Madhugiri, the 2nd largest monolith in Asia next to Savandurga is a popular getaway destination for trekkers. ‘Madhu-giri’ translates to ‘Honey-Hill’, the genesis of the name is derived from the clusters of honeybee colonies which were prevalent in the yester years in the northern parts of the Madhugiri fortress.
Apart from the beautiful landscape, Madhugiri also boasts of numerous ‘messes’ (open throughout the week as opposed to regular hotels that have a weekly holiday) serving south Indian rice with sambar for lunch and delicious dosas, idlis for breakfast.
One of the most popular being ‘Ganapati Coffee Bar’, fondly known by locals as ‘Shivanna Hotel’ which was started by Mr.Shivanna Aradhya in 1976. The place is very minimal in ambiance and dimensions (can only accommodate a maximum of 7 to 10 persons at one-go), but high on taste!!
Khali Dosa:
This is their best breakfast offering, delicious khali dosas with the spicy chutney to wake-up the taste buds.

Idli with Chilli Bajji:
Butter-soft idlis with chutney and chilli-bajjis (chillies-fried in gram-flour batter) along with potato-onion subji are absolutely yumm 🙂

The only disappointment was the coffee, made using instant-coffee powder as opposed to filter coffee.
Useful Information:
- Timings: 7 am to 5 pm (Open all days of the week)
- Location: Reach the Superintendent of Police (SP) Office inside Madhugiri town and ask the locals for Shivanna Hotel instead of Ganapati Coffee Bar, the hotel is about 200 to 300m from the SP office (Google Maps link to the Madhugiri SP Office)
- Parking: Ample space to park cars and motorcycles
- Cash only, no cards are accepted
- Distance from Bangalore : 105 kms
- Terrain: Brilliant roads to relish a motorcycle

Interesting Fact:
Madhugiri Fort is a ‘yellu sutinna kote’ which means a ‘fort with seven concentric fortification walls of guard’ similar to the popular Chitradurga Fort and has an underground path leading to the Chitradurga Fort.
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