Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath

The Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath (CKP) on Kumara Krupa Road is one of South India’s foremost visual-arts institutions — a cluster of galleries, an art college and studios founded in 1960 by the artist and educationist Prof. M. S. Nanjunda Rao.

Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Central Bengaluru
Practical guide

Plan Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath

Who's going?Tailor Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath to your trip
Typemuseum
Nearest baseCentral Bengaluru
DistrictBengaluru Urban
Best timeOctober to February
Time needed1 to 1.5 hours
EntrySmall fee (~Rs 20–40)
Places to visit24Listed businesses49

Its permanent galleries range across traditional Mysore paintings, Indian folk and tribal art, leather puppets and a large collection of works by the Russian painter Nicholas Roerich and his son Svetoslav, alongside changing shows of contemporary Indian art.

What to expect

Highlights

  • Galleries of Mysore traditional, folk and tribal art.
  • The Nicholas and Svetoslav Roerich collection.
  • The annual Chitra Santhe — a huge open-air street art fair.
Getting there

How to visit

  • On Kumara Krupa Road near the centre; autos and buses reach it, with the High Grounds and Sadashivanagar nearby.
  • Buy the modest entry ticket at the counter; the Chitra Santhe (usually January) is free but very crowded.

Distance by road

  • Mysuru145 km
  • Chennai350 km
  • Hyderabad570 km
  • Mangaluru350 km
  • Coimbatore365 km

Road km to Bengaluru Urban; ghat roads and traffic vary — allow extra.

Timing

Best time

October to February; the Chitra Santhe street fair (usually early January) is the highlight.

Weather in Karnataka Chitrakala ParishathSeasonal guide

Live forecast loads in your browser.

Today at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath
Sunrise6:10 am
Sunset6:01 pm
Golden hour best light5:01 pm–6:01 pm
Blue hour after sunset6:01 pm–6:26 pm
Sun sets toward compass bearingW · 261°
Moon tonight🌒 Waxing crescent · 31%

Sun and moon are calculated for this location and shown in IST. Photography windows are the hour around sunrise and sunset; the sunset bearing is degrees clockwise from true north. Moon phase is accurate to about half a day.

Visitor notes

  • A small entry fee applies; photography inside the galleries may be restricted.
Stay · eat · do · rent · see · shop

Stays, food & things to do near Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath

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1 place to stay near Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath

Hotel
Dass Suites
11.1 km · 16 min drive

Hotel on Vasvani Layout, Challaghatta Road, Next to Embassy Golf Link Business Park, Behind Hilton Hotel, Domlur in Central Bengaluru.

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Ranked

More ways to explore Central Bengaluru

Find food, accommodation and activities across Central Bengaluru. Browse the guides for places to eat, stay and explore along your route.

Nearest to Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, on foot

Walking routes start at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. Check the route and access before setting out, especially where a road, gate or waterway separates the stops.

Across the whole of Central Bengaluru

Ranked guides

Top experiences around Central Bengaluru

23 more places around Central Bengaluru. Open a guide to plan the visit and onward journey.

heritageCubbon Park

3.1 km · 7 min drive

A 300-acre landscaped green lung in the city centre, laid out in 1870, ringed by the red-brick Attara Kacheri (High Court), State Central Library and Government Museum.

heritageVidhana Soudha

2.9 km · 5 min drive

Karnataka's monumental granite state legislature building, completed in 1956 in a Neo-Dravidian style; floodlit on Sunday evenings and viewed from outside.

heritageBangalore Palace

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A Tudor-revival palace built in 1878 by the Wodeyar royal family, with fortified towers, arches and interiors of Wodeyar-era portraits and furniture.

heritageTipu Sultan's Summer Palace

An ornate two-storey teak palace completed in 1791 for Tipu Sultan, richly carved and painted, now an ASI-protected monument beside the KR Market fort area.

templeISKCON Temple Bangalore

A large hilltop Krishna-Balaram temple at Rajajinagar, one of the biggest ISKCON temples in the world, known for its gopuram, glass-and-gold shrine and multimedia halls.

heritageUlsoor Lake

One of the largest and oldest lakes in the city, in the Ulsoor (Halasuru) neighbourhood near MG Road, dotted with small islands and offering boating, a lakeside promenade and a Ganesha temple on its bank.

museumVisvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum

4.6 km · 8 min drive

A hands-on science and technology museum on Kasturba Road beside Cubbon Park, opened in 1965 in memory of engineer-statesman Sir M. Visvesvaraya, with interactive galleries on engines, electronics and space and a full-scale Wright Flyer replica.

