Karnataka

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South India

A ruined Vijayanagara capital, coffee hills, a surf-worn coast and one of India's great palace cities.

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What Karnataka is known for

HampiCoffeeCoastWildlifeTemplesFood

Browse Karnataka by theme

The same places, sorted the way you might be thinking about the trip.

Hill Stations

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Chikmagalur

Chikmagalur is the coffee heartland of Karnataka, a lush hill district in the Western Ghats where rolling estates, misty peaks and waterfalls draw a steady stream of young travellers from Bengaluru…

Coorg (Madikeri)

Coorg is coffee country, and the point of coming is to stay on an estate rather than in Madikeri, which is a hill town with traffic. Both arabica and robusta grow here under shade, with pepper vin…

Beaches

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Gokarna

Gokarna is a unique coastal beach town in the Uttara Kannada district of northern Karnataka. Traditionally functioning as a vital, ancient temple pilgrimage city centered around the historic Mahaba…

Kaup (Kapu) Beach

Near Udupi, Kaup is famed for its 1901 lighthouse standing on black rocks, dramatic sunsets and a clean, lively stretch of golden sand. The best months to visit are roughly November to February, w…

Maravanthe Beach

A rare beach where the highway runs with the Arabian Sea on one side and the Souparnika River on the other, with one of India's most scenic coastal drives. The best months to visit are roughly Nov…

Murudeshwar Beach

Backed by a towering statue of Lord Shiva and a sea-facing temple, Murudeshwar blends a pilgrimage town with scuba diving trips to nearby Netrani Island. The best months to visit are roughly Novem…

Om Beach (Gokarna)

Shaped like the sacred 'Om' symbol, this Gokarna beach links twin crescents and is famous for cliff-trekking between bays, water sports and a relaxed backpacker vibe. The best months to visit are …

St. Mary's Islands (Udupi)

A cluster of islands off Malpe near Udupi, famed for unique hexagonal basalt rock columns, white-shell sands and clear water reached by a short boat ride. The best months to visit are roughly Nove…

Spiritual & Pilgrimage

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Chamundeshwari Temple

Chamundeshwari Temple in Mysuru, Karnataka is one of the Shakti Peethas, the sacred shrines of the Divine Mother in the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. According to tradition, this is where the **hai…

Dharmasthala

Dharmasthala is Karnataka's temple of harmony: a Shiva shrine (Manjunatha) whose priests are Vaishnava Brahmins and whose hereditary guardians, the Heggade family, are Jain — dispensing dharma, jus…

ISKCON Temple (Bengaluru)

ISKCON Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Rajajinagar is one of the largest ISKCON temples in the world, a striking blend of modern glass-and-steel architecture with traditional gopuram-topped shrines. Op…

Shravanabelagola

Shravanabelagola is among the most important Jain pilgrimage centres, dominated by the colossal 17-metre monolithic statue of Lord Bahubali (Gomateshwara) atop Vindhyagiri hill — one of the world's…

Sringeri Sharada Peetham

Sringeri, folded into the Western Ghats on the Tunga river, is the first and foremost of the four peethams founded by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century — chosen, says tradition, when he saw a c…

Udupi Sri Krishna Matha

Udupi's Krishna Matha, founded by the Dvaita philosopher Madhvacharya in the 13th century, is one of South India's busiest temple towns. Krishna is famously seen not face-on but through the silver-…

Adventure

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Kodachadri

Kodachadri is a misty Western Ghats peak in Karnataka, draped in shola forests and grasslands and crowned by the ancient Sarvajna Peetha linked to Adi Shankaracharya. A favourite among young trekke…

Heritage

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Bangalore Fort

Bangalore Fort, located near Krishna Rajendra Market in Chamrajpet, Bengaluru, began as a mud fort and was later rebuilt in stone; today only the Delhi Gate and two bastions survive. It marks the f…

Belagavi Fort

Belagavi Fort (Belgaum Fort) is a historic fort in Belagavi, northern Karnataka, notable for housing both mosques and temples side by side within its walls, including the Safa Masjid. It is current…

