If you’re looking for variety in your Indian travel experience, Karnataka fits the bill nicely. The state’s capital and international entry point is the IT powerhouse of Bengaluru (Bangalore), a modern, energetic city best savoured for its restaurants and shops. Ancient architectural gems are abundant, including the World Heritage–listed monuments of Hampi and Pattadakal. Practically untouched beaches and devout temple towns dot Karnataka’s quiet tropical coast, while in the cool highlands of Kodagu (Coog) you can trek between lush coffee and spice plantations along paths trampled by migrating elephants.
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The busy, prosperous city of Hubli is a hub for rail routes from Mumbai to Bengaluru, Goa and northern Karnataka. Several hotels and restaurants sit close to the train station; others surround the old bus stand, a 15-minute walk from the train station. Long-distance buses usually stop here before heading to the new bus stand 2km away, where there are few amenities.
This busy regional centre is the transport hub for Hampi. There’s no reason to linger unless you desire an air-conditioned hotel room and cable TV.
With a reasonable range of hotels, a railhead and other conveniences, Hassan is a handy base for exploring Belur (38km), Halebid (33km) and Sravanabelagola (48km). When we passed through, the town centre was looking like Beirut on a bad day; hopefully the road widening project will have been completed by the time you arrive.
The fascinating ruins of the 15th-century city of Vijayanagar, near the village of Hampi, are set in an extraordinary landscape of giant granite boulders, lush paddies and banana plantations. The clock seems to have stopped at this World Heritage site, and you can spend a surprisingly large amount of time gazing at the weirdly balanced rocks, wondering how millions of years of erosion could achieve such formations.
Sun worshippers and Hindu pilgrims rub shoulders in the low-key village of Gokarna (Cow’s Ear), 50km south of Karwar. The quaint village is a holy place, which you should bear in mind if sunbaking is your objective. Modesty is your best policy; keep shoulders and knees covered, and take your parties to the out-of-town beaches.
Ruins and still-intact gems of 15th- to 17th-century Islamic architecture embellish old, dusty Bijapur like so many tatters of faded sultans’ finery. It’s a fascinating place to explore, blessed by a wealth of mosques, mausoleums, palaces and fortifications, whose austere grace is in complete contrast to the sculptural extravagance of the Chalukyan and Hoysala temples further south.
About 80km south of Mysore on the Ooty road, the Bandipur National Park (Indian/foreigner Rs 50/150) covers 880 sq km and is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which includes the sanctuaries of Nagarhole, Mudumalai in Tamil Nadu and Wayanad in Kerala. It was once the Mysore maharajas’ private wildlife reserve and is home to over 5000 Asiatic elephants – a fifth of the world’s population.