Bangalore Tourism Places

Lalbagh Botanical Garden

Lalbagh Botanical Garden is just 4 kms away from MG road in Bangalore, in the southern part of the city. It is considered to be one of the richest. The ruler of Mysore, Hyder Ali commissioned the development of the garden in 1760. However, this garden was completed by Hyder’s son, Tipu Sultan.

The area of this garden is 240 acres on which there are more than 1,000 species of flora.

The main attraction of the Garden is the Glass House. This has been modeled as per the Crystal Palace in London. There are several flower shows in this garden, including the one held on the Republic Day of India (26th January).

After Hyder Ali gave this garden a start, Tipu Sultan added to the glory of this garden by importing plants and trees from various countries. Till the 18th century, these gardens had the biggest collection of rare plants and the first lawn-clock in India was procured.

The Bannerghatta National Park

The Bannerghatta National Park is spread over an area of 25,000 acres in the southern outskirts of the city of Bangalore.

This park houses tigers, lions, panthers and many species of birds, an impressive collection of reptiles and a snake park where one can see these scaly creatures from a very close distance. This park has been formed in 1971. The distance of this park from Bangalore is twenty two kilometers. In the park, one can find trees like Zizyphus, Chujjullu, Jalari, Tamarind, Neem and Sandal.

This park includes Pets Corner, Serpentarium, Crocodile Farm, Picnic Corner, the Safari Park that has a Lion Safari and Herbivore Safari and a Museum. Across the park, there is a beautiful Suvarnamukhi stream that has his origin in the Suvarnamukhi Hills.

There is a huge rock, almost one kilometer in length, at the base of which there is a Champaka Dharna Swamy Temple, the construction of which is in the Dravidian style of the Hoysala age.

Mahatma Gandhi Road

Mahatma Gandhi Road located in Bangalore, was named as “South Parade” before India became independent. One end of this road is called as Trinity Circle and the other end as Anil Kumble Circle. This road has many restaurants, food outlets, retail stores, theaters, shops, office buildings and banks. Close to the Trinity circle end, this road has hotels like the Taj Residency and the Oberoi.

These are amongst the best hotels in the city. This road houses several leading financial institutions. The road is one of the busiest roads in the city. There are small old shops that have been started several decades back as well as the most modern shopping malls.

Currently, the Metro Rail line is being developed which would join the east region of Bengaluru with the west part. The Brigade Road and the Church Street are almost perpendicular to the Mahatma Gandhi Road and have several show rooms, cafes and pubs.

The ISKCON temple

The ISKCON temple is situated in Hare Krishna Hill at Jaynagar in Bangalore. This temple is open to the public from 7 am to 1 pm and further from 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

On an average, 6000 to 8000 devotees visit this place everyday. All these devotees are offered prasad (God’s food). The prime attraction of this Sri Radha Krishna-Chandra Temple is the gold plated Kalash that is situated on the roof of the temple.

The weight of this structure is almost 1.5 tons. Another important feature of this temple is the huge flag post (or Dwarjastambha). The height of this flag post is 56 feet and this is the tallest in the world.

In this temple, there are large chandeliers that give the appearance of an inverted lotus flower. The temple is based on a plot of seven acres of empty hilly terrain.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness led by the president Madhu Pandit Dasa bought the land for the temple from the Bangalore Development Authority for eleven lakhs.

The Tipu Sultan Fort

The Tipu Sultan Fort is close to the City Market in Bangalore and has been built in 1537 by Kempe Gowda, who was the founder of Bangalore. The fort has complicated carved arches that are according to the Islamic style. The major highlight of this fort is that there is a Ganapati (Lord Ganesh) temple in it that has been well-retained. Inside the fort there is the Tipu Sultan Palace that has been built in 1790.

This palace is constructed totally of teakwood. Tipu Sultan used this structure as a summer residence. It is a two-storied palace that has balconies, arches and pillars. There are attractive gardens on both sides of the palace and these lead to the main entrance. In the palace, the walls as well as the ceilings have been decorated with beautiful floral designs. The eastern and western balconies of the upper floor were used by Tipu Sultan to manage the affairs of the kingdom. Following Tipu Sultan’s death, the British used this palace as the secretariat up to 1867.

The Archaeological Museum

The Archaeological Museum in Hampi provides a tourist with a collection of sculptures and architectural members from many locations. This museum has 4 galleries which enclose a model of Hampi valley with a corridor all around. The exhibits in the museum are manifold and consist of the elegant replicas of Krishnadevaraya, who was the most famed ruler of the Vijayanagara dynasty and his queens.

Shiv Mandir

Shiv Mandir was constructed in 1995 and is wholly managed by Humanitarian Hand Trust. This site is a unique place of interest for tourists and even the locals. This center of architecture of giant 65 feet depict of Lord Shiva is a center of devotion and spirituality for devotees. The statue of Lord Shiva is shown seated in the Himalayas, and draws visitors from around the world.

MG Road

MG Road is known for its bustle and mixture of stores and shopping malls. One can get to shop for lots of clothes, dine in some of the best restaurants and enjoy a perfect get together with family and friends. This road is also considered as the most fantastic place to shop for anything right from clothes to culinary, and artwork.

The St. Mark’s Cathedral

The St. Mark’s Cathedral in Bangalore is located on the Mahatma Gandhi Road. The architecture of this structure is of the colonial style. It is claimed that the St. Paul’s Cathedral, of the 17th century, has inspired the architecture of St. Mark’s Cathedral. It is decorated with a semicircular chancel that has a large and splendid dome.

This cathedral has Roman arches that add to the beauty of the monument. If all the churches in Bangalore city are compared, then St. Mark’s Cathedral is said to have the best-maintained external bells. The graceful domes and ceilings are coupled with intricate carving and wonderful woodwork. The look of the cathedral is further enhanced by the stained glasswork. The construction of this cathedral was begun in 1808 and completed in 1812. However, the cathedral was sanctified by the Bishop of Calcutta in 1816. In 1901, this cathedral was expanded and rebuilt in 1927.

Nandi Temple

The “Nandi Temple”, also called as the “Bull Temple”, is located in Bangalore. It is dedicated to Nandi, the bull and vehicle of Lord Shiva.

This temple has a free entry and the daily timings for visit are from 6 am to 8 pm.

This temple can be reached by the buses of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, coaches of I.T.D.C. and B.T.S., taxis or tourist coaches. In this temple, a huge bull of length 6.10 meters and height of 4.57 meters is the deity.

A single granite rock was used to carve out the idol. This temple has Dravidian-style architecture and has been built by Kempe Gowda.

The devotees believe that the feet of the Nandi are the sources of the river Vishwa Bharati. In the premises of the Nandi Temple, is a Lord Ganesh Temple. The deity in this temple is created from 110 kilograms of butter.

Every four years, this butter is distributed amongst the devotees as prasad or “God’s Food.”