Sakleshpur sits on the route from Bengaluru to Kukke Subramanya and Dharmasthala. Kukke is about 60 km on, roughly 1 to 1.5 hours by road, and Dharmasthala about 75 km, roughly 2 hours. Stop here for the night and you can reach either temple early in the morning darshan, rested.
From Bengaluru, each temple is a 6 to 7 hour drive. Sakleshpur is about 220 km and 4 to 5 hours in, so a night here leaves only the ghat section for the morning, and you drive it in daylight.
This guide covers both ghat roads, the darshan hours, whether you can do both temples in a day, where Horanadu and Sringeri fit, and the buses and trains from Sakleshpur.
Sakleshpur to the temples at a glance
Route
Distance
Time by carSakleshpur to Kukke Subramanya | about 60 km | 1 to 1.5 hours
Ashvana to Kukke Subramanya | 62.1 km | about 1 hour 15 minutes
Sakleshpur to Dharmasthala | about 75 km | about 2 hours
Kukke Subramanya to Dharmasthala | about 55 km | 1 to 1.5 hours
Bengaluru to Sakleshpur | about 220 km | 4 to 5 hours
Bengaluru to Kukke Subramanya | about 280 km | 6 to 7 hours
Bengaluru to Dharmasthala | about 300 km | 6 to 7 hours
Darshan timings (they change on festival and eclipse days): Kukke, open by 7 am to about 12:30 to 1:30 pm, then 3:30 to 8 pm. Dharmasthala, 6:30 am to 2 pm, then 7 to 8:30 pm.
Horanadu and Sringeri lie the other way, through Mudigere and Kalasa: a separate leg.
The road to Kukke comes first.
How far is Sakleshpur from Kukke Subramanya, and which ghat road do you take
Kukke Subramanya is about 60 km from Sakleshpur by road, roughly 1 to 1.5 hours, whichever of the two ghat roads you take. The temple, Kukke Shri Subrahmanya Swamy Temple, is dedicated to Lord Kumaraswamy (Subrahmanya) and stands in Dakshina Kannada, on the coast side of the Western Ghats.
Via Shiradi Ghat and Gundya: This is the highway route. You take NH75 west from Sakleshpur and go down Shiradi Ghat to Gundya, about 36 km from the Sakleshpur bypass, then turn onto the narrower road south for about 21 km to Subramanya. Most Bengaluru drivers and taxis use this road. In a December 2024 drive report, the first few kilometres past Sakleshpur were badly broken, and the run down to Gundya was easy after that. In heavy monsoon rain Shiradi Ghat has been closed before; the checklist further down has the dates.
Via Bisle Ghat: This is the forest road. It runs from Sakleshpur through coffee estates and Bisle Reserve Forest, past the Bisle viewpoint, and then about 20 km down to Kukke. It is quieter and narrower, with no street lights and little phone signal, so take it only in daylight. Our Bisle Ghat guide has the latest road condition reports for this route.
You will see anything from 33 km to 111 km quoted online. The low figures are not road distances, and the high one is the railway line. By road, plan on about 60 km.
Dharmasthala is the longer run.
How far is Sakleshpur from Dharmasthala, and which route is best
Dharmasthala is about 75 km from Sakleshpur by road, roughly 2 hours, down Shiradi Ghat on NH75 to Gundya and on from there. The route is simple: Sakleshpur, Shiradi Ghat, Gundya, Dharmasthala. A December 2024 drive report found the road from Gundya to Dharmasthala in good condition.
Some pages put it at about 50 km. That figure came from an old review that counted only the ghat stretch. Door to door, it is about 75 km.
Dharmasthala is the temple town of the Shri Manjunatha Swamy Temple, in Dakshina Kannada on the coast side of the ghats. From Bengaluru it is about 300 km in all, and Sakleshpur sits about three quarters of the way along, which is why it works as the night stop.
Starting from Hassan, Mysuru or Mangaluru instead? Our distances guide covers each.
Horanadu and Sringeri, the two temples people often add to a trip like this, lie in the other direction.
What about Horanadu and Sringeri from Sakleshpur
Horanadu lies the other way from Kukke and Dharmasthala, north into the Chikkamagaluru hills through Mudigere and Kalasa. It is a small village in Mudigere taluk of Chikkamagaluru district, home to the Annapoorneshwari temple (Sri Adishaktyatmaka Annapurneshwari). The road goes inland via Mudigere and Kalasa rather than down the ghats, so it is a separate leg, not a stop on the route to Kukke or Dharmasthala. Give it most of a day from Sakleshpur.
Sringeri is further on in the same hills, and pilgrims usually pair it with Horanadu on one trip. If your trip covers all four, Sakleshpur works as the night between the coast-side temples and the hill-side ones.
So is the night in Sakleshpur worth it?
Is a night in Sakleshpur worth it on a temple trip
A night in Sakleshpur turns a 6 to 7 hour drive from Bengaluru into two easy halves: 4 to 5 hours on the first day and 1 to 2 hours on the temple morning.
Straight from Bengaluru, the day is tight. A Team-BHP driver who left at 6:30 am reached Dharmasthala at 12:15 pm, breakfast included (December 2024). A local guide to Dharmasthala suggests leaving around 4 am so you cross the ghat in daylight (December 2025). That means a dawn start, a ghat section after hours at the wheel, and an arrival close to the 2 pm end of morning darshan.
