Baba Budangiri, Sacred mountain range in Chikkamagaluru district, India

Baba Budangiri is a mountain range rising to 1,895 meters with sacred caves, dense forests, and coffee plantations covering its slopes. The terrain offers walking paths that wind through wooded sections and past cultivated coffee areas, creating a mixed landscape of nature and agriculture.

A Sufi saint brought coffee seeds to these mountains in the 17th century, establishing coffee cultivation in India. This introduction transformed the region's agriculture and made it a center for coffee production.

The shrine among three caves is revered by both Muslims and Hindus, who pray in the same cave-like structure. Its origin blends reverence for the 11th-century Sufi Dada Hayath (Abdul Azeez Macci), the 17th-century Sufi Baba Budan, and Dattatreya, an incarnation of Shiva; many in the region consider Baba Budan an incarnation of Dattatreya. The hill's Puranic name, Chandra Dona, refers to its crescent shape.

The trekking trail links Baba Budangiri (1,895 m) with Mullayanagiri (1,930 m), the range's highest peak. The shrine sits among three caves, and the Supreme Court has ruled that only ceremonies performed before 1975 may take place there, so police have in some years stopped buses from approaching on Datta Jayanti in December.

The shrine stands among three caves, and Hindus and Muslims both pray inside the cave-like structure. The Supreme Court of India ruled that only ceremonies performed before 1975 may be held there; because the Shobha Yatra was not performed before 1975, police have in some years refused buses permission to approach on Datta Jayanti.