One Day Bike Trip from Bangalore: 12 Best Rides and Distances

Bangalore sits on a plateau with rocky hills, Cauvery country and three state borders all within a morning's ride, so a one day bike trip from Bangalore can mean almost anything: a sunrise climb, a waterfall, a Vijayanagara temple, or a proper set of hairpins across the border in Tamil Nadu or Andhra.

This is a rider's shortlist of the one day bike rides worth your Sunday. Twelve of them, sorted by distance, so you can pick by how much daylight you have. Each one has the road distance, an honest ride time and the road you take out of the city.

Two things worth knowing before you plan. Since August 2023, bikes have been banned from the main carriageway of the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, so anything down the Mysuru road now means the service roads and the old highway through the towns, which is where the good breakfast is anyway. And not every road here is free for bikes. The national highway toll plazas let two-wheelers through at no charge, but the Electronic City flyover charges bikes ₹25 and NICE Road charges them too.

Bike trip distances from Bangalore

Rough road distances from central Bangalore, one way. Ride times assume a dawn start and include getting clear of the city.

Short trips, under 80 km

• Ramanagara | about 50 km | 1.5 hours | the Sholay rocks, with thatte idli on the way
• Manchanabele and Savandurga | about 60 km | 1.5 hours | a reservoir and a giant monolith
• Nandi Hills | about 60 km | 1.5 hours | the sunrise climb
• Skandagiri | about 65 km | 1.5 hours | the same clouds, on foot
• Devarayanadurga | about 75 km | 2 hours | a quieter hill climb

Half day to full day, 80 to 150 km

• Chunchi Falls and Mekedatu | about 95 km | 2.5 hours | Cauvery gorge country
• Lepakshi | about 120 km | 2.5 hours | a Vijayanagara temple in Andhra
• Shivanasamudra and Talakadu | about 130 km | 3 hours | twin waterfalls and a temple in the sand
• Mysuru and Srirangapatna | about 140 km | 4 hours | the long, easy classic
• Hogenakkal via Anchetty | about 140 km | 4 hours | a forest ghat and coracles

The long ones, 150 km and up

• Horsley Hills | about 150 km | 3.5 hours | Andhra's small hill station
• Yelagiri | about 165 km | 4 hours | 14 hairpins, each with a name

Nearly every direction has its own road. NH44 goes north past the airport toward Nandi, Skandagiri and Lepakshi. Tumakuru road heads northwest, Magadi road west, and the Mysuru road southwest. Kanakapura road runs south into Cauvery country, and Hosur road runs southeast into Tamil Nadu.

Short bike trips from Bangalore

1. Ramanagara

Distance: About 50 km one way | Ride time: 1.5 hours | Best for: An easy morning with a proper breakfast

The granite boulders around Ramanagara are where Sholay was shot, and the rocks are still full of climbers on weekends. Ramadevara Betta, just outside town, is a vulture sanctuary with a short climb to a hilltop temple and the best view of the boulder country.

The ride out is the old Mysuru road, and about 32 km out you pass through Bidadi, a town that is famous for thatte idli. Some of the idli joints there go back to the 1950s, and a plate of these on the way out is as much a part of this one day bike ride as the rocks.

Rider tip: Bikes are not allowed on the main carriageway of the Mysuru expressway. Take the service road and the old highway through Bidadi and Ramanagara town. Riders who sneak onto the expressway get stopped at the toll plaza and sent back to the service road.

2. Manchanabele and Savandurga

Distance: About 60 km one way | Ride time: 1.5 hours | Best for: A short ride that feels far from the city

Magadi road takes you west to Manchanabele, a reservoir in a bowl of scrub hills that looks like somewhere much further from Bangalore. About 15 km on is Savandurga, one of the largest monolith hills in Asia, two bare domes of rock rising out of the forest.

The roads empty out quickly once you are past the city end of Magadi road, and the loop between the two is one of the easiest one day bike rides near the city.

Rider tip: The Savandurga climb needs a trek slot booked on the Karnataka forest department's Aranya Vihaara site, so book before you ride. Skip the climb if it has rained. Bare rock turns slick fast.

3. Nandi Hills

Distance: About 60 km one way | Ride time: 1.5 hours | Best for: The sunrise ride every Bangalore rider does first

If you ride in Bangalore, Nandi will be your first one day bike trip. An hour up NH44 past the airport, then a short climb of tight hairpins to the top, where on a good winter morning you stand above a sea of cloud. Tipu's Drop, the old fort walls and the Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple at the base make it more than a viewpoint.

The gates open at 6 am, and on weekends a queue of bikes forms long before that. If you want the sunrise from the top, leave the city by 4:30. On busy weekends the gate also stops letting vehicles in once the top is full.

Rider tip: The cloud sea needs a cool, damp morning, which means roughly October to February. In summer you climb for a hazy view and a lot of company.

Route guide: Bangalore to Nandi Hills by bike

4. Skandagiri

Distance: About 65 km one way | Ride time: 1.5 hours | Best for: Nandi's clouds, without Nandi's crowd

Skandagiri is Nandi's quieter neighbour, a hill with the ruins of an old fort on top and the same chance of cloud below you at dawn. The difference is that you walk up. The ride gets you to the base, and a rocky trail from a 4 am start gets you to the summit for sunrise.

