Someshwara Temple, Magadi

The fort town of Magadi, a stronghold of the Kempegowda line — the chieftains who founded Bengaluru — with old fort ramparts and gateways and, nearby, the Kempegowda memorial and samadhi.

A Vijayanagara-style Vishnu temple in Magadi dedicated to Ranganatha, one of the principal temples of the old Kempegowda seat, with a reclining Ranganatha shrine and yali-carved pillars.

One of the largest monolithic granite hills in Asia, rising to about 1,226 m in Magadi taluk about 60 km west of Bengaluru — a demanding bare-rock climb above the Savandi Veerabhadreshwara and Narasimha temples at its base, with sweeping views from the summit.

A reservoir on the Arkavathi river below Savandurga in Magadi taluk, ringed by rocky hills — a scenic, uncrowded waterbody popular for kayaking and coracle rides with the monolith as a backdrop.

A hill of tumbled granite boulders near Ramanagara town, made famous as the film location of Sholay and protected as the Ramadevarabetta Vulture Sanctuary — Karnataka’s only vulture sanctuary — with a hilltop Pattabhirama (Rama) temple reached by a stepped climb.

A sprawling folk-culture museum and heritage park on the Bengaluru–Mysuru road, run by the Karnataka Janapada Parishat — galleries of rural masks, puppets, tools and instruments, a leather shadow-puppet collection and an open-air theatre celebrating Karnataka’s folk traditions.

A reservoir on the Kanva river near Channapatna, built in the 1940s — a calm waterbody ringed by low hills, a quiet picnic and coracle spot just off the highway.

A hill-top cave shrine of Revana Siddeshwara (SRS Betta) between Channapatna and Kanakapura, a Veerashaiva pilgrimage climbed by steps for its cave temple and wide plateau views.

The "Toy Town" of Karnataka (Gombegala Ooru) on the Bengaluru–Mysuru highway, famous for its GI-tagged lac-turned wooden toys and lacquerware — a two-century-old craft, with workshops and showrooms where artisans lathe and colour the toys.

A revered Chola-era Vishnu temple at Doddamallur near Channapatna, dedicated to Aprameya, best known for its Ambegalu Krishna — the crawling-baby Krishna idol linked to the devotional songs of Purandara Dasa.

A large meditation centre at Kebbedoddi near Harohalli, south of Bengaluru, built around the Maitreya-Buddha Pyramid — one of the world’s largest meditation pyramids — where visitors sit for anapana meditation beneath the apex.

A granite hill fort near Kanakapura, climbed for its ruined fortifications and the Kabbalamma temple — a popular day-and-night trek from Bengaluru with sweeping views from the top.