What To See

Take a stroll in this 240-acre park, which is home to India’s largest collection of rare tropical and subtropical plants, as well as many centuries-old trees. It contains one of Kempegowda’s watch towers, a surreal lawn surrounded by Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, an ornamental clock, a beautiful lake, a topiary park, a charming wooden bandstand and a glasshouse modelled on London’s Crystal Palace.

Cubbon Park provides Bangaloreans with over 300 acres of sprawling greenery in the heart of the city. The park houses the State Library, an impressive, red Gothic structure, and is dotted with fountains, statues, flowering trees and shady groves.

Marvel at India’s first and only aviation museum which has a large collection of aircraft models, photographs, fighter planes, and helicopters. There are also aircraft simulators, a mock air traffic control tower and an aero modelling club, besides a reference library at this centre established by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

This is one of the premier fine art institutions in the country. Its activities extend to dance performances, folk theatre, photography exhibitions, puppet shows and musical recitals. Chitrakala Parishath is a goldmine of paintings by famous artists including Roerich. It contains a graphic studio and an open air theatre, and houses five art galleries which are hired out to artists who wish to display their work. The Parishath has worked to revive dying art forms, its most notable successes being in traditional Mysore paintings and leather puppetry. It also holds workshops, artists’ camps and demonstrations. The institution houses the Chitrakala Vidyalaya, a college of fine art forms, affiliated to the Bangalore University and offering courses in painting, sculpture, graphic art, applied art and art history.

The planetarium is perfect for star gazing. Watch “The Sky Theatre Show” unfold the marvels of the universe, planets and the solar system.

Built in an ornate architectural style, the Krishna Temple is a blend of modern technology and spiritual harmony. Visit this ornate temple just 10km west of Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore. Built on a hillock, with granite, marble and Korean glass, this huge cultural complex was established to promote Vedic culture and spiritual learning. It houses various deities, including Krishna, Balaram, and Radha. The annual Rath Yatra (chariot procession) of Krishna and Balaram draws devotees in large numbers.

Built by Kempegowda in Basavanagudi, it is reminiscent of 16th century Dravidian style architecture. It has a huge granite monolith of Nandi.

Built during Kempegowda’s reign, this unique cave temple contains a granite moon, sun-disc monoliths, a stone umbrella, a Shivalinga, and three cave passages. Every year, during Makara Sankranthi, this cave temple witnesses a strange phenomenon, when a ray of light passes precisely between the horns of the stone bull outside the temple, and illuminates the deity inside the cave.

Located on a hillock known as Raagi Gudda (Maize Mountain) the Hanuman Temple attracts large numbers of devotees from South Bangalore. In addition to being a place of worship, it has now been transformed into a cultural, educational and social service project that offer free medical checkup, free education, book bank, free coaching for students, meditation centres, yoga, music and Veda reading, library and choultry. Three huge rocks representing Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the added attractions here. A unique feature of Hanuman Jayanthi celebrations is the educational exhibition organised with different themes.

This temple has a 65ft Shiva statue, an artificial pond resembling the Manasa Sarovar Lake, and caves. The replicas of Jyothirlingas are a major tourist attraction.

Established in the year 1979 by Rev Dr Lourduswamy, the then Archbishop of Bangalore, the church draws huge crowds on Thursday, the day dedicated to Infant Jesus.

A majestic 5-storey mosque located in the heart of Bangalore’s City market area, the Jamia Masjid is the largest mosque in the city. Its sprawling interiors, with pure white marble from Rajasthan, can accommodate a staggering 10,000 worshippers at a time.