Bangalore has a unique combo, the ancient and the contemporary, the natural and the manmade working in tandem that appeals to the young and the young at heart. Bangalore offers you a multitude of things that can keep you busy through your visit! There are parks and tidy gardens you can rejuvenate in with leisurely walks, and pubs and coffee houses which are so much a part of Bangalore's way of life. There are at once, ancient forts, palaces, temples and sanctuaries on one hand and a modern hi-tech lively urbane society, with a cosmopolitan lifestyle on the other. This makes Bangalore one of the most interesting tourist places that one would love to call upon.

Bangalore's pristine lakes are the ideal haunts for a lovely boat ride on a holiday. You might even find a whole lot of aquatic birds like Painted Storks, Indian Cormorants and Pond Herons to keep you company on the water. Go boating in the Nagawara Lake in Lumbini Gardens near Hebbal or in the larger Madiwala or BTM Layout Lake near the Outer Ring Road.

After meandering its way through the Deccan Plateau, the river Cauvery flows through a gorge and around the island of Shivanasamudra in Mandya district. The island divides the river into two that cascade down a cliff from a height of about 322ft as one of the country’s most beautiful twin falls called Bharachukki and Gaganachukki. The twin falls are considered one among the world’s best 100 waterfalls. You can visit the Ranganathaswamy, Someshwara and Vanadurga Temples situated close to the falls. One of Asia’s first hydro-electric power stations is in Shivanasamudra.

The Shivanasamudram Falls is about 139 km from Bengaluru, on the Bengaluru-Mysore road. Tourists can visit the Falls from 6am-6pm.

Ramanagara, the silk city or Land of Seven Hills is about 50 km from Bengaluru. Ramanagara which has one of Asia's largest markets for silk cocoons and has large and small scale cottage industries where you can buy fine bolts of silk. Ramanagara offers a good destination for trekking and camping out. The outcrops of granite rocks in Ramanagara are some of the world’s oldest, and the compactly packed rocky ledges are used for rock climbing adventures.

75 km away from Bengaluru towards Magadi, is Savanadurga Hill, one of the largest monolith or single rock hills in the world. Savanadurga has two smaller hills called Black Hill or Karigudda and White Hill or Baligudda. The hill is a popular destination for trekking and rock climbing. You are bound to find varieties of birds and butterflies in the scrubland around the hill, that is quite a charmer.

Pyramid Valley or Maitreya Buddha Viswalayam, is an International meditation retreat for people who wish to contemplate and seek spiritual wisdom. You can meditate inside the huge Pyramid, go on group guided meditation, attend spiritual workshops and idyllically recharge yourself amidst the lakes and hills that dot the landscape.

The Pyramid Valley is in Kebbedoddi village, in Kanakapura Road, about 30 km from Bengaluru. Visiting hours are from 9am-6pm.

Take a break from the humdrum, with a quite walk or a bicycle ride across the Turahalli Forest off the Bengaluru Kanakapura Highway, about 20 km from Bengaluru. The forest is just a small getaway to be explored, with a hillock you can climb up to see the countryside around. Take your camera and water bottles.

Check out the Folk World Museum on the Bengaluru-Mysore Highway near Ramnagara. The Museum which is a must-visit on your itinerary of tourism in Karnataka, has an amazing display of the folk arts of the state. There are artefacts from the forms of rural dance, literature, lifestyles and music as well as a shadow puppet theatre that kids would love. There is an amphitheatre and a lake that adds further appeal to the place. You can buy souvenirs directly from the artisans and crafts persons who display their products at the venue.

The Museum is open from 10.30am-5pm. 

What better than festive gaiety to savour the culture of Bengaluru. The city celebrates the routine traditional festivals along with the Karage and the Kadalekaye Parishe or Peanut festival for the first peanut crop of the year, which the farmers celebrate with a visit to the Bull Temple. Bengaluru is the hub for a plethora of music festivals. So share in the excitement of Echoes of Earth Music Festival, the Storm Festival or the biggest Rock and Heavy Metal festival in India, the G-Shock Bangalore Open Air Festival.

Bengaluru is a shopper’s paradise. The city abounds with areas exclusively created for avid shoppers. Visit Commercial Street near Shivaji Nagar for anything from roadside trinkets to branded items, with plenty of food outlets for a much needed shopping break. Try the 400 year old Chickpet market for gorgeous saris, jewellery and electronic goods and the Krishna Rajendra Market for the most colourful flowers imaginable. Majestic Market has stores selling perfumes and electronic goods and the Avenue Road Market near Chickpet where bookworms would get the best bargain in secondhand books that are piled up on the pavements, just waiting to be read! MG Road has shops that sell Karnataka's handicrafts, a must visit for souvenir hunters.