Jeep-assisted treks up the ridge trails around town, for the stretches a rental bike will not climb.

A working estate walk ending in a tasting — how the cherry becomes the cup, told by people who grow it.

Tented stays at the edge of Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary — go for the forest sounds after dark, not for a mattress.

The forest department’s own camp inside Kudremukh National Park — the closest bed to a Kudremukh sunrise start.

A zipline-and-rappelling park close to town, sized for a half-day rather than a trek.

Speedboats, jet skis and banana-boat rides on the Yagachi backwaters, out toward Belur — the area’s one real water-sports venue.