Straight from Bengaluru
With a night in SakleshpurLeave between 4 and 6:30 am | Drive in the afternoon before
6 to 7 hours at the wheel in one go | 4 to 5 hours, then sleep
Ghat section after a long morning | Ghat section fresh, in daylight
Reach Dharmasthala near the 2 pm close | Leave after an early breakfast, reach Kukke in 1 to 1.5 hours or Dharmasthala in about 2
The night helps most if you are travelling with elders or children, if you are booked for a seva, or if you would rather not take the ghat tired. A Bengaluru traveller put it plainly in May 2026: "One night stay is needed as it's a long drive."
You can skip it if you are taking an overnight bus or train straight to the temple town.
Ashvana is 62.1 km from Kukke Subramanya, about an hour and a quarter, and its Family Cottage sleeps four.
The next question is when to leave in the morning.
How do you time the drive around darshan hours
Darshan at Kukke Subramanya and Dharmasthala runs in two windows, a long morning one and an evening one, with a gap in the afternoon, so aim for the morning.
Kukke Subramanya. In 2025 guides the temple opens by 7 am, morning darshan runs to about 12:30 to 1:30 pm, and evening darshan is 3:30 to 8 pm. Leave Sakleshpur by about 7 am and you are there by about 8:30.
Dharmasthala. In 2025 guides darshan runs 6:30 am to 2 pm, then 7 to 8:30 pm. Leave Sakleshpur by about 7 am and you are there by about 9, with hours to spare. Locals suggest the forenoon is calmer.
Evening darshan means driving the ghat road back after dark or staying in the temple town, so most people coming from Sakleshpur go in the morning.
If you are going for a seva such as Sarpa Samskara or Ashlesha Bali, the serpent rituals Kukke is known for, plan the drive around the seva time the temple gives you.
Hours change on festival and eclipse days, so check the temple's notice the day before.
Can you fit both temples into one morning?
Can you visit Kukke Subramanya and Dharmasthala on the same day
Kukke Subramanya and Dharmasthala are about 55 km apart, so you can see both in one morning from Sakleshpur if you start early. A December 2024 drive report did the pair in one run, going from Dharmasthala to Kukke and back up over Bisle.
- Leave Sakleshpur about 7 am and reach Kukke by about 8:30 (about 60 km).
- Have darshan at Kukke and leave by about 11.
- Drive about 55 km, 1 to 1.5 hours, to Dharmasthala and arrive before 2 pm, inside the morning darshan timings.
- Head back up the route via Gundya and Shiradi Ghat (about 75 km, about 2 hours) while it is light.
It is a full day. With elders or a seva booked, give each temple its own morning.
What if you are not driving?
Is there a bus or train from Sakleshpur to Kukke or Dharmasthala
Trains from Sakleshpur run to Subrahmanya Road station on the ghat line, a few a day, about three hours, most of them at night or early morning.
Train. The line runs through the Western Ghats, and most departures leave Sakleshpur at night or before dawn. Subrahmanya Road is about 12 km from the temple, so you need a taxi or bus for the last stretch to Kukke Subramanya.
Bus. Private buses list Sakleshpur to Dharmasthala on booking apps, and the KSRTC bus stand in Sakleshpur is the place to ask for that day's timings. For a morning darshan at Kukke, a taxi hired in Sakleshpur is simpler.
Before you set out, a few things are worth knowing.
What should you know before you set out: dress, monsoon and night driving
The drive from Sakleshpur to the temples is a daylight drive down a ghat road, best done in the morning and never rushed in heavy rain.
- Take the ghat sections in daylight. Drivers' reports for Sakleshpur to Gundya say the same.
- In the monsoon, Shiradi Ghat has been closed after landslides (July 2024, and June and August 2025), with traffic sent via Charmadi Ghat. For the latest Shiradi Ghat status and the alternate routes, see our Shiradi Ghat road guide.
- At Kukke Subramanya, men enter the sanctum without a shirt. At both Kukke and Dharmasthala, dress traditionally and skip shorts. Follow the dress notice at each temple gate.
- Phone signal can drop on the ghat, so download offline maps in Sakleshpur.
- Fill up and eat in Sakleshpur before the ghat road.
- The Kumara Parvatha trek starts near Kukke. That is a different trip, with its own planning.
Last, where to spend the night before.
Plan the night before the temple
Ashvana is 62.1 km from Kukke Subramanya, about an hour and a quarter, so a night here puts you at the temple early and rested. Tell the team your temple plan when you book, and they will share directions for the morning.
Close enough for a weekend. Far enough to truly disconnect.
Book your stay
See directions to the resort. Or WhatsApp us on +91 91879 63043.
Good to Know
Questions, Answered
How far is Dharmasthala from Bangalore?
Dharmasthala is about 300 km from Bengaluru by road, a 6 to 7 hour drive through Hassan and Sakleshpur and down Shiradi Ghat.
How far is Kukke Subramanya from Bangalore?
Kukke Subramanya is about 280 km from Bengaluru by road, roughly 6 to 7 hours, through Hassan and Sakleshpur.
Which railway station is closest to Kukke Subramanya?
Subrahmanya Road is the closest, about 12 km from the temple. Most trains from Sakleshpur reach it at night or early morning.
How far is Kukke from Sakleshpur by road?
Kukke is about 60 km from Sakleshpur, 1 to 1.5 hours, either down Shiradi Ghat via Gundya or over Bisle Ghat.