Rider tip: Every climb needs a permit booked on the Aranya Vihaara site. There are 4 am and 8 am slots of about 150 people each, and weekend slots go days ahead, so book first and plan the ride around it.

5. Devarayanadurga

Distance: About 75 km one way | Ride time: 2 hours | Best for: A hill climb without the queue

Take Tumakuru road out past Nelamangala and the hills of Devarayanadurga rise out of the plain. The road climbs through scrub forest to the Narasimha temples near the top, a smaller, far less crowded version of the Nandi climb. Namada Chilume, a natural spring with a small deer park a few kilometres away, is the usual add-on.

Rider tip: Tumakuru road is a heavy truck route as far as Nelamangala. Leave early, hold your lane and keep checking your mirrors until you turn off the highway.

Full-day bike trips from Bangalore

6. Chunchi Falls and Mekedatu

Distance: About 95 km one way | Ride time: 2.5 hours | Best for: Empty roads and the Cauvery gorge

Kanakapura road is where Bangalore riders go for empty tarmac. About 85 km out, Chunchi Falls drops through a rocky gorge on the Arkavathi, and a little further on is Sangama, where the Arkavathi meets the Cauvery. Mekedatu, the goat's leap, is 4 km downstream, where the whole river squeezes through a gap in the rock so narrow a goat could supposedly jump it.

Rider tip: You cannot ride to Mekedatu. Park at Sangama, cross the river and take the bus that runs to the gorge. When the Cauvery is high after the monsoon the crossing can close, so check before you commit. Never get in the water here. The currents at Mekedatu have drowned plenty of confident swimmers.

7. Lepakshi

Distance: About 120 km one way | Ride time: 2.5 hours | Best for: History at the end of a fast highway

Lepakshi is 120 km up NH44, just across the Andhra border, and the road is wide and easy the whole way. The reward is the Veerabhadra temple, built in the 16th century under the Vijayanagara empire, with painted ceilings, a hanging pillar that does not quite touch the floor, and one of the largest monolithic Nandis in the country a short walk away.

Rider tip: Fill up in Karnataka. In September 2026 petrol in Andhra Pradesh cost about ₹117 a litre, around ₹6 more than in Bangalore and the highest in the country. There is little shade at the temple, so arrive early.

8. Shivanasamudra and Talakadu

Distance: About 130 km one way | Ride time: 3 hours | Best for: Waterfalls, after the monsoon

At Shivanasamudra the Cauvery splits around an island and drops off the plateau in two falls, Gaganachukki and Bharachukki. The power station here, commissioned in 1902, was one of the first hydroelectric plants in Asia. Ride out on Kanakapura road through Malavalli, which is quieter than the Mysuru side.

About 30 km away is Talakadu, a temple town half buried in sand dunes on the river bank. It makes a strange and memorable second stop on the same one day bike ride.

Rider tip: The falls depend on the season. August to October is the full, roaring version, and by April you may find a trickle. The rocks near the viewpoints are slippery all year, so keep your riding boots on.

9. Mysuru and Srirangapatna

Distance: About 140 km one way | Ride time: 4 hours | Best for: The long, easy classic

Srirangapatna, Tipu Sultan's island fortress on the Cauvery, comes first at about 125 km, then Mysuru itself with the palace, Chamundi Hill and a butter dosa worth the ride.

With the expressway closed to bikes, the ride now runs on the service roads and the old highway through Bidadi, Ramanagara, Channapatna and Maddur. It is slower than the expressway and far better fed: thatte idli in Bidadi, the wooden toys of Channapatna, and a Maddur vade in Maddur.

Rider tip: The service roads have speed breakers, crossings and slow traffic, so the pre-2023 ride times do not apply to bikes. Budget four hours each way and leave Mysuru by 3 pm. If that sounds like too much for a one day bike trip, it makes a very good overnight.

Route guide: Bangalore to Mysuru by bike

10. Hogenakkal via Anchetty

Distance: About 140 km one way | Ride time: 4 hours | Best for: Riders who care more about the road

On this one the road is the point. Take Hosur road into Tamil Nadu, turn off at Hosur for Denkanikottai, and the road drops into the forests around Anchetty in a long run of ghat bends that Bangalore riders have been doing on Sundays for years. At the end is Hogenakkal, where the Cauvery breaks over black rock and you can go out among the falls in a round coracle.

Rider tip: Parts of the Anchetty stretch are broken and narrow, and it is elephant country, so ride it in daylight and do not stop for wildlife photos. When the Cauvery is in spate, usually after the monsoon, the district bans coracles and bathing, so check before you go. On the way out, skip the tolled Electronic City flyover and ride the free road underneath.

The long ones

11. Horsley Hills

Distance: About 150 km one way | Ride time: 3.5 hours | Best for: A first proper ghat after Nandi

Horsley Hills is a small Andhra hill station about 1,265 m up, cooler than Bangalore and very quiet on a weekday. The route runs through Hoskote, Chintamani and Madanapalle, and the last 10 km climb up the hill is broad, well surfaced and gentle, with only a few real hairpins.

