Bangalore Days

Bangalore tops in my number of visits outside Tamil Nadu. I use to visit yearly once atleast, sometimes even twice, as many of my relatives and friends have settled here.

It's Plateau Top Roads, Chill Breeze, Delicious Masala Dosazzz, Majestic Circle Shopping Experiences made me so addictive to the city nature. Let us see in brief about it here..

Before starting with the places and top spots present in Bangalore, I would like to share some Pro Tips for Travellers planning to visit Bangalore. 

10 Pro Travel Tips for Bangalore, India :

1. The airport is 40 km from the city; plan the hotel you book accordingly.

2. Unlike most airports in India, the government-approved taxis are outside. Don't use the pre-paid booths inside. Brands like Meru and Mega will be waiting for you when you exit! As always, they will use their meters.

3. It rains hard from May and tapers off later in the year, only raining in the evenings through November. The weather is known throughout India as being a perfect climate, but our first night at the NH7 festival was like a Goan Monsoon!

4. With the ideal weather, it's very green. One of it's many nicknames is the Garden City of India, because of the combination of great weather, green trees, broad clean streets, and lush public parks.

5. Maybe because of the impact of westerners living here, Bangalore is known for it's Pub scene (lots of microbreweries popping up) and for it's underground rock/alternative music, a sub-genre called “Bangalore Rock”

6. In 2012 when Lonely Planet gave their top ten cities in the world to visit, the awarded Bangalore third place. I can see why!

7. They are mostly Hindu and quite strict. The cops wearing cute cowboy hats shut down everything between 10 and 11.

8. There are multiple malls in Bangalore. I hit up the two main ones. First, a little outside of town, was Phoenix Market City, the same as in Bombay. They had all my favorites like Zara and Aldo. Second, we went in town to UB City, Indias first Luxury mall, owned by Vijay Mallya. Vijay is the owner of Kingfisher, and is from Bangalore. This mall wasn't practical for me at all, but was gorgeous and fun to look around.

9. For street shopping, head to MG (Mahatma Gandhi) Street or to Majestic Circle to get Cashmere shawls, quilts, international food, or DVD's. Really anything you want, you can find here. These are the main shopping road's in and around Bangalore. Around the city center, rickshaws probably won't cost you more than 40 rs but most of them use a meter.

No matter how great the city is, Indian traffic never goes away.

 10. The best of the tips… FOOD. It's not always about KFC, McD, SubWay.etc. Bangalore, even the whole karnataka is famous for it's authentic dosa. One has to visit Vidyarthi Bhavan, located @ Gandhi Bazzar in Basawangudi, which serves authentic south indian ghee masala dosa. People use to wait in queue every day for almost an hour, to get seats inside the restaurant.

Attraction's in Bangalore :

* Bull Temple, Basavangudi

Hundred of years ago, Sunkenahalli (as Basavangudi was known then) was a fertile farmland dedicated to the cultivation of groundnut crops. But a wild bull began to devour and destroy the crops. This infuriated the farmers and in an attempt to drive away the bull, one of the farmers hit it with a club. The bull sat down, became motionless and turned to stone. The stone then began to grow in size and the worried farmers turned to Lord Shiva for help. A trident (which you can see in the picture) was placed on the bull's forehead to prevent it from growing further and a small temple was built around it. Later, Kempa Gowda, the founder of Bangalore, constructed a much bigger temple in Dravidian style at the same place. The monolithic bull is 4.5m high and 6.5m long.

* Bangalore Palace

An epitome of great architecture and beauty, The Majestic Bangalore Palace preserves in it the spice of old regal opulence. Currently the central attraction in Bangalore, the palace was built in the year 1878. Chamarajendra Wadiyar's British Guardians bought the original property in 1873 from the principal of Bangalore Central High School, Rev, J Garret, from his funds. The palace is extraordinarily vast and spread across 45,000 square feet. A mixture of Tudor and Scottish Gothic architecture have resulted into the grand palace that we see today.The wooden structure of the palace along with the beautiful carvings both inside and outside showcases the royal culture in different ways.

Apart from being a major tourist destination, the palace is a host to different cultural events, rock shows, and marriages. As per beliefs, King Chamarajendra Wadiyar drew his inspiration for building the palace from the Windsor Castle of London. The granite seats decorated with fluorescent blue ceramic tiles on the ground floor, a fairy tale Ballroom, the famous painter Raja Ravi Varma's paintings, vine-covered walls, and the Durbar Hall on the first floor come together to form the prepossessing Bangalore Palace. 

