Weekend trips from Bengaluru

Hills & Trekking

A rocky hill near Kanakapura, also called Karadi Betta, with the Bananthimari Devi temple at its base. The 2.5 km trail is moderately easy but the markings are easy to…

Best season: October to March · moderate trek

Hills & Trekking · Tumakuru

A rocky trekking hill in Tumakuru district, about 90 km from Bengaluru. The trail starts near Huliyurdurga village, a few minutes' walk from the town centre; there are…

Free entry

Wildlife · Tumakuru

Tumkur district's only notified protected area: a 798-acre patch of grassland near Talekere village in Madhugiri taluk, on the border with Andhra Pradesh. It has the…

Waterfalls · Ramanagara

Chunchi Falls is a waterfall on the Arkavathi river, located near Haroshivanahalli in Ramanagara district. The river flows through this region before joining the Kaveri.

Hills & Trekking · Chikkaballapura

A hill near Peresandra in Chikkaballapur district with the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at the top and two viewpoints on either side of it, including a hanging cliff…

Best season: October to February

Heritage · Kolar

Avani, a village in Mulbagal taluk of Kolar district about 15 km from Mulbagal, linked in tradition to the Ramayana. Its Ramalingeshwara group of temples dates to the…

Hills & Trekking · Chikkaballapura

Gudibande is a town in Chikkaballapura district. It features a multi-level fort built by local chieftain Byre Gowda in the 17th century, drawing inspiration from…

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…

Hills & Trekking

A rocky hill in Tumkur district surrounded by temples and caves, where pilgrims visit the shrine of Lord Siddalingeshwara inside the caves. The official Karnataka…

Entry ₹250 per person · hard trek

Hills & Trekking

A hill next to Varlakonda village on the Hyderabad highway past Chikkaballapur, with old fortifications and a small temple to Lord Rama on top. The trek is about 2 km…

easy trek

Waterfalls · Bengaluru South

Mekedatu is a location along the Kaveri river on the border of Bengaluru South and Chamarajanagar districts, about 110 km from Bengaluru. It is known for a deep, narrow…

Heritage · Kolar

A Shiva temple in Kammasandra village, Kolar district, known for a 33-metre-tall linga and for its aim to install one crore (ten million) smaller lingas on the premises.

Entry ₹20 per person

Wildlife · Mandya

A small peacock sanctuary (Mayuravana) on the granite hills of Adichunchanagiri in Nagamangala taluk, Mandya district, next to the Adichunchanagiri temple. Religious…

Lakes · Chikkaballapura

A lake at Gudibande, also spelled Byrasagara, built by the local chief Byre Gowda in the 16th century. It can be seen from Gudibande Fort.

Wildlife

A large wildlife sanctuary along the Kaveri river across Mandya, Chamarajanagar and Bengaluru South districts, established in 1987 and enlarged in 2013. On its east it…

Hills & Trekking · Tumakuru

A 17th-century hill fort near Madhugiri in Tumakuru district, with bastions, water tanks and small temples inside its walls. It is a moderate climb that becomes…

Best season: September to February · moderate trek

Lakes

A rain-fed lake at Sabbanahalli village in the Gudibande area, also called Sabbanahalli Lake, about 99 km from Bengaluru. Water sports such as kayaking and boating are…

Best season: October to February

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)

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)

Hills & Trekking · Tumakuru

Asia's second-largest monolithic rock, about 110 km from Bengaluru in Tumkur district, with the ruins of Madhugiri Fort climbing up its face. The upper half is steep,…

Free entry

Offbeat

A remote Jungle Lodges & Resorts camp on the Kaveri, about 6 km upstream of Bheemeshwari, close to Bengaluru but hard to reach.

Waterfalls · Chittoor

A 40-foot waterfall inside the Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary in Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, about 28 km from Palamaner. It is formed by the Kaigal stream and is…

Heritage · Sri Sathya Sai

The Veerabhadra Temple in Lepakshi is a renowned example of Vijayanagara-period temple architecture located in the Sri Sathya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh. It is…

Hills & Trekking · Mandya

A rocky hill near Pandavapura in Mandya district, about 125–130 km from Bengaluru, popular for night treks. It is a short but steep climb over slippery rock faces with…

Best season: October to February · moderate trek

Waterfalls · Mandya

The twin Shivanasamudra Falls, where the Kaveri splits around Shivanasamudra island: Gaganachukki (90 m) on the western branch and Barachukki (69 m) on the eastern.…

Best season: September to January (July to October for peak flow) · Entry ₹10 per person

Wildlife · Mandya

A sanctuary in Mandya district declared in 1974 to protect the Indian grey wolf, named after the Melkote temple town on its border. Its two blocks, Mudibetta and…

Wildlife · Mandya

Karnataka's largest bird sanctuary, a group of six islets in the Kaveri near Srirangapatna, designated a Ramsar site in 2022. Guided boat rides take you past nesting…

Waterfalls · Mandya

Shivanasamudra Falls is a series of segmented waterfalls on the Kaveri river in Mandya district. It consists of two series of drops, named Gagana Chukki and Bhara Chukki.

