While Mangaluru serves the coastal plains, Chikkamagaluru , the scenic coffee capital of Karnataka, nestled among the Western Ghats at 1,000+ meters altitude, presents a completely different healthcare context. The region is home to coffee plantations, spice gardens, forests, and rural farming communities. Healthcare infrastructure in the 1990s was sparse. Most locals traveled 50-100 km to reach major towns for medical care.
The Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatha Ayurvedic Hospital in Chikkamagaluru was established in 1998 on Hosamane Extension, positioned to serve both the local population and the region’s agricultural workers.
The Chikkamagaluru center is uniquely positioned to leverage the region’s abundant medicinal plants. The Western Ghats are a biodiversity hotspot, home to hundreds of rare medicinal species used in Ayurveda, some found nowhere else on earth. The hospital sources many of its medicines locally, creating direct relationships with forest communities and farmers who harvest medicinal plants sustainably