museumHAL Aerospace Museum

India's first aerospace museum, opened in 2001 by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited near the old HAL airport, displaying vintage fighter aircraft, helicopters, aero-engines, a flight simulator and the story of Indian aviation.

museumJawaharlal Nehru Planetarium

1.8 km · 21 min walk

A sky-theatre and science centre at the High Grounds run by the Bangalore Association for Science Education, with domed astronomy shows, a science park of interactive exhibits and a public telescope programme.

heritageSankey Tank

3.0 km · 5 min drive

A scenic man-made lake created in 1882 by Colonel Richard Sankey between Malleswaram and Sadashivanagar, ringed by a popular walking and jogging track, with boating and plentiful water birds.

heritageKR Market

The Krishna Rajendra Market (City Market), the largest and oldest wholesale market in the old city — a teeming bazaar of flowers, fruit, produce and wholesale goods beside the Jamia Masjid and Tipu’s fort area.

heritageCommercial Street

A century-old shopping street in the Shivajinagar / Tasker Town area, one of Bengaluru’s oldest and busiest retail districts, packed with clothing, footwear, jewellery and street-food stalls.

templeHalasuru Someshwara Temple

The oldest temple in the city, a Chola-era Shiva shrine in Ulsoor greatly expanded under the Vijayanagara-era chief Kempe Gowda, with an ornate gopuram, a pillared kalyana mantapa and finely carved Yali pillars.

museumGovernment Museum, Bengaluru

4.5 km · 8 min drive

One of the oldest museums in India, established in 1865 on Kasturba Road beside Cubbon Park, with archaeology, coins, sculpture and inscriptions, sharing its compound with the Venkatappa Art Gallery and the technology museum.

museumNational Gallery of Modern Art

1.5 km · 18 min walk

The Bengaluru branch of the National Gallery of Modern Art, in the restored early-20th-century Manikyavelu Mansion on Palace Road, with a permanent collection of modern Indian art and rotating exhibitions in landscaped grounds.

museumNIMHANS Brain Museum

A teaching museum associated with the Human Brain Bank at NIMHANS, displaying preserved human brains and neurological specimens only through the institution’s current confirmed visitor arrangement.

heritageBangalore Fort

The surviving Delhi Gate and bastions of the old fort founded in mud by Kempe Gowda in 1537 and rebuilt in stone by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, beside the KR Market; scene of the 1791 British siege, and a natural pairing with Tipu’s Summer Palace.

templeKote Venkataramana Temple

A late-17th-century temple to Venkataramana (Vishnu) built by the Wodeyars beside Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace and the old fort, in a Vijayanagara-Dravidian style with carved pillars and a gopuram.

churchSt. Mary's Basilica

2.6 km · ~6 min by auto

The oldest church in Bengaluru and one of the few minor basilicas in India, a Gothic-style Catholic church in Shivajinagar with stained glass and a tall spire, famed for the September St Mary’s Feast procession that draws huge crowds.

churchSt. Mark's Cathedral

2.6 km · ~6 min by auto

A British-era Anglican cathedral of 1808 on MG Road, in a neo-classical style modelled on St Paul’s Cathedral in London, with a domed sanctuary, stained glass and a quiet churchyard in the heart of the city.

heritageHesaraghatta Lake

A former city water reservoir and its associated grassland landscape north-west of Bengaluru, now important for birdlife; water extent changes sharply with rain.

heritageFreedom Park

2.5 km · 30 min walk

A large public park in Gandhi Nagar on the site of the old Central Jail where freedom fighters were held; some jail structures are preserved, and it is now a green space and the city’s main venue for protests and public events.

mosqueJumma Masjid

4.4 km · 7 min drive

One of the largest and oldest mosques of the Bengaluru Cantonment, in the Shivajinagar / Tasker Town area near Commercial Street, with a colonnaded prayer hall and slender minarets.

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Before you go

Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath — at a glance

Timings10:00 AM - 5:00 PM (confirm)
Best timeOctober to February; Chitra Santhe (~Jan)

Entry: Small fee (~Rs 20–40); Chitra Santhe fair free

Getting here

How to reach Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath

Kumara Krupa Road; near the High Grounds

Getting back

If you are travelling by bus or ferry, check the return service with the operator before setting out. Leave time to reach the stop or jetty after your visit.

Ask at the bus stand for the time of the last service back, not the next one. If you miss it, an auto or app cab is the fallback — agree the fare before you get in.

Getting around Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath

If you need step-free access, contact the site before travelling. Ask about a level entrance, steps along the route, the nearest drop-off point, seating and accessible toilets.

If you need help at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath
112All emergencies (police · fire · medical)The single number to call in any emergency (ERSS).

Emergency numbers are verified against official government and state tourism sources. 112 works anywhere in India.

