district. NWKRTC and KKRTC buses travelling to Dharmasthala, all pass through Charmadi Ghat, thus giving the city very good connectivity with the cities of northern Karnataka, like Hubli, Ballari, Bijapur, Kalaburagi, etc.