I worked in Bangalore 2111-2016 and kept this list for friends and visitors to the National Centre for Biological Sciences/inStem where I worked.  A great day trip is Mysore, discussed at the end of this post.

Walking tours:

Unhurried http://www.unhurried.in

http://www.bangalorewalks.com(we haven’t tried yet)

For historical tours, Carnelian Heritage Consultants http://carnelian.co.in

To learn more travel in Karnataka:http://karnatakatravel.blogspot.in

 

 

TEMPLES

 

In Bengaluru

 

ISKON temple: www.iskconbangalore.org  Be sure that you pay for your tour and you avoid the lines. This is a very big Hare Krishna temple. It’s not far from the Bull Temple

 

Bull Temple/Dodda Ganeshana Gudi

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodda_Ganeshana_Gud

Be sure to walk to the adjacent park. There are many fruit bats in the trees and often many butteries in the flower gardens.

 

Malleshwaram https://www.google.co.in/maps/search/temple+malleshwaram/@13.0042143,77.5726335,16z

7,000 year old temple in Malleswaram http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/bangalore-times/7000-year-old-temple-in-Malleswaram/articleshow/129602326.cms

 

Temples Near Bengaluru

 

Bhognandishwara Temple near Nandi hills.  9^thcentury

http://karnatakatravel.blogspot.in/2013/02/bhoganandishwara-temple-at-nandi-halli.html

http://ifornature.blogspot.in/2011/07/bhoganandishwara-temple.html

I suggest you include the old mosque

 

Lepakshi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepaksh

 

The temples near Hassan are Shravanabelagoa,Chandragiri,Halebidu and Belur.  We saw 2 one day, spent the night in Hassan and then two the next. A friend has done this in one day-depends on your pace and stamina.

 

Shivaganga

Both a trek and temple, -54 km from our flat and REALLY steep stairs to top. Two cool temples, one you can reach into a hole in the rock and supposedly touch the Ganges River. In another temple ghee is turned to butter. We arrived about 7am, so temples were closed and the mostly clean trail we had to ourselves. Our driver insisted we leave our shoes in the car, but this is unnecessary.  We went again, and there was considerably more litter. Monkeys are aggressive

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivagange‎

 

Wildlife Parks

 

Ranganthittu is a bird sanctuary that you will pass when going to Mysore. There are many birds, flying foxes/fruit bats and crocodiles. You can take a rowboat ride to get closer for R1,000/-.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganthittu

http://thetravellerweare.blogspot.in/2013/01/ranganathittu-bird-sanctuary-treat-for.html

 

Kabini –offers both jeep tiger safari as well as lake (better for other animals, not tigersTours/accomodations:http://www.junglelodges.com/kabini-river-lodge/

 

Kokkare,75 km from B’lore on Mysore highway; city where storks & spot-billed pelicans best seen Dec-Jan;

http://wikitravel.org/en/Kokkare_Bellur

 

 

TREKS

 

This is a list we’ve been working with

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=214249977925149020988.0004ccef276a12d904b11&msa=0

 

We’ve heard good stories about Bangalore Mountaineering Club as well as Bangalore Treking Club if you would like to join a group. Another link with “top 10”

http://bangalorecaptured.com/2012/09/17/top-10-treks-around-bangalore/

 

Treks we’ve done:

 

Huthridurga is 1.5 hours from our flat. It’s the least crowded trek to date

http://karnatakatravel.blogspot.in/2012/04/huthridurga-north-hill.html

In the late 18th century, the Mysore rulers Haidar Ali (r.1761-1782) and his son Tipu Sultan (r.1782-1799) fought numerous wars against the British over the control of Southern India. Outradroog, a hilltop fort situated between Bangalore and Seringapatam, surrendered to the British in December 1791. The Fort was then used as a general hospital and a storehouse.

http://www.bl.uk/search/og/search?q=outradroog&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Submit&output=xml_no_dtd&filter=0&proxystylesheet=public_onlinegallery&client=public_onlinegallery&site=public_onlinegallery|

 

Shivagana Temple is both trek and temple experience, 54km from our flat:

http://www.charmingindia.com/shivaganga.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivagange‎

http://vivekananda.hubpages.com/hub/Travel-to-Shivaganga-near-Bangalore-where-ghee-turns-to-butter

 

Madhugiri Fort: http://karnatakatravel.blogspot.in/search?q=madhugiri+fort

 

Savandurga

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savandurga

 

 

Culture

 

Nrityagram dance village Tues-Sat 10-2 check their facebook page for occasional performances; these require pre-booking.  After the 10:30 practice/performance consider a lovely lunch at Earth Kitchen (behind Taj Kuteeram) earthinkitchen.in

Reservations required in advance because the cooking is fresh and organic, many foods from her farm.

 

Alliance Francaise http://bangalore.afindia.org  free concerts, films, dance and language courses and only 30 min from our institutes

 

Chowdiah Hall https://www.eventshigh.com/browse/bangalore/chowdiah+memorial+hall-in-bangalore

 

India Stage events http://www.indianstage.in

 

 

Shopping and Dining

 

In a matter of two weeks, there are new shops and restaurants, so check with hosts, guides and Tripadvisor.

 

MYSORE

 

If your time is limited and you haven’t seen much else in India, I recommend a day trip to Mysore because you’ll see a Palace, temples and bird sanctuary. We often stop at Kamat for breakfast, it’s about 1/2 the way to Mysore. There are usually monkeys there. Choice of buffet or menu.  However, for clean bathrooms, stop at Cafe Coffee Day.

 

On the way you might choose to stop:

 

Ranganthittu is a bird sanctuary with many birds, flying foxes/fruit bats and crocodiles. You can take a rowboat ride to get closer for R1,000/-.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganthittu

http://thetravellerweare.blogspot.in/2013/01/ranganathittu-bird-sanctuary-treat-for.html

 

Cool old temple : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srirangapatna

 

Tipu Palace with interesting murals: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipu_Sultan

 

waterfalls: http://www.karnataka.com/mysore/shivanasamudra-falls/

 

Mysore Palace if you want to ride elephants or camels then when enter, go left, past toilets and get tickets and ride before the palace tour, thus keeping your shoes on (and not stepping in poop). If you really like it, pay extra and sit in the driver’s seat of the elephant and the mahout will snap photos.  We toured very late in the day and had the palace to ourselves.

 

City Market of Mysore. Is awesome.  If you haven’t been to an Indian market before, try to join a guide.

 

We stayed in Regaalis, Metropole and Sandish the Prince hotels, preferring the Regaalis, but they are the same in general. We haven’t discovered a memorable restaurant yet, but the coffee shop at the Green Hotel is great for bakery products/lunch/tea. They also support a local village.  There are more famous temples on the hills outside Mysore, but they were money gougers and were giving kick-backs to our driver so we’ve never returned.

 

Talakadu Temple is 45km from Mysore and 133km from Bangalore. Most of the 30 temples remain buried in the sand.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talakad