Kuppalli, about 35 km south of Shimoga, is the birthplace of K. V. Puttappa, better known as Kuvempu — the great 20th-century Kannada poet and novelist who is considered Karnataka's Rashtrakavi (national poet). For Kannada speakers, this is a place of genuine pilgrimage. For anyone else, it's a quietly lovely drive through Malnad landscape to a well-maintained memorial site.
The Kavimane (poet's house) has been preserved as a museum and contains Kuvempu's personal belongings, manuscripts, photographs, and the simple environment in which he grew up. The surrounding hills are covered in coffee and areca plantations, with the kind of misty, forested backdrop that clearly informed his writing. The Rashtrakavi Kuvempu University nearby has a cultural complex including an open-air auditorium used for literary festivals. Worth combining with a visit to Mandagadde Bird Sanctuary on the way back.