INDIA’S 6th largest state has a history dating back over 5000 years, and therefore it is little surprise that Karnataka is home to incredible buffet of cultural wonders. A dozen or more languages, including ancient Sanskrit, are spoken by its 61,000,000 people. Empires of various colours and persuasions, some local, others invaders, have left their mark.
Some of India's finest sites are in Karnataka, which hosts four of India's 43 UNESCO World Heritage sites.
From the grand palaces of Mysore.....
....north to Badami and Hampi's famed cave and hill temples.
Vijapura boasts magnificent Deccan Islamic monuments.....
...while scattered here and there are Hindu temples with ridiculously ornate carvings.
Getting "templed out" is quite likely, but cities such as Bangalore, Mysore and Vijapura have markets, parks and street life to keep you on your toes.
30 years ago, every $10 backpacker from Kuta to Khao San was raving about "you gotta go to Hampi."
Shree Vijaya Vitthala is the grandest of the 1600-odd monuments left behind by the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565.
The world's second largest city in 1500 and India's richest, Hampi now boasts some quite outstanding monuments around its squat and grubby town.
The elephant stables here are another highlight. Hampi is absolutely worth the effort, the 2025 version didn't live up to the 1990s hype.
A short drive away on an appalling motorcycle, Daroji Bear Sanctuary is a worthy side-trip. Sloth bear sightings, distant, are a near-certainty.
India is a country that spoils you for choice. Perhaps Hampi didn't meet my expectations because we'd just come from Badami.
Once home to the Chalukya Empire, the cave temple of Badami predate Hampi for 600 years in some cases.
Hill top temples command views in all directions, and 3 famous cave temples are carved into the cliffs above a small lake. Sri Bhootanaatha Gudi sits on the lake.
From the small, dusty town market, it is hard to imagine a centre of culture that was fought over by the Vijayanagara Empire and the Sultans of Deccan.
Chilis by the bag load are spread out on the road to dry by bent-over grandmothers.
The monuments can be seen in an afternoon, and there is not much to the town, so may as well explore the market.
Vijayapura, the most northerly point of our journey, was at the height of its power from the 1500s.
Gol Gombuz is one of a dozen or so impressive monuments left by the Deccan sultans, and is the tomb of emperor M Adil Shah and his wives.
Ibrahim Rouza mausoleum was built by M Adil Shah II for his wife, but fate saw him move in first. Said to have inspired the design of the Taj Mahal, it is Viyapura's crowning jewel, among India's finest, and yet we were the only two people there.
Colourful street markets sprawled here and there around the city, too.
Nothing like the scale of Bangalore's Krishna Rajendra Market, which fills many city blocks of the state capital.
Every available space is used to display every available kind of wares, and you could easily lose 3 hours strolling here.
Inside the original market building, the wholesale cut flower section sees flowers stacked like truck tyres, and strung on hundreds of metres of string.
The size, quality and nature of markets varied incredible, and a bigger city didn't always mean a bigger and better market.
Another Karnataka city famed for its palaces is Mysore, which also boasts an OK market and two really pleasant park lakes.
One of several, Mysore Palace is smorgasbord of stained glass, marble and paint. A mere century old, it is India's second most visited historical site.
A short bus ride outside town in Srirangapatna, Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace lacks the OTT scale of Mysore Palace, but is itself or riot of murals and decorations.
There are several other monuments in town from the same era, and there is a bird sanctuary nearby, too. The birding is just okay, and not really worth the ridiculous foreigner price.
Forts and other century old ruins are found all over the state. Hidden in the hills and surrounded by forests, Tipu Sultan's Manjarabad Fort is better known as Star Fort.
Of course there are also thousands of sites in active use. The Tunga and Bhadra rivers meet in tiny Koodli.
It is easy to while away hours watching the pilgrims and their rituals at the holy temples there.
About 200kms west-ish from either Bengaluru or Mysore is a qaurtet of interesting small towns: Belur, Halebid, Hassan and Chikamagaluru.
Pick one. They are close enough to each other to see by motorcycle or taxi as day trips.
From Chikkamagaluru, there are some nice mountains with uncooperative weather, but the real highlights are the areas temples.
Temple-hopping can leave a tourist jaded, skipping over "just another temple" and missing gems.
Hoysaleshwara temple in Halebidu, the former capital of the Hoysala Empire, is a 12th-century Shiva Hindu monument, sponsored by King Vishnuvardhana.
Consisting of two same-sized temples, their sanctums open to the east, facing sunrise. Outside are shiva linga and Nandi bulls.
The outer walls feature 340 large reliefs which narrate the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and Bhagavata Purana.
Described as a "manual of Hindu iconography" the details are mind-blowing. Thousand upon thousands of figures include elephants, lions, musicians, dancers, horses, scrolls, mythical beasts and swans. "No two lions are alike in the entire span"
In nearby Belur, Channakeshava Temple took 100 years to complete and is one of only three major Hoysala temples in active use today.
Larger than Hoysaleswara, the compound consists of several temples dedicated to various deities. Both sites are UNESCO listed.
The walls of Channakeshava also contain volumes of incredible works, but the delicate, detailed figures at Hoysalswara were my favourite.
The towns which abut Karnataka's monuments have largely faded from glory, but still provide on insight to the soul of India.
And when you've had your fill of old stone relics, head up to the hills of the Western Ghats, or continue west to Kerala.