What to expect
Highlights
- A single ~400-year-old banyan spreading across nearly three acres.
- Walking paths winding among the aerial-root "trunks".
- A shaded picnic and photography spot with a Muneshwara shrine.
Big Banyan Tree
The Big Banyan Tree, or Dodda Alada Mara, at Ramohalli about 28 km west of the city is a single banyan believed to be around 400 years old. Over centuries its aerial roots have grown into new trunks spreading across nearly three acres, so that one tree looks like a small forest.
Practical guide
Plan Big Banyan Tree
Who's going?Tailor Big Banyan Tree to your trip
Typeheritage
Nearest baseSouth Bengaluru
DistrictBengaluru Urban
Best timeOctober to February
Time needed45 minutes to an hour
EntrySmall or no fee
Places to visit9→Listed businesses46→A shaded, easy spot popular for picnics and photography, it has a small Muneshwara shrine at its heart and paths winding among the roots; it makes a quick, quiet escape from the city on the Mysore-road side.
Getting there
How to visit
- About 28 km west near Ramohalli, off the Mysore Road / Magadi Road side; best reached by car or auto.
- Go on a weekday morning for shade and fewer crowds; carry water and take your litter back.
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; early morning is coolest and least crowded.
Weather in Big Banyan TreeSeasonal guide
Live forecast loads in your browser.
Today at Big Banyan Tree
Sunrise6:11 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
- Small or no entry fee; watch for monkeys and do not feed them.
Stay · eat · do · rent · see · shop
Stays, food & things to do near Big Banyan Tree
Verified hotels, homestays, restaurants, experiences, sights, shops and rentals around Big Banyan Tree — commission-free, with direct contact. Filter by what you need.
1 place to stay near Big Banyan Tree
45 places to eat near Big Banyan Tree
3 sights to see near Big Banyan Tree
Hotel
Shravanthi Sarovar PorticoHotel on 13th Cross Rd, Dollar Layout, 3rd Phase, J. P. Nagar in South Bengaluru.
Book with the place itself. India’s cyber-crime coordination centre warned in April 2025 that convincing copies of hotel and pilgrimage booking sites are being pushed through sponsored search and social ads, taking payment for rooms the property never hears about. Every listing here links to the business’s own contact details and its own Google or Bing profile — we take no commission and sit in nobody’s payment path. If a booking page reached you through an ad, check the address bar against the property’s own site before you pay. Fraud can be reported on cybercrime.gov.in or on 1930.
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Top experiences around South Bengaluru
8 more places around South Bengaluru. Open a guide to plan the visit and onward journey.
heritageLalbagh Botanical Garden
26.2 km · 34 min drive
A historic 240-acre botanical garden begun under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan in the 1760s, famous for its Glass House, lake, ancient rock and the biannual flower shows.
templeBull Temple
23.9 km · 30 min drive
The Dodda Basavana Gudi in Basavanagudi, a 16th-century Kempe Gowda-era temple housing a huge monolithic Nandi bull carved from a single granite boulder.
heritageBugle Rock Park
24.6 km · 31 min drive
A shaded Basavanagudi park around an exposed granite outcrop, with a Kempe Gowda watchtower and a conspicuous flying-fox roost close to the Bull Temple.
templeGavi Gangadhareshwara Temple
24.1 km · 30 min drive
A rock-cut cave temple in Gavipuram attributed to Kempe Gowda I in the 16th century, famous for a solar phenomenon on Makara Sankranti (mid-January) when the setting sun’s rays pass between the horns of a stone Nandi to light the Shiva linga inside.
museumIndian Music Experience Museum
28.7 km · 29 min drive
India's first interactive music museum, in JP Nagar, with nine themed galleries and a Sound Garden of musical outdoor installations spanning Indian classical, folk, film and contemporary music.
templeRagigudda Anjaneya Temple
30.6 km · 31 min drive
A popular Hanuman (Anjaneya) temple built on a granite hillock in Jayanagar, with a large monolithic Hanuman idol, Ganesha and Shiva shrines and steps up the rock; busiest on Saturdays and during Hanuma Jayanti.
waterfallMuthyalamaduvu (Pearl Valley)
A seasonal waterfall and picnic valley near Anekal about 40 km south of the city, within Bengaluru Urban district’s Anekal range, where a stream drops through a rocky wooded gorge beside a small Shiva temple; fullest in and just after the monsoon.
templeDodda Ganesha Temple
24.0 km · 30 min drive
A Basavanagudi temple housing a colossal monolithic Ganesha, immediately beside Bull Temple and Bugle Rock Park; worship and festival access should be confirmed at the entrance.
