About Bangalore

Bangalore, the fifth largest city in India is the capital of Karnataka. The presence of many parks and botanical gardens gave the name of ' Garden city ' to Bangalore. Any tourist can start his tour from Bangalore with its ancient forts, temples, gardens and shopping. All important tourist attraction in Karnataka can be reached with in a day's journey from Bangalore.

History

The modern city of Bangalore ('Bengaluru') was founded by Kempe Gowda, the Vijayanagar Chieftain of Yelahanga, over 400years ago. But ancient inscriptions pointing to the existence of a village called 'Bengaluru' prior to the 10th century AD.

Kempe Gowda built a mud fort in his city with 8 gates which lent their names to different areas inside the fort. Inside the fortress walls, the city grew into a commercial haven divided into localities ('Pet') where individual trades dominated each area. To this day these areas bear their old names such as Chickpet (little town), Dodda pet (big town ), Taragupet (grain market ), Halipet (cotton market) etc. Kempe Gowda also built several temples including Gavi Gangeswara Temple at Gavipuram and the Bull temple at Basavanagudi.

In 1687 the Moghuls captured Bangalore from the Sultan of Bijapur and gave it on lease and later sold to King Chikkadevaraya Wodiyar of Mysore. In 1761 Hyderali rebuilt the fort with stone. It was the stronghold of Hyderali and Tipu Sultan. In 1807 the British shifted their cantonment from Srirangapatnam to Bangalore. The 19th century saw Bangalore growing into an administrative center and a prime residential area. Mysore State was acceded to the Indian Union in 1947 with Bangalore as its capital. In 1973 Mysore State was renamed Karnataka.

Tourist Information

Located at an altitude of 920m (3021ft) from the sea level,Bangalore has a moderate and pleasant climate throughout the year. During summer the temparature reach a maximum of 27o Celcius. Winters are colder when temparature goes down to 20o C. Bangalore enjoys both southwest and northeast monsoons. October and November are the wettest months.The Monsoons are during June - Sept. Bangalore has a domestic airport that connects most of the major cities of the country. A few international flights are also operated from here. The city is connected by rail and roads to all parts of the country.

Relevent tourist information can be obtained from Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation in Bangalore located at 10/4, Kasturba Road, Bangalore 560 001. Their tourist information counters are located at Badami House, Bangalore 560002, airport, railway stations and bus terminals. Most of the star hotels also provide tourist information for their inmates.