Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, situated about 1000m above sea level is a cosmopolitan city. Veera Balla, a lost king was provided with baked beans by an old lady. In gratitude the king, founded a city and named it Bendakalooru which means the town of boiled beans. This tradition is still carried on today. The present city, Bangalore was redesigned by a Magadi chieftan, Kempe Gowda (1513-1569) around 1537. He had constructed four towers in the four directions to mark the boundary of the city. But present day Bangalore stretches beyond this boundary. The place referred to as Benguluru in the Ganga inscription, is now known as Halebenguluru or Old Bangalore, in Kodigehalli, near Hebbal.

 

It is known as the garden city, with a pleasant mild climate. It is one of most

important cities in India with the most prestigious scientific institutions, industries, electronic, computer companies located here. There are several fascinating places of interest in and around Bangalore.

Cubbon Park
In this park full of flowering trees & plants laid in 1864 over 300 acres are a public library, High Court, Government museum, Visvesvaraya industrial and technological museum, Jawahar Bal Bhavan & a Tennis stadium. A toy train runs to delight the children.

Vidhan Soudha
is a four-storeyed granite sturcture built in 1956 that houses the State Legislature & Secretariat. Designed on the pattern of the old Mysore palaces, there is the influence of Hoysala art. The door leading to the Cabinet room is carved out of pure sandalwood. On weekends, the entire building is illuminated.

Tippu's Palace
This palace, which was the summer residence of Tippu Sultan is situated on Albert Victory road. Hyder Ali started the work on the palace & it was finally completed by Tippu in 1791. This palace built largely out of wood, with elaborate arches resembles the Daria Daulatbagh in Srirangapatna near Mysore.

The historic fort situated near Tippu's palace was built originally in mud by Kempe Gowda in 1537. It was later constructed in stone by Hyder Ali & Tippu Sultan. Much of the original fort was damaged, but it is still an imposing structure. There is a temple for Lord Ganesha inside the fort. On the outer walls of the temple, there are beautiful carvings depicting various postures of Lord Krishna.

Bull Temple
There is a temple exclusively for Nandi Deva at Basavanagudi, Bangalore. (Basava - Nandi in Kannadam). The Nandi idol is huge, measuring about 15ft in height & 20 feet in length. This structure in the Dravidian style was built by Kempe Gowda. This is one of the oldest temples in Bangalore. Details

Venkatappa Art Gallery
The art works by the famous artist S K Venkatappa are on display here. There are separate sections for his paintings, musical instruemnts designed by him & sculptures.

Visvesvaraya Museum
In this industrial museum named after Sri M Visvesvaraya are to be found several technicalmodels. There are also live demonstrations of engineering applications.

Government Museum
In this museum, set up in the year 1886, located adjacent to the Visvesvaraya museum, there are sections on archealogy, ethnology, geology, numismatics. Art pieces dating as far back as the Mohenjadaro dyas are on display here.

Ulsoor Lake
This picturesque lake is loacted in the cantonment area. Fibreglass boats, motor boats, sailor boats are available on hire for boating.