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.

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…

Heritage

The Chennakesava Temple, also referred to as Chennakeshava Temple and Keshava Temple, is a Vaishnava Hindu temple on the banks of River Kaveri at Somanathapura, Mysuru,…

Heritage

Srirangapatna or Srirangapattana is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian state of Karnataka. It gets its name from the…

Hill Station · Annamayya

A range of hills in Annamayya district of Andhra Pradesh, about 9 miles from Madanapalle, locally called Yenugu Mallamma Konda after a legend of a saintly woman fed by…

Heritage · Mysuru

Amba Vilas Palace, the seat of the Wadiyar rulers of Mysuru, built between 1897 and 1912 for Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV to a design by Henry Irwin in…

Entry ₹100 per adult

Heritage

Shravanabelagola (pronunciation: [ɕɾɐ.ʋɐˈɳɐ bɛ.ɭɐ.go.ɭɐ]) is a town located near Channarayapatna taluk of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is 144 km…

Hill Station · Tirupathur

A hill station in Tirupathur district of Tamil Nadu, part of the Eastern Ghats, made up of 14 hamlets spread over about 72 sq km.

Wildlife · Chamarajanagar

The Biligiriranga Hills in Chamarajanagar district, where the Eastern and Western Ghats meet, protected as the Biligiri Ranganatha Swamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve.…

Waterfalls

Small cascades formed by a check dam across the Kaveri near Srirangapatna, on the way to the KRS dam about 15 km from Mysuru. Edmuri lies about 500 m east of Balmuri;…

Free entry

Waterfalls · Chamarajanagar

Hogenakkal Falls is a waterfall on the Kaveri river on the border between Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu and Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka. Its name derives…

Waterfalls · Mysuru

A waterfall on the Kaveri near Chunchanakatte village, about 14 km from K.R. Nagar in Mysuru district, beside the old Kodanda Rama temple. The temple is unusual for…

Best season: Monsoon

Heritage · Chitradurga

Chitradurga Fort is a massive stone fortress that straddles several hills in the Chitradurga district of Karnataka. It was built in stages between the 11th and 13th…

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

Heritage

Halebidu (IAST: Haḷēbīḍu, literally "old capital, city, encampment" or "ruined city") is a Hobli located in Hassan District, Karnataka, India. Historically known as…

Wildlife

The forests along the Kabini river and its backwaters, about 80 km from Mysuru, where the Forest Department runs jeep and boat safaris. From the boat you may see…

Wildlife · Chamarajanagar

A tiger reserve spread across Chamarajanagar and Mysuru districts, set up under Project Tiger in 1973 and part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Safaris run by bus from…

Entry ₹350 per person

Heritage

Belur may refer to:... It is an important historical and tourist place located in Karnataka known for its heritage.

Wildlife · Kodagu

A national park in Kodagu and Mysuru districts, declared a tiger reserve in 2003 and part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Its forests, streams and valleys hold…

Hill Station · Hassan

A hill town in Hassan district on the banks of the Hemavati, surrounded by coffee and spice plantations at the foot of the Western Ghats. Nearby are Tipu Sultan's…

Hill Station · Salem

A hill station in the Shevaroy hills near Salem, Tamil Nadu, known for its lake, forests and plantations of coffee, oranges and pepper. Viewpoints such as Lady's Seat…

Best season: October to June

Hill Station · Chikkamagaluru

Chikkamagaluru, called the coffee capital of Karnataka, lies at the foot of the Western Ghats near Mullayanagiri, the state's highest peak at 1,930 m. Baba Budangiri,…

Best season: October to February

Waterfalls · Kodagu

A waterfall on the Kumaradhara river in the foothills of the Pushpagiri hills, Somwarpet taluk of Kodagu, dropping about 200 feet. It is reached by a short drive and a…

Best season: June to September (nearly dry in summer) · Free entry

Wildlife · Chikkamagaluru

A wildlife sanctuary and tiger reserve near Chikkamagaluru, known for boat safaris on the Bhadra reservoir as well as jeep safaris, trekking and birdwatching. Its…

Best season: October to March

Waterfalls · Kodagu

Abbey Falls, also spelled Abbi Falls, is a waterfall in the Western Ghats of Karnataka. It is located about 8 km from Madikeri.