A visit to the palace gives you a chance to witness the elegant and lavish splendour of one of the most powerful dynasties of South India. An audio tape is available inside the Palace, both in Hindi and English, to help the people having language issues, understand its history better.

* ISKCON, Bangalore

ISKCON Sri Radha Krishna temple was inaugurated in the year 1997. It is not just a temple, but a cultural complex housing the temples dedicated to the Deities of Sri Sri Radha Krishnachandra, Sri Sri Krishna Balarama, Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga, Sri Srinivasa Govinda, Sri Prahlada Narasimha, Bhakta Hanuman, Garudadeva and Srila Prabhupada, Founder Acharya of ISKCON. ISKCON Bangalore is a charitable society with the objective of propagating Krishna Consciousness all over the world, as explained by Srila Prabhupada, whose teachings are based on Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam.

* Cubbon Park :

Cubbon Park dons many hats: a green lung in the heart of the city that also hosts a library, museums, a tennis academy, an aquarium, a toy train and many statues and pavilions. It’s probably one of the only parks to have a busy road cutting through it. In the wee hours of the morning or evenings, it’s a jogger’s paradise. Spring adds to the beauty of this park, with the lovely and colorful Tabebuia trees in full bloom.

* Wonderla Amusement Park :

Wonderla Holidays Limited, is the No. 1 amusement park operator in India. Promoted by Arun K. Chittilappilly and Kochouseph Chittilappilly, Wonderla currently owns and operates three amusement parks ? one each in Kochi, Bangalore and Hyderabad respectively and a resort in Bangalore. Wonderla Kochi, spread over 35 acres of land, is thrilling visitors with 56 rides since 2000. Wonderla Bangalore, spanning over 82 acres, offers a spectacular range of entertainment with 61 rides. Wonderla Hyderabad, the latest edition in the portfolio, is spread over 50 acres and offers 43 attractions. Wonderla Amusement Park has been ranked No. 1 in India and No. 6 in Asia by TripAdvisor for 5 consecutive years. Wonderla Resort, located beside the amusement park in Bangalore, comprises of 84 luxury rooms, with amenities including 4 full-fledged banquet halls, multi cuisine restaurant, rest-o-bar and recreational facilities like a heated swimming pool, kid’s activity centre & a full fledged gym.

* Lal Bagh :

Lal bagh botanical garden is the life line of Bengaluru. A must visit place in Bengaluru. It has excellent attractions like the Glass house, cacti garden, bonsai park, fossil tree, horticulture park and lab, the famous Lal bagh lake, hill and the iconic Bengaluru watch tower on the hill. Built by his highness honorable sir Kempegowda founder of Bengaluru. Gorgeous greenery set in 300 acres with a lake, flowers and lawns. Heaven!!! A botanical garden with trees for all seasons. They also have an annual flower show - a must see!! The water garden is set amidst wild nature and seems like it is out of a Monet painting.. lots of early morning joggers, walkers , beautiful birds and cool breezes. A large collection of tropical flora makes this an enticing spot. the watch tower atop the rocky hill is an adventure for young and old alike..A must visit on every trip!!

Suggestion :

One has to try MTR Hotel for lunch and dinner, which is located just @ the opposite road from Hill Gate of Lal Bahg (100 meters walk).

* Bannerghatta National Park

The safari here which is in a small van is great to see wild animals.. you will def sight them as they are all bound within a closed gated community and yet you can see them roaming around unlike inside cage in a zoo. A wide variety and breeds of animals. To name a few - birds, deers, black buck, panther, white tiger and much more. When at the zoo, must try is the jungle safari, at a minimal charge INR 500.00 per person (for a tour via bus) and INR 2500.00 in a private jeep. The experience is a going for. All the animals - upclose and personal, especially the sight of the Elephants by the lake and the magnificent Bengal Tiger and the White Tiger. A must visit for all animal lovers.

* Nandi Hills :

Located around 60 kilometres away from Bangalore, Nandi Hills is one such tourist spot that has gradually been discovered by visitors over the years and has now become a well-known weekend getaway. Featuring beautifully carved arches and majestic pillars with intricately painted walls and ceilings, Nandi Hills is scattered with shrines and monument and is surrounded by mesmerizing views, making this place no less than a hidden paradise.  Situated at a height of 4851 feet above sea level, you can see a convoy of weekenders from Bangalore during early hours catching the glimpse of sunrise.

Hope you all got valuable information about the top attractions in Bangalore City. For shopping, there are many malls available in and around Bangalore. But Majestic Circle and Jaya Nagar Market Area are the top-spots when it comes to Budgeted as well as with nice Quality. That's it from here. Why waiting.? Pack your bags and start Exploring Bangalore..BON VOYAGE..!!