Belur & Halebidu

Belur and Halebidu, near Hassan in Karnataka, are the twin capitals of the medieval Hoysala Empire, set at the foot of the Western Ghats. Their temples are carved from fine-grained soapstone (chlor…

Bengaluru (Bangalore)

Bengaluru is not a sightseeing city and trying to make it one is the mistake. Come for a weekend of eating, drinking, walking in the parks, and buying books. Lalbagh and Cubbon Park are the reason…

Bidar Fort

Bidar Fort stands on a plateau in Bidar, northeastern Karnataka, near the borders of Maharashtra and Telangana. Built from red laterite stone as an irregular rhombus with double lines of defensive …

Chitradurga Fort

Chitradurga Fort, also called "Kallina Kote" (Stone Fortress) or "Yelusuttina Kote" (Seven Circles Fort), sits on rocky, hilly terrain in Chitradurga, central Karnataka, known for its seven concent…

Daria Daulat Bagh (Srirangapatna)

Daria Daulat Bagh is the elegant summer palace of Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore, set in a garden on the river-island of Srirangapatna near Mysuru. Built largely of teak in 1784 in the Indo-Sarac…

Gol Gumbaz (Vijayapura)

Gol Gumbaz in Vijayapura (Bijapur) is the mausoleum of Sultan Mohammed Adil Shah, completed in 1656. Crowned by one of the largest masonry domes in the world, it is famous for its Whispering Galler…

Madhugiri Fort

Madhugiri is a fort wrapped around one of Asia's largest single rock hills — a bare granite monolith rising nearly 4,000 feet, its slopes stitched with walls, bastions and gateways. Built up by loc…

Wildlife & Safari

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Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary

Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve, set around the Bhadra reservoir near Chikmagalur in Karnataka's Western Ghats, is a lush tiger reserve known worldwide for a successful, voluntary reloc…

Dandeli (Kali Tiger Reserve)

Dandeli, part of the Kali Tiger Reserve on the Kali river in Karnataka's Western Ghats, is one of South India's top wildlife-and-adventure destinations. Its deciduous forests hold tigers, elephants…

Nagarhole National Park

Nagarhole National Park (Rajiv Gandhi National Park), in Karnataka's Kodagu and Mysuru districts, is a lush tiger reserve within the Nilgiri Biosphere. Its rivers, teak forests and the Kabini backw…

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, on islets in the Kaveri river near Srirangapatna and Mysuru, is the largest bird sanctuary in Karnataka. Its riverine islands host large breeding colonies of painted s…

Discover Karnataka

A boulder-strewn ruined capital in the north, coffee hills and a surf-worn coast in the west, and a palace city that still lights up for Dasara.

Heritage Food Festivals Road trips

Heritage

Forts, temples and old towns.

Srirangapatna Fort

Srirangapatna, an island in the Kaveri, was the capital of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan — and the place where Tipu, the Tiger of Mysore, fell defending the breach in 1799 in the last great batt…

Food

Millet and rice in the north, coconut on the coast, and coffee running through all of it.

Filter coffee

Coorg and Chikmagalur grow it; the state drinks it strong with hot milk.

Masala dosa

Bengaluru's version arrives redder and softer than the Tamil one, and is argued about accordingly.

Festivals

Dates move each year — check before you book.

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Mysuru Dasara

Ten days in September or October, ending with a lit palace and a procession through the city.

Hampi Utsav

Music and dance among the ruins, usually at the start of the year.

Karaga

An all-night Bengaluru procession, usually around March or April, older than the modern city.

Road trips

Coast, hills and ruins all sit within a day of one another.

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Bengaluru to Mysuru to Coorg

Palace city, then up into the coffee. The obvious first trip, and still the best.

Hospet to Hampi to Badami

Boulder country and two capitals of stone. Give Hampi two full days.

Gokarna to Murudeshwar

The coastal road south, past beaches you have to walk in to.

