Attractions in Bengaluru (Bangalore)

3 places to see, with what each one is and how long it takes.

Bangalore Palace

Attraction

A Tudor-style royal palace with grand interiors and grounds.

Cubbon Park

Viewpoint

A vast green lung in the city centre, ringed by colonial landmarks.

Elsewhere in Karnataka

Not in Bengaluru (Bangalore) — these are in other towns across the state.

Vittala Temple Complex

Attraction

Hampi

The stone chariot is a Garuda shrine rather than a vehicle, and its wheels once turned. The musical pillars in the hall are now roped off — too many people struck them. Come at opening; this is the most visited thing in Hampi.

Chennakeshava Temple (Belur)

Attraction

Belur & Halebidu

Hoysala work from 1117, cut in soapstone, which holds detail granite will not. The forty-two bracket figures under the eaves are what people come for. Still a working temple, so shoes off, and expect a queue at festival times.

Kodachadri Peak

Viewpoint

Kodachadri

The grassland summit with the Sarvajna Peetha shrine and panoramic cloud-sea sunrise views.

Om Beach

Attraction

Gokarna

The famous natural golden sand beach shaped exactly like the sacred spiritual symbol Om, popular for water sports and independent cafes.

Abbey Falls

Attraction

Coorg (Madikeri)

About seventy feet, dropping through a private coffee estate and seen from a suspension bridge rather than from the base. Full in the monsoon and a trickle by March.

Bylakuppe Namdroling Monastery

Attraction

Coorg (Madikeri)

Namdroling, the largest Nyingma centre outside Tibet, with three gilded figures about sixty feet tall in the main hall. Foreign nationals need a protected-area permit for Bylakuppe, which catches people out.

Virupaksha Temple

Attraction

Hampi

The one temple in Hampi that never stopped functioning, with a fifty-metre gopuram over the bazaar street. The temple elephant is walked down to the river to be washed each morning, which is worth getting up for.

Mahabaleshwar Temple

Attraction

Gokarna

The historic 4th-century Dravidian granite temple complex housing the sacred Atmalinga stone relic, managed by traditional scholars.