Offbeat places near Bengaluru
21 offbeat places near Bengaluru, from Turahalli Forest (25 km) to Agumbe (350 km). Every place below has its own page with timings, fees, the best season to go and how to get there.
Distances are road kilometres from Bengaluru.
Pick a place, then join a group already heading there or start your own trip on Urban Break and find people to go with.
Turahalli Forest
25 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat
A dry deciduous forest of about 590 acres off Kanakapura Road on Bengaluru's southern edge, run by the Karnataka Forest Department, with a small Shani temple on a rocky…
Entry ₹10 per adult
Turahalli Minor Reserve Forest
25 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat
Avalahalli Forest
29 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat
A forest park at Avalahalli near Yelahanka in north Bengaluru, open in the morning and evening for a small entry fee.
Entry ₹10 per adult
Hesaraghatta Grassland
29 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat
The Greater Hesaraghatta Grassland Conservation Reserve, about 5,678 acres (2,298 ha) of grassland just north of Bengaluru, officially notified on 24 February 2025.
Big Banyan Tree
30 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat · Bengaluru Urban
A banyan tree more than 400 years old at Kettohalli, off the Bengaluru–Mysuru Road, whose prop roots spread over about 3 acres. The main trunk died of disease around…
Free entry
Nrityagram
35 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat
A residential dance community at Kodihalli village near Hesaraghatta, run as a collective of artistes where dance is a way of life. Visitors can take a self-guided tour…
Entry ₹150 per person
Manchanabele Dam
45 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat · Bengaluru South
A dam across the Arkavathi river about 18 km from Ramanagara, built for irrigation and now also supplying water to Magadi town. Kayaking is run on the reservoir;…
Grover Zampa Vineyards
50 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat
One of India's oldest wine producers, founded in 1988, with about 400 acres of vineyards on the Bengaluru side. Visitors can book guided vineyard and winery tours, wine…
Best season: November to March for weather; February to April is harvest (grape stomping)
Thattekere Lake
50 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat
A forest lake at the edge of the Bannerghatta forest, run by the Karnataka Forest Department and fenced with electric fencing. Crocodiles live in it, and elephants,…
Adiyogi Chikkaballapur
60 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat · Chikkaballapura
A 112-foot Adiyogi (Shiva) statue at Isha Foundation's Sadhguru Sannidhi near Nandi Hills, about 65 km north of Bengaluru. A video show is projected onto the statue…
Kailasagiri
70 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat
A hill 6–7 km from Kaiwara known for its cave temples of Ambaji Durga, Ananta Padmanabha and Chenna Keshava, which can be seen from the hilltop.
Sangama
90 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat · Bengaluru South
A small village in Kanakapura taluk where the Arkavathi river joins the Kaveri, about 59 km from Bengaluru. Water sports are run here and basic facilities are…
Bheemeshwari
105 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat · Mandya
A Jungle Lodges & Resorts adventure and nature camp on the Kaveri in Malavalli taluk, Mandya district, about 105 km from Bengaluru. It offers zip-lining, rope walking,…
Best season: August to February (after the monsoon; also best for birdwatching)
Galibore Nature Camp
105 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat · Bengaluru South
A Jungle Lodges & Resorts camp in deciduous forest on the Kaveri, about 102 km from Bengaluru, named after the windy Galibore hillock behind it. Activities include…
Best season: August to February (river full, good birdlife)
Doddamakali
114 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat
A remote Jungle Lodges & Resorts camp on the Kaveri, about 6 km upstream of Bheemeshwari, close to Bengaluru but hard to reach.
Ganjam
140 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat · Mandya
A village on the edge of Srirangapatna at the confluence of the Lokapavani and Kaveri rivers, once a centre for jewellery making. It is home to the Sri Nimishamba temple.
Karighatta Black Hill
140 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat · Mandya
A 2,697-foot hill about 5 km east of Srirangapatna on the Lokapavani river, topped by a Venkataramanaswamy (Srinivasa) temple built in the time of the Mysore kings. The…
Shettihalli Rosary Church
200 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat · Hassan
The ruins of a Gothic church built by French missionaries in the 1860s, about 2 km from Shettihalli village in Hassan district. Since the Hemavati reservoir was…
Best season: December to May to walk the ruins; July to October to see it partly submerged
Kalasa
300 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat · Chikkamagaluru
A temple town on the Bhadra river in Chikkamagaluru district, called 'Dakshina Kashi', known for the old Kalaseshwara temple of Shiva whose linga is shaped like a…
Best season: October to March
Sandur
300 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat · Ballari
A hill town in Ballari district, once called Skandapuri and ruled for nearly four centuries by the Maratha Ghorpade family, whose 1930s palace stands on the road into…
Agumbe
350 km from Bengaluru
Offbeat · Shivamogga
A rainforest village in the Western Ghats of Shivamogga district, called the 'Cherrapunji of the South' for its heavy rain. The Agumbe Rainforest Research Station…
Best season: June to September for the monsoon; October to February calm and green
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