That makes it the right next step for a rider who has done Nandi and wants a longer one day bike ride without a technical climb at the end.

Rider tip: This is another Andhra ride, so fill up before the border. The climb is easy, but the two-lane stretch after Chintamani carries fast buses, so be patient with your overtakes.

12. Yelagiri

Distance: About 165 km one way | Ride time: 4 hours | Best for: Hairpins, fourteen of them

Yelagiri is the hairpin ride. Out through Hosur and Krishnagiri, a turn off the highway near Vaniyambadi, and then 14 hairpins up to a plateau of orchards and a lake. Each bend carries the name of a Tamil poet on a board, so you count your way to the top.

This is the far edge of a one day bike trip from Bangalore. It is around 330 km there and back, so leave at first light and be sure your group is comfortable with the distance.

Rider tip: The hairpins are tight and tourist cars cut corners on them. Stay in your lane, use a low gear on the way down rather than riding the brakes, and leave the top early enough to be home before dark.

Bike trips from Bangalore for a weekend

Some of the best rides near Bangalore are too big for a one day bike trip, and forcing them into one is how a good ride turns into a tired night on the highway. If you can stay over, these are worth planning for.

• Sakleshpur | about 220 km | 5 hours | the same Western Ghats as Coorg with a fraction of the traffic. Route guide
• Chikmagalur | about 242 km | 5.5 hours | highway first, then countryside and hill roads through coffee estates. Route guide
• Coorg | about 245 km | 6 hours | half highway, half winding road through coffee country. Route guide
• Hampi | about 344 km | 8 hours | a long, flat haul to the boulder country. Two days at least. Route guide
• Gokarna | about 483 km | 11 hours | a three-day trip, not a weekend dash. Route guide

Planning your one day bike trip from Bangalore

Run through this the night before.

A few more things that decide how the day goes:

• Beat the exits. Hebbal, Silk Board and the Mysuru road jam up on weekend mornings too. Leave by 5:30 and you are past them before they start. A full pre-ride checklist takes five minutes the night before.
• Expect rain twice a year. The southwest monsoon runs from June to September and the northeast monsoon brings more in October and November. A dry morning in the city does not mean a dry Kanakapura road.
• Wear the gear. Cool mornings make it easy to ride light, but the highways out of Bangalore are fast. If you are still building your kit, start with the essentials for beginners.
• Know the drill if the bike quits. A puncture near Anchetty is a nuisance, not a disaster, if you know what to do. Our motorcycle breakdown guide covers it.
• Be honest about the distance. Yelagiri and back is 330 km. If that is new territory, read how to pick a ride that matches your skill level first.
• Riding out in a group? Agree the pace, the stops and the sweep rider before you leave, not at the first petrol pump. Our group riding guide covers the rest.

When to go

Bangalore is lucky: a one day bike trip works here in every month of the year. October to February is the best stretch, with cool mornings, cloud on Nandi and the waterfalls still full early in the season. March to May is fine at dawn, but Lepakshi, Hogenakkal and Yelagiri get properly hot by noon. June to September brings the monsoon, when the falls are at their best and the forest roads are at their most slippery.

Two rides are worth timing on purpose. Shivanasamudra is best from August to October, and Nandi's sea of cloud mostly happens between October and February.

Common questions

Which one day bike trip from Bangalore is best for a beginner?

Nandi Hills or Ramanagara. Both are about 50 to 60 km out, the roads are good, and you are home by lunch. Mysuru on the service roads is the natural next step once you are comfortable with longer days. If you have never done a highway run at all, read the mistakes new riders make on their first highway ride first.

Are there good bike rides within 100 km of Bangalore?

Yes. Six of the twelve one day bike rides here are under 100 km: Ramanagara, Manchanabele and Savandurga, Nandi Hills, Skandagiri, Devarayanadurga, and Chunchi Falls with Mekedatu. Any of them works as a half-day ride.

Can you ride a bike on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway?

Not on the main carriageway. Two-wheelers have been banned from it since August 2023. You can still ride to Mysuru on the service roads and the old highway through the towns, which are slower but open to bikes.

Can you do Nandi Hills and Shivanasamudra in one day?

Not sensibly. They sit on opposite sides of the city, Nandi to the north and Shivanasamudra to the south, so combining them means crossing Bangalore in the middle of the day. Pair Nandi with Skandagiri, and Shivanasamudra with Talakadu, instead.

What time should I leave Bangalore for a one day bike ride?

By 5:30 am for most rides, and by 4:30 for a Nandi sunrise. An early start gets you past the city exits before they jam up, and on the hotter rides like Lepakshi and Hogenakkal it gets you home before the worst of the afternoon sun.

Find your riding day

The hard part of a one day bike trip from Bangalore is rarely the road. It is getting the group together, agreeing on a plan, and leaving before Silk Board wakes up. That is what RydrLoop is built for. Post the ride, find riders heading the same way, and turn a solo idea into a proper group day out.

If you are riding from somewhere else, the same one day bike trip idea works out of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune.

Pick a direction, set an early alarm, and go. The hills start closer than the traffic makes you think.