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Big Banyan Tree — at a glance
TimingsDaylight hours
Best timeOctober to February; early morning
Entry: Small or no fee
Getting here
How to reach Big Banyan Tree
~28 km west near Ramohalli, off Mysore/Magadi Road; by car or auto
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.
- KSRTC— the Karnataka state bus operator; route and schedule enquiries.Online booking.
- Indian Railways— live running and seat availability for the nearest railhead, named under “Getting here” above.
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 Big Banyan Tree
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 Big Banyan Tree
112All emergencies (police · fire · medical)The single number to call in any emergency (ERSS).100Police101Fire108Ambulance (emergency / EMS)1091Women’s helpline (distress)1098Child helpline1363Tourist helpline (India, 24×7, multilingual)
Emergency numbers are verified against official government and state tourism sources. 112 works anywhere in India.
Nearby
What’s near Big Banyan Tree
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.
20.1 km · ~33 min by cab · straight line
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.
20.2 km · ~34 min by cab · straight line
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.
20.2 km · ~34 min by cab · straight line
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.
20.4 km · ~34 min by cab · straight line
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.
20.6 km · ~34 min by cab · straight linetempleBull Temple
The Dodda Basavana Gudi in Basavanagudi, a 16th-century Kempe Gowda-era temple housing a huge monolithic Nandi bull carved from a single granite boulder.
23.9 km · 30 min drivetempleDodda Ganesha Temple
A Basavanagudi temple housing a colossal monolithic Ganesha, immediately beside Bull Temple and Bugle Rock Park; worship and festival access should be confirmed at the entrance.
24.0 km · 30 min drivetempleGavi Gangadhareshwara Temple
A rock-cut cave temple in Gavipuram attributed to Kempe Gowda I in the 16th century, famous for a solar phenomenon on Makara Sankranti (mid-January) when the setting sun’s rays pass between the horns of a stone Nandi to light the Shiva linga inside.
24.1 km · 30 min driveheritageBugle Rock Park
A shaded Basavanagudi park around an exposed granite outcrop, with a Kempe Gowda watchtower and a conspicuous flying-fox roost close to the Bull Temple.
24.6 km · 31 min driveheritageLalbagh Botanical Garden
A historic 240-acre botanical garden begun under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan in the 1760s, famous for its Glass House, lake, ancient rock and the biannual flower shows.
26.2 km · 34 min drivemuseumIndian Music Experience Museum
India's first interactive music museum, in JP Nagar, with nine themed galleries and a Sound Garden of musical outdoor installations spanning Indian classical, folk, film and contemporary music.
28.7 km · 29 min drivetempleRagigudda Anjaneya Temple
A popular Hanuman (Anjaneya) temple built on a granite hillock in Jayanagar, with a large monolithic Hanuman idol, Ganesha and Shiva shrines and steps up the rock; busiest on Saturdays and during Hanuma Jayanti.
30.6 km · 31 min driveWalking 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 Big Banyan Tree is
Good to know
Big Banyan Tree — frequently asked
When is the best time to visit Big Banyan Tree?
October to February; early morning is coolest and least crowded.
What are the entry fee and timings at Big Banyan Tree?
Entry: Small or no fee. Timings: Daylight hours.
How do I reach Big Banyan Tree?
About 28 km west near Ramohalli, off the Mysore Road / Magadi Road side; best reached by car or auto. Go on a weekday morning for shade and fewer crowds; carry water and take your litter back.
How much time do I need for Big Banyan Tree?
45 minutes to an hour.
What else is near Big Banyan Tree?
Nearby you can pair Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace (20.1 km), Kote Venkataramana Temple (20.2 km), ISKCON Temple Bangalore (20.2 km), Bangalore Fort (20.4 km).
Read before you go
Big Banyan Tree guides, stories & itineraries
We have not published a story about Big Banyan Tree itself yet. These cover South Bengaluru and the wider district, with separate journeys between stops.
Around South Bengaluru
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Image credits
Photographs: T. R. Shankar Raman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wikimedia Commons.