ABOUT BENGALURU (BANGALORE):

• Beautiful Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka is one of the prettiest and cleanest cities of India.
• It is popularly known as the ‘Garden City’ and has earned several other epitaphs like an ‘Air –condition City’, for its climate throughout the year; the ‘Silicon Valley’ of India, for its rapidly growing software market and the ‘City of Draught Beer’ etc.
• Foundation of the present day Bangalore was laid in 1537, by Kempe Gowda.
• A Magadi chieftain, owing allegiance to the king of Vijayanagar.
• The cantonment area of Bangalore was developed by the British in early 19^th century, after the fall of Tipu Sultan.

 

MODE OF COMMUNICATION:

• Airport: Bengaluru International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR), 35 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
• Rail: Bangalore City Railway Station, Bengaluru, 4 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
• Road: Well connected with NH 47 and NH 48.

 

SIGHTSEEING AT A GLANCE:

SCENIC SITE	Devarayanadurga   Nandi Hills   Muthyala Maduvu (Pearl Valley)
FORT & MONUMENTS	Vidhan Soudha   Attara Kacheri (High Court)   The Fort   Tipu Sultan’s Palace   Maharajah’s Bangalore Palace
HOLY CENTRE	Shiva Statue & ISKCON Temple    Dodda Ganapathi Temple   Sri Gavi Gangadhareswara Temple   Dharamraja Temple (Nagarathpet)   Basavangudi or the Bull Temple   St. Mary’s Basilica   Venkataramanaswamy Temple
MUSEUM & AUDITORIUM	Cubbon Park & Museum   The Government Museum & Venkatappa Art Gallery   Visweswaraiah Industrial & Technological Museum   Tipu Sultan’s Palace   Karnataka Folk Art Museum   Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium
WILD LIFE	Bannerghatta National Park
PARK & GARDEN	Lalbagh Botanical Gardens   Cubbon Park & Museum
LAKE	Ulsoor Lake   Hesaraghatta Lake
OTHERS	Whitefield   Nrityagrama
FAIRS & FESTIVALS	Karaga Festival Kadalekaye Parishe (Peanut Festival) Makara Sankranthi (Pongal) Ganesh Chaturthi Dussehra Diwali Mahashivratri Ugadi Varamahalakshmi

For more information visit https://www.karnatakatourism.org/

ATTRACTIONS OF BENGALURU (BANGALORE)

 

Vidhan Soudha:

• Majestic structure towering over the Cubbon Park, houses the Secretariat and the State Legislature, as well as several other State government offices.
• Magnificent edifice built of granite in the neo – Dravidian style of architecture is one of the most spectacular buildings of India.
• Four storeyed building covering a total plinth area of over 5,00,000 sq. ft.
• It was conceived and executed by Kengal Hanumanthaiah, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka in 1956.
• The structure is beautifully illuminated on Sunday evening.

   

Attara Kacheri (High Court):

• Magnificent two storeyed two building housing the High Court of Karnataka was built in 1867.
• It lies in front of the Vidhan Soudha and was originally built the house the Secretariat.

 

Lalbagh Botanical Gardens:

• Beautiful garden was laid out in 1760, by Haider Ali and later developed by his son Tipu Sultan.
• Sprawls over an area of 240 acres and is one of the most beautiful botanical parks of the country.
• In 1840, an excellent glass house was built resembling the famous Crystal Palace of London.

 

Cubbon Park & Museum:

• Park designed by Lt. Gen. Mark Cubbon, in 1864, covers an area of over 300 acres in the heart of the city.
• Studded with some splendid sculptures and red Gothic building, which house the Public Library, the High Court, the Government Museum and the Technological & Industrial Museum.
• Children’s Park inside the garden is exclusively for kids.
• Jawahar Bal Bhavan here has a children’s centre.

 

The Government Museum & Venkatappa Art Gallery:

• Established in 1886, and is one of the oldest museums of India.
• Art gallery here has paintings and sculptures done by K. Venkatappa, a renowned artist from the royal court of Mysore.

 

Visweswaraiah Industrial & Technological Museum:

• Interesting museum is dedicated to Sir M. Visweswaraiah, the architect of modern Karnataka.

 

Shiva Statue & ISKCON Temple:

• Beautiful Hare Krishna shrine on the hillock is a fine blend of modern technology and spiritual harmony.
• A fine view of the surroundings.
• A 65 feet tall Shiva statue is one of the new attractions of the city.

