Karnataka
A striking Kerala-style temple with meticulously renovated woodcarvings and a pyramidal roof of gold-plated copper plates. Three elephants trunk out…
Must-see attractions in Karnataka
Gokarna
This lovely wide cove, backed by wooded headlands, offers plenty of room to stretch out on along its attractive sands. Restaurants, guesthouses and yoga…
Karnataka
The fantastic Car Museum is home to 48 vintage autos, including a 1903 Renault and 1920s Studebaker President used by Mahatma Gandhi, plus classic…
Hampi
An interesting stop along the road to Virupaksha Temple is the 6.7m monolithic statue of the bulging-eyed Lakshimi Narasmiha in a cross-legged lotus…
Bengaluru (Bangalore)
Spread over 98 hectares of landscaped terrain, these expansive gardens were laid out in 1760 by famous ruler Hyder Ali. As well as amazing centuries-old…
Karnataka
Surrounded by fortified walls and a wide moat, the citadel once contained the palaces, pleasure gardens and durbar (royal court) of the Adil Shahi kings…
Hampi
Amid scrubby, undulating terrain 21km south of Hampi, the Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary nurses a large population of free-ranging sloth bears in an area of…
Mysuru (Mysore)
This 1062m hill is crowned with the Sri Chamundeswari Temple. It’s a fine half-day excursion, offering spectacular views of the city below. Queues are…
Karnataka
This leading dance academy, 32km north of Bengaluru, was established in 1990 to revive and popularise Indian classical dance. The brainchild and living…
Hampi
The Mahanavami-diiba is a 12m-high, three-tiered platform with intricate carvings and panoramic vistas of the walled complex of ruined temples, stepped…
Karnataka
This park covers 880 sq km and was once the Mysore maharajas’ private wildlife reserve. It's noted for herds of gaurs (Indian bison), chitals (spotted…
Karnataka
High above Badami and Agastyatirtha Tank, the ruins of the North Fort are worth exploring. Only the foundations remain of most of the site, but there are…
Janapada Loka Folk Arts Museum
Bengaluru (Bangalore)
A worthwhile stopover between Bengaluru and Mysuru, this museum is dedicated to the preservation of local rural culture. It has a wonderful collection of…
Hampi
Boasts a fine collection of sculpture from local sites, plus neolithic tools, 16th-century weaponry and a large floor model of the Vijayanagar ruins. Don…
Karnataka
The most impressive of the remaining fragments in the citadel is the colossal archway of Gagan Mahal, built by Ali Adil Shah I around 1561 as a dual…
Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion Museum Complex
Mysuru (Mysore)
On the university campus west of town, this (somewhat neglected) museum specialises in folklore, with artefacts, stone tablets and sculptures, rural…
Karnataka
The archaeological museum houses superb examples of local sculpture, including a tremendous 12th-century makara tokarna (entrance decoration) that has…
Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya
Mysuru (Mysore)
This unassuming colonial building, known as Wellington Lodge, was the residence of Colonel Arthur Wellesley from 1799 to 1801. He later become the duke of…
Kodagu (Coorg) Region
There are good views from this hilltop fort, built by Tipu Sultan in the 16th century, though today it’s the less glamorous site of the municipal…
Mysuru (Mysore)
This open-air museum’s main exhibit is the Mysuru maharani’s saloon, an 1899 wood-panelled beauty with gilded ceilings and chandeliers that provides an…
Mysuru (Mysore)
Built in 1861 as the royal auditorium, this stunning palace just west of Mysuru Palace houses the Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery. Set over three floors, it…
Karnataka
In a serene garden, the historically significant Persian-style Gumbaz is the resting place of the legendary Tipu Sultan, his equally famed father, Hyder…
Karnataka
The sanctuary includes six islets and the banks of the Cauvery River. Storks, ibises, egrets, spoonbills and cormorants are best seen in the early morning…
Karnataka
North of the island, on the banks of the Cauvery, is this well-preserved 18th-century white-walled dungeon used to hold British prisoners of war,…
Karnataka
Constructed by Ali Adil Shah I (r 1557–80), the finely proportioned Jama Masjid has graceful arches, a fine dome and a vast inner courtyard with room for…
Hampi
This grand building with 11 domed chambers is where the state elephants once resided – each chamber has a small opening where mahouts (keepers) entered…
Bengaluru (Bangalore)
Built by the Hare Krishnas, this impressive hilltop temple, inaugurated in 1997, is lavishly decorated in a mix of ultra-contemporary and traditional…
Karnataka
The impressive 7th-century Durga Temple is notable for its semicircular apse (inspired by Buddhist architecture) and the remains of the curvilinear…
Bengaluru (Bangalore)
Built by Kempegowda in the 16th-century Dravidian style, the Bull Temple contains a huge stone monolith of Nandi (Shiva’s bull), which is always…
Gokarna
Small, attractive cove with a lovely sweep of powdery sand and basic hut accommodation. There's no road to this beach, only a path. It's about a 20-minute…
Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technical Museum
Bengaluru (Bangalore)
One mainly for kids, this hands-on science museum makes you feel a bit like you’re on a school excursion, but there are some cool electrical and…
Karnataka
Built by Mohammed Adil Shah in about 1646 to serve as a hall of justice, the graceful Asar Mahal once housed two hairs from Prophet Mohammed’s beard. The…
Bengaluru (Bangalore)
Adrenaline seekers should look no further than this huge amusement park, which has more than 60 well-maintained rides, a wave pool, water slides and a …
Karnataka
Perched upon a platform is this beast of a cannon – over 4m long, almost 1.5m in diameter and estimated to weigh 55 tonnes. Cast in 1549, it was…
Mangaluru (Mangalore)
Catholicism’s roots in Mangaluru date back to the arrival of the Portuguese in the early 1500s. One impressive legacy is the 1880 Sistine Chapel–like St…
Hampi
Built in 1513, Krishna Temple is fronted by an apsara (celestial nymph) and 10 incarnations of Vishnu. It’s on the road to Virupaksha Temple near Lakshimi…
Karnataka
Badami’s cave temples overlook the 5th-century Agastyatirtha Tank, a huge reservoir that was once the settlement's main water supply. On its banks are…
Mangaluru (Mangalore)
This stretch of golden sand is a good destination to escape the city heat. It’s 12km south of Mangaluru, across the Netravathi estuary. An Uber…
Hampi
At the eastern end of Hampi Bazaar is a Nandi statue, around which stand some of the colonnaded blocks of the ancient marketplace. This is the main…
Karnataka
A well-presented archaeological museum set in the Golgumbaz lawns. Skip the ground floor and head upstairs; there you’ll find an excellent collection of…
