Karnataka is the state we send people to when they have done the north and assume they have seen India. It has the ruins, the palaces and the temples, but almost none of the crowds – Hampi on a January morning is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with more langurs than visitors.
It also has the best road-trip geography in the south: Bengaluru to Mysore to Coorg to the coast is a continuous descent from plateau to plantation to sea, and every leg is under five hours.
A starting point, not a fixed departure. Every element below can be lengthened, shortened or swapped.
Land, sleep, and a morning in the old market and Lalbagh before the drive south.
The palace, the Devaraja market, and Chamundi Hill at dusk. A day out to Srirangapatna.
Three nights, because two is not enough. Sunrise at Matanga, the Vittala complex, and the far bank by coracle.
A coffee estate, the Dubare elephant camp, and long walks between plantations.
The coast. Nothing scheduled beyond a boat to Half Moon beach and dinner facing west.
Every journey is quoted individually once we know your dates, party size and pace. The first conversation is free.
Hampi has almost no shade and the site is enormous – mornings and late afternoons only, with the middle of the day spent somewhere with a fan. Coorg is at altitude and genuinely cold at night from December. The coastal roads are slow and worth it.
Fly into Bengaluru and out of Goa or Mangaluru, which saves doubling back. Hampi is reached by road from Hospet, or overnight by train from Bengaluru.
Nothing unusual. Hampi involves a lot of walking on uneven granite – proper shoes, not sandals.
A hat and more water than you think for Hampi, and something warm for Coorg evenings.
Add a week, drop the walking, bring the children, or start somewhere else entirely. We redraw every itinerary from scratch.