Nearby

What’s near Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath

museumNational Gallery of Modern Art

The Bengaluru branch of the National Gallery of Modern Art, in the restored early-20th-century Manikyavelu Mansion on Palace Road, with a permanent collection of modern Indian art and rotating exhibitions in landscaped grounds.

1.5 km · 18 min walk
museumJawaharlal Nehru Planetarium

A sky-theatre and science centre at the High Grounds run by the Bangalore Association for Science Education, with domed astronomy shows, a science park of interactive exhibits and a public telescope programme.

1.8 km · 21 min walk
heritageBangalore Palace

A Tudor-revival palace built in 1878 by the Wodeyar royal family, with fortified towers, arches and interiors of Wodeyar-era portraits and furniture.

2.5 km · 30 min walk
heritageFreedom Park

A large public park in Gandhi Nagar on the site of the old Central Jail where freedom fighters were held; some jail structures are preserved, and it is now a green space and the city’s main venue for protests and public events.

2.5 km · 30 min walk
churchSt. Mark's Cathedral

A British-era Anglican cathedral of 1808 on MG Road, in a neo-classical style modelled on St Paul’s Cathedral in London, with a domed sanctuary, stained glass and a quiet churchyard in the heart of the city.

2.6 km · ~6 min by auto · straight line
churchSt. Mary's Basilica

The oldest church in Bengaluru and one of the few minor basilicas in India, a Gothic-style Catholic church in Shivajinagar with stained glass and a tall spire, famed for the September St Mary’s Feast procession that draws huge crowds.

2.6 km · ~6 min by auto · straight line
heritageVidhana Soudha

Karnataka's monumental granite state legislature building, completed in 1956 in a Neo-Dravidian style; floodlit on Sunday evenings and viewed from outside.

2.9 km · 5 min drive
heritageSankey Tank

A scenic man-made lake created in 1882 by Colonel Richard Sankey between Malleswaram and Sadashivanagar, ringed by a popular walking and jogging track, with boating and plentiful water birds.

3.0 km · 5 min drive
heritageCubbon Park

A 300-acre landscaped green lung in the city centre, laid out in 1870, ringed by the red-brick Attara Kacheri (High Court), State Central Library and Government Museum.

3.1 km · 7 min drive
mosqueJumma Masjid

One of the largest and oldest mosques of the Bengaluru Cantonment, in the Shivajinagar / Tasker Town area near Commercial Street, with a colonnaded prayer hall and slender minarets.

4.4 km · 7 min drive
museumGovernment Museum, Bengaluru

One of the oldest museums in India, established in 1865 on Kasturba Road beside Cubbon Park, with archaeology, coins, sculpture and inscriptions, sharing its compound with the Venkatappa Art Gallery and the technology museum.

4.5 km · 8 min drive
museumVisvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum

A hands-on science and technology museum on Kasturba Road beside Cubbon Park, opened in 1965 in memory of engineer-statesman Sir M. Visvesvaraya, with interactive galleries on engines, electronics and space and a full-scale Wright Flyer replica.

4.6 km · 8 min drive

All 24 places to visit in Central Bengaluru →

Walking and driving times are real routed distances, except the few marked “straight line”, which are direct-line estimates and will read short.Routing: © openrouteservice.org by HeiGIT | Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

On the map

Where Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath is

Good to know

Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath — frequently asked

When is the best time to visit Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath?

October to February; the Chitra Santhe street fair (usually early January) is the highlight.

What are the entry fee and timings at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath?

Entry: Small fee (~Rs 20–40); Chitra Santhe fair free. Timings: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM (confirm).

How do I reach Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath?

On Kumara Krupa Road near the centre; autos and buses reach it, with the High Grounds and Sadashivanagar nearby. Buy the modest entry ticket at the counter; the Chitra Santhe (usually January) is free but very crowded.

How much time do I need for Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath?

1 to 1.5 hours.

What else is near Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath?

Nearby you can pair National Gallery of Modern Art (1.5 km), Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium (1.8 km), Bangalore Palace (2.5 km), Freedom Park (2.5 km).

Read before you go

Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath guides, stories & itineraries

We have not published a story about Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath itself yet. These cover Central Bengaluru and the wider district, with separate journeys between stops.

Around Central Bengaluru

These guides explore Central Bengaluru and the surrounding area. Choose a visit that fits your interests, allowing separately for travel between stops.

Karnataka-wide guides & itineraries

Route-level itineraries and practical guides for the rest of Karnataka.

See all 11 Bengaluru Urban guides & stories →

Image credits

Photographs: Rajesh_dangi (talk) (Uploads), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0). Wikimedia Commons.