Karnataka
Photos: Hsp wiki (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Param munde (CC BY-SA 4.0)
South Indian state with Bengaluru, royal Mysuru, the Hampi and Badami ruins, the Coorg and Chikkamagaluru coffee hills, the Karavali coast and tiger reserves.
Plan by region and season: October to February suits almost everything (coast, heritage and hills); hill stations stay pleasant in March-May when the north is very hot; June-September brings heavy rain to the coast and Western Ghats, when waterfalls are at their best but forest routes are best avoided.
Highlights: Hampi, the UNESCO-listed Vijayanagara capital on the Tungabhadra · Mysuru Palace and the Mysuru Dasara festival · Coorg (Kodagu) coffee estates, Abbey Falls and Raja's Seat · Mullayanagiri, Karnataka's highest peak, in Chikkamagaluru · Badami cave temples and the Pattadakal and Aihole temple circuit · Udupi Krishna temple, Malpe beach and St Mary's Island · Gokarna and Murudeshwar on the Uttara Kannada coast · Bengaluru gardens, museums, food streets and nightlife · Belur and Halebidu Hoysala temples and Shravanabelagola
When to go
Green best · blue good · red avoid · this month outlinedDestinations
Towns, valleys and cities worth the trip, with how they rate this month.
Bengaluru
Karnataka's capital and India's tech hub: Lalbagh and Cubbon Park, palaces and museums, darshini breakfasts, VV Puram food street and a big nightlife scene.
Mysore
Karnataka's royal and cultural capital: the illuminated Mysuru Palace, Chamundi Hills, Devaraja Market and the ten-day Dasara festival.
Udupi
Coastal temple town of the Krishna Matha, banana-leaf meals and the origin of Udupi cuisine, with Malpe beach, St Mary's Island and the student town of Manipal next door.
Murudeshwar
Seaside temple town on Kanduka Hill with a 123 ft (37 m) Shiva statue and a 20-storey gopura, beach water sports and boats to Netrani island for diving.
Top sights
Dudhsagar Falls
tiered waterfall located on the Mandovi River in the Indian state of Goa
Karnataka Government Museum
National Gallery of Modern Art
Science Gallery Bengaluru
PARSEC - Param Science Experience Centre
Sandesha Museum of Communication
Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum
Industrial and technological museum in Bangalore
HAL Aerospace Museum
aviation museum in Airport-Varthur road, Bangalore
Nature and outdoors
Things to do
Where to eat
Shopping
Food to try
- Masala dosa and idli-vada: South Indian breakfast staples; Bengaluru and Mysuru darshinis are famous for them
- Bisi bele bath: Spiced rice and lentil dish
- Ragi mudde: Finger-millet balls eaten with sambar or saaru
- Akki and ragi rotti: Rice-flour and millet flatbreads
- Jolada rotti: Jowar flatbread of North Karnataka, often with stuffed brinjal curry
- Mysore pak: Ghee and gram-flour sweet from the Mysuru royal kitchen
- Neer dosa and kori rotti: Coastal rice crepes and the Mangaluru chicken curry with crisp rice wafers
- Pandi curry: Kodava pork curry from Coorg
- Filter coffee: Strong decoction with hot milk; Chikkamagaluru and Coorg grow the beans
Festivals
- Mysuru Dasara: Months: 9 · 10; Description: Ten-day state festival (Nada Habba); 11-21 October in 2026 per Karnataka Tourism; ends with a procession of the goddess on a golden howdah carried by an elephant
- Kannada Rajyotsava: Months: 11; Description: Karnataka formation day, 1 November
- Hampi Utsav: Months: 11 · 12 · 1; Description: Cultural festival at Hampi, usually between November and January
- Bengaluru Karaga: Months: 3 · 4; Description: Old city festival of Bengaluru
- Lalbagh Flower Show: Months: 1 · 8; Description: Around Republic Day (26 Jan) and Independence Day (15 Aug)
- Kambala: Months: 11 · 12 · 1 · 2 · 3; Description: Buffalo races in water-filled fields on the coast