What to expect
Highlights
- The cave shrine and the monolithic sun-and-moon stone discs.
- The Makara Sankranti (mid-January) sun-alignment on the linga.
- The rock-cut Kempe Gowda-era architecture and forecourt pillars.
Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple
The Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple in Gavipuram is a rock-cut cave temple dedicated to Shiva, traditionally attributed to Kempe Gowda I in the 16th century. Carved into and beneath a granite outcrop, its shrine sits in a dim natural cavern fronted by two large stone discs (a sun and a moon) and monolithic pillars in the forecourt.
Practical guide
Plan Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple
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Before you go to Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple
Entry rules not verified for this temple. Some Hindu temples admit only Hindus, and most enforce a dress code at the door. We have not verified the rule for this particular temple, so please check before you travel — especially if you are not Hindu or are visiting from outside India.
We report each site's own published rules neutrally, and only where we can source them.
Typetemple
Nearest baseSouth Bengaluru
DistrictBengaluru Urban
Best timeOctober to February
Time needed30 to 45 minutes
EntryFree
Places to visit9→Listed businesses46→It is best known for a striking solar event: around Makara Sankranti in mid-January, the setting sun’s rays pass between the horns of the stone Nandi outside and through an arch to fall directly on the Shiva linga within the cave — drawing large crowds on that day.
Getting there
How to visit
- In Gavipuram, near Kempegowda Nagar and Basavanagudi in South Bengaluru; autos and city buses reach it, with National College metro (Green Line) not far.
- Visit around the Sankranti sun event for the spectacle, but expect very heavy crowds then.
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; Makara Sankranti (around 14–15 January) for the sun alignment.
Weather in Gavi Gangadhareshwara TempleSeasonal guide
Live forecast loads in your browser.
Today at Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple
Sunrise6:09 am
Sunset6:31 pm
Golden hour best light5:31 pm–6:31 pm
Blue hour after sunset6:31 pm–6:56 pm
Sun sets toward compass bearingW · 279°
Moon tonight🌖 Waning gibbous · 77%
South-west monsoon. June to September is the south-west monsoon in Karnataka. Expect heavy showers, mostly in bursts rather than all day — carry rain cover, allow extra time for getting around, and note that ferries and open-air sites are the first things affected.
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; a living temple — remove footwear and dress modestly. The cave is dim and can be cramped on busy days.
Photos
Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple in pictures
Stay · eat · do · rent · see · shop
Stays, food & things to do near Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple
Verified hotels, homestays, restaurants, experiences, sights, shops and rentals around Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple — commission-free, with direct contact. Filter by what you need.
1 place to stay near Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple
45 places to eat near Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple
3 sights to see near Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple
S
Shravanthi Sarovar Portico
Place to stay
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
The best of South Bengaluru, ranked
Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple sits in South Bengaluru, and these rank everything verified across the town rather than this one spot — built from the same listings shown above, ordered by the strength of the source evidence behind each entry rather than by anyone's star score. Every card shows how many places are really on it. Nobody pays to appear.
Nearest to Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple, on foot
Ordered by a real routed walk from Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple itself — the walking network, not a line on a map, which understates a real walk by about half again. A different question, and a different answer, from the town-wide lists below.
- Cafe Coffee Day1.2 km · 14 min
- Gokul Veg1.3 km · 16 min
- Vidyarthi Bhavan1.3 km · 16 min
- Thanco's Natural Ice Cream1.3 km · 16 min
- U.D Roti Ghar &Cake ghar1.4 km · 16 min
- Adyar Ananda Bhavan1.5 km · 18 min
- Hungerez1.5 km · 18 min
- Soho Bar & Grill1.5 km · 18 min
- Amandé Patisserie1.9 km · 23 min
- Harshi Super Sandwich2.0 km · 24 min
- Navodaya Military Hotel2.7 km · 33 min
- Adyar Ananda Bhavan2.9 km · 35 min
Across the whole of South Bengaluru
Ranked guides
Top experiences around South Bengaluru
8 more places around South Bengaluru, each worth a day of its own.
heritageLalbagh Botanical Garden
3.2 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.
templeBull Temple
1.1 km · 13 min walk
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
1.4 km · 17 min walk
A shaded Basavanagudi park built around a 3,000-million-year-old granite outcrop with a Kempe Gowda watchtower, close to the Bull Temple.
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
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
1.2 km · 14 min walk
A Basavanagudi temple housing a giant Ganesha carved from a single block of granite, about 5.5 m tall, right beside the Bull Temple; the idol is periodically coated in butter (benne alankara) during festivals.
Roampedia is commission-free — own or know a stay, eatery, guide or shop near Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple? List it and it appears here once verified.
Add a nearby businessBefore you go
Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple — at a glance
Timings~7:30 AM - 12:00 PM, 5:00 - 8:30 PM (confirm)
Best timeOctober to February; Makara Sankranti (~14–15 Jan)
Entry: Free
Getting here
How to reach Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple
Gavipuram, near Basavanagudi; National College metro (Green Line)
Getting back
Work out your return before you settle in for the sunset. Public transport here thins out sharply in the evening, and Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple is easier to reach than to leave. We do not publish departure times: there is no official live feed we are permitted to republish, and a wrong time here would strand you. Check the operator directly on the day.
- 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 Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple
We have not assessed physical access at this place yet. Across India, step-free routes, handrails and accessible toilets are the exception rather than the rule, and pavements are often interrupted — if step-free access matters to you, contact the site or a local operator before committing to the trip.
If you need help at Gavi Gangadhareshwara 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 Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple
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 Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple is
Good to know
Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple — frequently asked
When is the best time to visit Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple?
October to February; Makara Sankranti (around 14–15 January) for the sun alignment.
What are the entry fee and timings at Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple?
Entry: Free. Timings: ~7:30 AM - 12:00 PM, 5:00 - 8:30 PM (confirm).
How do I reach Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple?
In Gavipuram, near Kempegowda Nagar and Basavanagudi in South Bengaluru; autos and city buses reach it, with National College metro (Green Line) not far. Visit around the Sankranti sun event for the spectacle, but expect very heavy crowds then.
How much time do I need for Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple?
30 to 45 minutes.
What else is near Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple?
Nearby you can pair Bull Temple (1.1 km), Dodda Ganesha Temple (1.2 km), Bugle Rock Park (1.4 km), Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace (1.7 km).
Read before you go
Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple guides, stories & itineraries
We have not published a story about Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple itself yet. These cover South Bengaluru, the town it sits in, and the wider district.
Karnataka-wide guides & itineraries
Route-level itineraries and practical guides for the rest of Karnataka.
Photographs: Dineshkannambadi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), Dineshkannambadi (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wikimedia Commons.
Image credits
- Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple:Dineshkannambadi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0