 

The Fort:

• Originally a mud brick structure built by Kempegowda in 1537.
• Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan rebuilt the structure in the 18^th century.
• Most of the fort was badly damaged during the wars with British.

 

Tipu Sultan’s Palace:

• Construction of the palace was started by Haider Ali and completed by his son, Tipu Sultan in 1791.
• Wooden building resembling the Daria Daulat Bagh at Srirangapatnam and houses a museum.

 

Maharajah’s Bangalore Palace:

• Magnificent granite palace built in 1887, by the Goodyear’s of Mysore resembles the famous Windsor Castle in England.

 

Karnataka Folk Art Museum:

• Displays a wide range of folk arts, costumes, toys and extensive recorded music collection.

 

Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium:

• Modern planetarium was built in 1989.
• An attractive Musical Fountain with dancing waters is set opposite the planetarium.

 

Dodda Ganapathi Temple:

• One of the oldest temples of Bengaluru.
• A huge monolithic statue of Lord Ganapathi, which attracts a large number of devotees.

 

Sri Gavi Gangadhareswara Temple:

• Shiva temple built by Kempe Gowda is famous for a unique event at sunrise on ‘Makar Sankranti’ (14^th January).
• Sun rays pass through an arch between the horns of the Nandi bull outside the temple and illuminate the idol of Lord Gavi Gangadhareswara inside the main shrine.

 

Dharamraja Temple (Nagarathpet):

• Enshrines fine images of Lord Krishna and Sri Dharamraja Swami, the hero of epic Mahabharta.
• Sacred shrine is also associated with the famous Karaga festival celebrated in March/ April.

 

Basavangudi or the Bull Temple:

• Built by Kempegowda on the Bugle Hill in Dravidian style.
• A large monolith of Nandi, the celestial bull measuring 4.57 metres in height and 6.10 metres in length in breathtaking.

 

St. Mary’s Basilica:

• Originally built in 1818, by Abbe Dubois.
• It was transformed into a huge Gothic style church by Rev. Kleiner in 1882.

 

Venkataramanaswamy Temple:

• Ancient temple near Tipu Sultan’s Palace was built by Maharaja Chikka Devaraya Wodiyar.
• It was destroyed during the third Mysore war and was restored by Maharaja Chikka Krishna Devaraya.

 

Ulsoor Lake:

• One of the eight lakes by Kempe Gowda around Bangalore.
• 1.5 sq. kms has picturesque tiny islands and boating facilities are available.

 

 ATTRACTIONS AROUND BENGALURU (BANGALORE)

 

Whitefield:

• 16 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
• Famous for the ashram of world renowned saint philosopher Sri Satya Sai Baba.
• International Tech Park, one of the most modern and successful software tech park in the country is also located here.
• Export oriented software centre has contributed immensely in making Bangalore the ‘IT Capital’ or the ‘Silicon Valley of India’.

 

Bannerghatta National Park:

• 22 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
• Beautiful Park covers an area of 104 sq. kms amidst thickly wooded hills.
• Inhabited by bison, elephant, panther, wild boar, jackal, lion tailed monkey etc.
• There is also a lion and tiger safari, a crocodile and snake farm and a mini zoo.

 

Hesaraghatta Lake:

• 25 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
• Beautiful lake set amidst lush fertile landscape is famous for its boating and wind surfing facilities.
• Region teems with orchards, poultry and sheep farms.
• An Indo-Danish dairy project has also been established here.

 

Devarayanadurga:

• 71 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
• Beautiful hill resort is famous for Namada Chilume, a natural water spring, said to be created by Lord Rama.

 

Nandi Hills:

• 60 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
• It was the summer resort of Tipu Sultan, who strengthened the existing fortifications on the hills in 18^th century.
• Later on, it becomes a favourite resort of the British.
• There are two ancient temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and Amrita Sarovar Lake.

 

Nrityagrama:

• 28 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
• Unique experimental village is dedicated to the gurukula tradition of learning to revive the Indian classical dance and music.
• It is a winner of rural architecture award.
• Vasantha Habba, the annual festival celebrated here attracts a large number of visitors.

   

Muthyala Maduvu (Pearl Valley):

• 40 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
• Scenic site is named after the small pool created by the waterfalls, which looks like a ‘pond of pearl’.
• There is also a small temple over here.