What to expect
Highlights
- The giant monolithic Nandi, darkened by centuries of oil and charcoal anointing.
- The 16th-century Kempe Gowda-era Dravidian temple architecture.
- The annual Kadalekai Parishe groundnut fair around the temple.
Bull Temple
The Bull Temple, or Dodda Basavana Gudi, in Basavanagudi enshrines one of the largest Nandi (bull) idols in the world — a single monolithic granite figure about 4.5 m tall and 6 m long, believed to have been carved in the 16th century under the Bengaluru founder Kempe Gowda.
Practical guide
Plan Bull Temple
Who's going?Tailor Bull Temple to your trip
Before you go to Bull Temple
Check entry arrangements. Ask temple staff about visitor entry, dress requirements and access to the inner shrine before you travel, especially if you are visiting as a non-Hindu.
Dress respectfully and follow the institution’s admission and photography rules.
Typetemple
Nearest baseSouth Bengaluru
DistrictBengaluru Urban
Best timeOctober to February
Time needed30 to 45 minutes
EntryFree
Places to visit9→Listed businesses46→The Dravidian-style temple is a living Shiva shrine and the focus of the annual Kadalekai Parishe (groundnut fair) each November–December, when the surrounding streets fill with groundnut sellers and pilgrims.
Getting there
How to visit
- In Basavanagudi, South Bengaluru; the National College metro station (Green Line), autos and buses are close, and it pairs with Bugle Rock next door.
- Remove footwear at the shrine and follow the queue for darshan.
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 Kadalekai Parishe (Nov–Dec) is the liveliest but crowded. Mornings and evenings are cooler.
Weather in Bull TempleSeasonal guide
Live forecast loads in your browser.
Today at Bull Temple
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
- Free entry; modest dress and footwear removal at the shrine. Photography rules vary — ask at the temple.
Photos
Bull Temple in pictures
Stay · eat · do · rent · see · shop
Stays, food & things to do near Bull Temple
Verified hotels, homestays, restaurants, experiences, sights, shops and rentals around Bull Temple — commission-free, with direct contact. Filter by what you need.
1 place to stay near Bull Temple
45 places to eat near Bull Temple
3 sights to see near Bull Temple
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.
Ranked
More ways to explore South Bengaluru
Find food, accommodation and activities across South Bengaluru. Browse the guides for places to eat, stay and explore along your route.
Nearest to Bull Temple, on foot
Walking routes start at Bull Temple. Check the route and access before setting out, especially where a road, gate or waterway separates the stops.
- Gokul Veg574 m · 7 min
- U.D Roti Ghar &Cake ghar728 m · 9 min
- Vidyarthi Bhavan728 m · 9 min
- Cafe Coffee Day733 m · 9 min
- Adyar Ananda Bhavan783 m · 9 min
- Hungerez788 m · 9 min
- Soho Bar & Grill842 m · 10 min
- Amandé Patisserie887 m · 11 min
- Thanco's Natural Ice Cream901 m · 11 min
- Harshi Super Sandwich1.1 km · 13 min
- Navodaya Military Hotel1.8 km · 22 min
- Swadesh Tadka2.3 km · 27 min
Across the whole of South Bengaluru
Ranked guides
Top experiences around South Bengaluru
8 more places around South Bengaluru. Open a guide to plan the visit and onward journey.
heritageLalbagh Botanical Garden
3.3 km · 6 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.
heritageBugle Rock Park
480 m · 6 min walk
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
1.1 km · 13 min walk
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
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
6.8 km · 10 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.
heritageBig Banyan Tree
The Dodda Alada Mara at Ramohalli about 28 km west of the city — a single roughly 400-year-old banyan whose aerial roots spread over nearly three acres so that it looks like a small forest; a shaded picnic and photography spot with a Muneshwara shrine.
templeDodda Ganesha Temple
90 m · 1 min walk
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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Add a nearby businessBefore you go
Bull Temple — at a glance
Timings6:00 AM - 12:00 PM, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM (approx)
Best timeOctober to February; mornings and evenings
Entry: Free
Getting here
How to reach Bull Temple
National College metro (Green Line), Basavanagudi
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 Bull Temple
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 Bull Temple
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 Bull Temple
templeDodda 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.
90 m · 1 min walkheritageBugle 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.
480 m · 6 min walktempleGavi 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.
1.1 km · 13 min walk
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.
1.9 km · 24 min walk · 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.
2.0 km · 25 min walk · 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.
2.4 km · 30 min walk · 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.
2.6 km · ~6 min by auto · straight lineheritageLalbagh 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.
3.3 km · 6 min drive
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.
3.4 km · ~8 min by auto · straight line
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.
4.1 km · ~10 min by auto · straight line
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.
4.6 km · ~12 min by auto · straight linetempleRagigudda 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.
6.8 km · 10 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 Bull Temple is
Good to know
Bull Temple — frequently asked
When is the best time to visit Bull Temple?
October to February; the Kadalekai Parishe (Nov–Dec) is the liveliest but crowded. Mornings and evenings are cooler.
What are the entry fee and timings at Bull Temple?
Entry: Free. Timings: 6:00 AM - 12:00 PM, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM (approx).
How do I reach Bull Temple?
In Basavanagudi, South Bengaluru; the National College metro station (Green Line), autos and buses are close, and it pairs with Bugle Rock next door. Remove footwear at the shrine and follow the queue for darshan.
How much time do I need for Bull Temple?
30 to 45 minutes; more during the fair.
What else is near Bull Temple?
Nearby you can pair Dodda Ganesha Temple (90 m), Bugle Rock Park (480 m), Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple (1.1 km), Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace (1.9 km).
Read before you go
Bull Temple guides, stories & itineraries
We have not published a story about Bull Temple itself yet. These cover South Bengaluru and the wider district, with separate journeys between stops.
Around South Bengaluru
These guides explore South Bengaluru and the surrounding area. Choose a visit that fits your interests, allowing separately for travel between stops.
Living landscape
Bugle Rock: granite, watchtower and bats
6 min read · Read →
Sacred art
Reading Dodda Ganapathi’s colossal image
6 min read · Read →
Karnataka-wide guides & itineraries
Route-level itineraries and practical guides for the rest of Karnataka.
Image credits
Photographs: Smuconlaw, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), రహ్మానుద్దీన్ (CC BY-SA 4.0), Smuconlaw (CC BY-SA 3.0). Wikimedia Commons.