Hill Station · Kodagu

Madikeri, the headquarters of Kodagu (Coorg) district, set among coffee plantations, waterfalls and green hills in the Western Ghats. Raja's Seat is known for sunset…

Best season: October to March

Waterfalls · Kodagu

The Irupu Falls, also known as Lakshmana Tirtha Falls, are located in the Brahmagiri Range in the Kodagu district of Karnataka. It is a fresh water cascade and a major…

Waterfalls · Chikkamagaluru

Also called Buttermilk Falls, a waterfall on the slopes of the Baba Budangiri range in Chikkamagaluru district, named for its broad white sheet of water. The last…

Free entry

Waterfalls · Kodagu

Chelavara Falls is a natural waterfall formed by a small stream, a tributary of the Kaveri near Cheyyandane village in Karnataka. Due to its depth and dangerous waters,…

Waterfalls · Chikkamagaluru

A 168 m waterfall on the Bhadra river in Chikkamagaluru district that drops in two stages, Dodda Hebbe and Chikka Hebbe. It is reached from Kemmangundi hill station by…

Best season: August to January

Hill Station · Nilgiris

The 'Queen of Hill Stations', seat of the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu. It is known for its 55-acre Government Botanical Garden (1897), the lake built in 1824, the…

Best season: March to June

Hill Station · Chikkamagaluru

A hill station in Tarikere taluk of Chikkamagaluru district, ringed by the Baba Budan Giri range, once the summer retreat of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV and also called Sri…

Hill Station · Nilgiris

The second-largest hill station in the Nilgiris, known for misty tea plantations and viewpoints such as Dolphin's Nose and Lamb's Rock. Sim's Park hosts an annual fruit…

Best season: October to March

Hill Station · Wayanad

A district in north-east Kerala and the state's only plateau, a continuation of the Mysore Plateau set high in the Western Ghats at 700 to 2,100 m. Its headquarters is…

Hill Station · Nilgiris

A hill station in the Nilgiris, named after the Kota people ('mountains of the Kotas'), known for its tea plantations, tea-factory visits and treks such as the…

Best season: December to May

Wildlife · Haveri

A peacock sanctuary inside the remains of the historic Bankapura Fort in Haveri district, declared in 2006. The fort's mound and deep trenches shelter more than a…

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

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…

Wildlife · Chikkamagaluru

Kudremukh National Park, declared in 1987 across Chikkamagaluru and Dakshina Kannada districts and named after the 'horse-face' mountain. The Tunga, Bhadra and…

Heritage · Vijayanagara

The ruined capital of the Vijayanagara Empire on the Tungabhadra river, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. It was the capital from 1336 until 1565, and its…

Best season: November to February

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

Waterfalls · Shivamogga

Jog Falls is a series of large, segmented waterfalls on the Sharavati River in the Shivamogga district of Karnataka. It drops approximately 253 metres and splits into…

Beach · Udupi

A beach at Malpe village, about 6 km from Udupi town, with a 450 m sea walk, a floating bridge and water sports such as jet skis, parasailing and kayaking. The ferry to…

Best season: October to January (February–March also good) · Free entry

Beach · Udupi

A temple city and the headquarters of Udupi district, best known for the Sri Krishna temple, where the deity is seen through the Kanakana Kindi window, and for the…

Best season: October to March

Waterfalls · Uttara Kannada

Unchalli Falls, also known as Lushington Falls, is a waterfall created by a 116-metre drop in the River Aghanashini in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka. It is located…

Beach · Udupi

Four small uninhabited islands off Malpe in Udupi district, famous for hexagonal columns of volcanic rock formed millions of years ago and declared a National…

Waterfalls · Uttara Kannada

A waterfall where the Bedti river drops about 650 feet in two leaps into a rocky ravine, in Yellapur taluk of Uttara Kannada. A walkway with handrails leads from the…

Best season: July to December

Heritage · Bagalkot

A village in Bagalkot district with over 120 stone and cave temples from the 6th to 12th centuries along the Malaprabha valley, often called the birthplace of Indian…

Best season: October to March

Heritage · Bagalkot

A UNESCO World Heritage complex of 7th and 8th century Hindu and Jain temples on the west bank of the Malaprabha in Bagalkot district, 23 km from Badami and about 10 km…

Heritage · Bagalkot

A town in Bagalkot district known for four rock-cut cave temples of the late 6th century, cut into a sandstone hill above Agastya lake. Badami was the capital of the…

Best season: October to February · Entry ₹40 per person

Beach · Uttara Kannada

A coastal temple town in Uttara Kannada where the Murudeshwara temple sits on Kanduka Hill above the sea, with a Shiva statue of about 123 feet and a 20-storey gopuram…

Best season: October to February