Chikmagalur to Kodachadri

Plantation roads climbing to a ridge that looks out over the Ghats.

Food & cuisine

Signature dishes and local flavours to look for while exploring Karnataka.

4 dishes

Bisi Bele Bath

A spiced one-pot dish of rice, lentils and vegetables cooked together, from the Mysuru region.

Ragi Mudde

Steamed balls of finger-millet flour, a staple of North Karnataka usually eaten with curry or sambar.

Mangalorean Fish Curry

A coconut- and kokum-based fish curry from the coastal Mangaluru belt, sour and richly spiced.

Mysore Pak

A dense, ghee-rich sweet made from gram flour and sugar, invented in the kitchens of the Mysore palace.

Top cities in Karnataka

Karnataka

Bengaluru is not a sightseeing city and trying to make it one is the mistake. Come for a weekend of eating, drinking, walking in the parks, and buying books. Lalbagh and Cubbon Park are the reason the place was liveable, and early morning in either is the best hour of the day. The Lalbagh rock is one of the oldest exposed surfaces on the subcontinent and almost nobody goes up it. VV Puram's food street after dark, the Russell Market in Shivajinagar in the morning, filter coffee standing up at a darshini — those are the actual experiences here. The city has the best independent bookshops in India and a working craft beer scene, both of which are genuine, not manufactured for visitors. What it does not have is a monument you must see. Tipu Sultan's summer palace and Bangalore Palace are both twenty-minute visits at most. The traffic is as bad as you have heard. Plan two things a day, in the same part of town, and use the Metro where it goes. The weather is the point — pleasant almost year-round, which is why everyone moved here.

Karnataka

Mysuru (Mysore Palace)

Mysuru is a small, orderly, easy city, and it has the one palace in India that is worth seeing lit up. Mysore Palace switches its exterior lights on for a short window on Sunday evenings and through Dasara — around a hundred thousand bulbs on the outline of the building. Check the current timings locally, because they change, and be there before it happens rather than after. Inside, the Durbar Hall and the marriage pavilion are the rooms to slow down in. Photography is not allowed in the interior and shoes come off at the entrance. Chamundi Hill above the city is the standard sunset trip. The steps up — around a thousand of them — are a better way to arrive than the road, and the Nandi bull two-thirds of the way up is the reason to walk rather than drive. Devaraja Market is the working market: flowers by the kilo, sandalwood, bananas in a dozen varieties. Go in the morning while it is being restocked. Dasara in September or October is the city at full volume, with a caparisoned elephant procession. It is also when every room is booked. October to February otherwise.

Attractions in Karnataka

Places across themes — pick a vibe to dive in, or browse them all.

Heritage

13 places in Karnataka

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Karnataka

Badami Fort

Badami Fort sits atop a red sandstone hill about 2 km from Badami town in Bagalkot district, Karnataka. Badami (ancient Vatapi) was the capital of the Chalukya dynasty, and the fort overlooks the t…

Karnataka

Bangalore Fort

Karnataka

Belagavi Fort

Karnataka

Chitradurga Fort

Karnataka

Daria Daulat Bagh (Srirangapatna)

Karnataka

Gol Gumbaz (Vijayapura)

Karnataka

Srirangapatna Fort

Srirangapatna, an island in the Kaveri, was the capital of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan — and the place where Tipu, the Tiger of Mysore, fell defending the breach in 1799 in the last great battle agai…

Hidden Gems

10 places in Karnataka

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Karnataka

Belur & Halebidu

Karnataka

Bidar Fort

Karnataka

Madhugiri Fort

Karnataka

Sringeri Sharada Peetham

Spiritual & Pilgrimage

8 places in Karnataka

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Karnataka

Chamundeshwari Temple

Karnataka

Dharmasthala

Karnataka

ISKCON Temple (Bengaluru)

Karnataka

Shravanabelagola

Karnataka

Udupi Sri Krishna Matha

Adventure

6 places in Karnataka

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Karnataka

Gokarna

Karnataka

Hampi

Hampi is an open-air archeological destination along the banks of the boulder-strewn Tungabhadra River in the Vijayanagara district. Spanning a massive area of over 41 square kilometers, it preserv…

