India Travel Guide

Bannerghatta: (21 km from bangalore on tekal road): numerous wild animals oam freely in this densely forested hilly area -an ideal picnic spot for wildlife lovers.

The bannerghatta national park has a ion and tiger safari and a crocodile and snake farm. Regular conducted tours are or-;arused by the park authorities in motor vehicles and more interestingly, on elephant back.

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A major industrial and commercial centre, with scientific and research activity. Bangalore is multifaceted: modern marvels, historical monuments, bustling shopping plazas, a race course and golf courses. Called the silicon valley of india for its growing software industry, it is also known as the city of draught beer.

Bangalore is the capital of karnataica which harbours a diversity of attractions such as the ruins of vijaynagar, sculptures of belur and halebid, the mausoleum of gol gumbaz at bijapur, golden sands of karavalli, the proud hills of kodagu, forests of bandipur, nagarhole and bannerghatta, and chikmagalur with its mountains and coffee plantations, majestic mysore and the world’s tallest freestanding monolith of bahubaii at sravanabelagola.

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Writer r.k. Narayan’s lovely hometown, mysore, was once the capital of the wodeyar kingdom and is still one of the finest cities of southern india. Small, easygoing, sandalwood country, a crafts-crazy city, friendly people going about their business in a city of gardens, tree-lined boulevards, art galleries and a palace.

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194 km from bangalore is the district headquarters town of hassan. This calm and peaceful town is a convenient base to visit sravanabelagola, belur and halebid. They are best done over two days, with an overnight halt at hassan. You can visit these places from bangalore and mysore too.

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Iseat of the vijayanagar empire,though the city was destroyed by marauders, much remains of those days. The remains are preserved under the world heritage order.

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It is a proud country, kodagu is. Proud of the beauty of its verdant hills and valleys clothed in thick forests of sandalwood and plantains of coffee, pepper and cardamom. Proud of the valour of its soldiers and generals. Proud of its enduring culture and customs, proud of its history, religion and everything that coorg, as it was earlier called, is, and was.

Madikeri (previously mercaraj, the district headquarters, metamorphises the pride of the kodavas. A symbol of their sovereignly, history, religion and spirit, it is where they converge with the day’s toil done. Crowning a hill (7.525 mt), with the 9th cen fort as its centrepiece, madikeri has many attractions for a visitor. The weather throughout hte year is very pleasant (mid-20 degree celsius).

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Traversing the western ghats and skirting the beautiful kodagu area, along national highway 48, west of bangalore, one reaches the arabian sea coast at mangalore. An important shipbuilding centre under hyder ali and a strategic port that remained a bone of contention in every conflict over its long history, the city is a blend of the old and new.

The early morning hours resound to the melody of church and temple bells and the call of the muezzin, bringing forth yet another aspect of the varied character of the city. Mangalore, at the southern edge of the region known as karavalli, a tropical coastal paradise which also forms an excellent base from where to set out on excursions. Pristine and unexplored beaches around mangalore are a delight.