Karnataka

Om Beach (Gokarna)

Shaped like the sacred 'Om' symbol, this Gokarna beach links twin crescents and is famous for cliff-trekking between bays, water sports and a relaxed backpacker vibe. The best months to visit are …

Karnataka

St. Mary's Islands (Udupi)

A cluster of islands off Malpe near Udupi, famed for unique hexagonal basalt rock columns, white-shell sands and clear water reached by a short boat ride. The best months to visit are roughly Nove…

Beaches

6 places in Karnataka

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Karnataka

Kaup (Kapu) Beach

Near Udupi, Kaup is famed for its 1901 lighthouse standing on black rocks, dramatic sunsets and a clean, lively stretch of golden sand. The best months to visit are roughly November to February, w…

Karnataka

Maravanthe Beach

A rare beach where the highway runs with the Arabian Sea on one side and the Souparnika River on the other, with one of India's most scenic coastal drives. The best months to visit are roughly Nov…

Karnataka

Murudeshwar Beach

Backed by a towering statue of Lord Shiva and a sea-facing temple, Murudeshwar blends a pilgrimage town with scuba diving trips to nearby Netrani Island. The best months to visit are roughly Novem…

Wildlife & Safari

5 places in Karnataka

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Karnataka

Backpacker & Workation

2 places in Karnataka

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Karnataka

Chikmagalur

Karnataka

Kodachadri

Hill Stations

2 places in Karnataka

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Karnataka

Chikmagalur

Weekend Getaways

1 place in Karnataka

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Karnataka

Coorg (Madikeri)

Coorg is coffee country, and the point of coming is to stay on an estate rather than in Madikeri, which is a hill town with traffic. Both arabica and robusta grow here under shade, with pepper vin…

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Travel guide

Karnataka

Start here

What Karnataka is known for

Trending in Karnataka

Mysuru (Mysore Palace)

Hampi

Badami Fort

Bandipur National Park

Browse Karnataka by theme

Hill Stations

Chikmagalur

Coorg (Madikeri)

Beaches

Gokarna

Kaup (Kapu) Beach

Maravanthe Beach

Murudeshwar Beach

Om Beach (Gokarna)

St. Mary's Islands (Udupi)

Spiritual & Pilgrimage

Chamundeshwari Temple

Dharmasthala

ISKCON Temple (Bengaluru)

Shravanabelagola

Sringeri Sharada Peetham

Udupi Sri Krishna Matha

Adventure

Kodachadri

Heritage

Bangalore Fort

Belagavi Fort

Belur & Halebidu

Bengaluru (Bangalore)

Bidar Fort

Chitradurga Fort

Daria Daulat Bagh (Srirangapatna)

Gol Gumbaz (Vijayapura)

Madhugiri Fort

Wildlife & Safari

Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary

Dandeli (Kali Tiger Reserve)

Nagarhole National Park

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary

Discover Karnataka

Heritage

Srirangapatna Fort

Food

Filter coffee

Masala dosa

Festivals

Mysuru Dasara

Hampi Utsav

Karaga

Road trips

Bengaluru to Mysuru to Coorg

Hospet to Hampi to Badami

Gokarna to Murudeshwar

Chikmagalur to Kodachadri

Food & cuisine

Bisi Bele Bath

Ragi Mudde

Mangalorean Fish Curry

Mysore Pak

Top cities in Karnataka

Bengaluru (Bangalore)

Mysuru (Mysore Palace)

Attractions in Karnataka

Heritage

Badami Fort

Bangalore Fort

Belagavi Fort

Chitradurga Fort

Daria Daulat Bagh (Srirangapatna)

Gol Gumbaz (Vijayapura)

Srirangapatna Fort

Hidden Gems

Belur & Halebidu

Bidar Fort

Madhugiri Fort

Sringeri Sharada Peetham