About Bangalore
The city of Bangalore is India’s third largest city and the state capital of Karnataka, known for being a modern, cosmopolitan metropolis at the helm of the country’s IT-boom. Bangalore is a shopper’s haven overrun with big malls and shopping districts, as well as a food lover’s paradise with one of the highest concentrations of places to eat in the continent. Spotted with parks and natural lakes, Bangalore is alternately known as ‘The Garden City of India.’ Recently voted as the most livable metro in the country, Bangalore is known as‘Pensioner’s Paradise’ on the one hand and as ‘Start-up City,’ on the other, attracting youth from across the world with its trending markets and rapid availability of jobs. With Bangalore’s ever-doubling IT infrastructure, it is often referred to as the Silicon Valley of India.
Another aspect of Bangalore is soaked in the history of bygone, ancient cultures. Bangalore has been peopled for up to 3000 years, bearing megalithic monuments that treasure its rich past. Bangalore, as we know it today, was established in 1537 by KempeGowda I, who constructed a well-planned city within an oval mud fort in the area that is today known as City Market. Gradually, Bangalore grew into a commercial center and a chief part of the silk industry. Over successive centuries the Marathas, Mughals, Wodeyars and the Mysore Sultanate, all did their bit to develop the city further. In 1809 the British set up a cantonment in Bangalore, drawn by its pleasant weather and central location.
The earliest recorded usage of the name Bengaluru is found in today’s ‘Old Bangalore,’ in a 9th century temple. According to legend, King ViraBallala was once lost in the jungles that once overran these parts. He was wandering, tired and hungry, when an old woman revived him with her hospitality and a plate of boiled beans. Out of gratitude the King consequently named the area ‘Benda KaaluUru’ (Town of Boiled Beans). It was only in 1831, when the British seized Mysore from the ruling Wodeyars that the capital was shifted to Bangalore. The anglicization of Bengaluru turned it into Bangalore until it was recently reverted back to its original.
Although Bangalore is not a popular tourist destination, there are many sites worth taking a tour of. The legislative House of Karnataka, VidhanaSoudha, is one of the Chief attractions of Bangalore. It was built during the 1950s using granite in a neo-Dravidian style of architecture. Other places of historical interest include the Bangalore Palace, constructed by the Mysore Maharajahs and Tipu Sultan’s Palace, built around 1790 as Tipu’s summer retreat.
A tour of Bangalore must also include Lalbagh Botanical Gardens- built by Hyder Ali in 1760, and the Bannerghatta National Park- a 25,000-acre zoological park one and a half hours away from Bangalore City. Educational tours of Bangalore may include the Vishweshwaraiah Industrial and Technological Museum, the State Archaeological Museum, the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, the Venkatappa Art Gallery and the Karnataka ChitrakalaParishad. Religious tours of Bangalore cover the Bull Temple in Basavanagudi, the Maha Bodhi Society Temple- a replica of the Bodh Gaya Stupa, the ISCKON temple, the Maruthi Temple, the GaviGangadeshwara Cave Temple as well as many other temples, mosques and churches of historic significance.
Due to an average elevation of 920 meters above the sea level, Bangalore enjoys a cool climate throughout the year. Although summers can get hot with dry heat waves, it seldom exceeds 35 degrees Celsius and hovers around a mean temperature of 24 degrees Celsius.
About Kuttanad
Book online bus tickets to Kuttanad By Kerala Lines
Kuttanadu is a region in the southern state Kerala, India, well known for its picturesque vast paddy fields and its geographical peculiarities. It's the region with the lowest altitude in India, and one of the few places in the world where farming is carried out below sea level. It’s also one of the historically important places in the ancient history of South India.
The best way and at times the only one to explore Kuttanad is on boat. Pamba, Manimala and Achankovil are the 3 rivers that crisscross this region before emptying themselves into the waters of the Vembanad Lake. If you can shirk off your inhibitions and get hold of a local fisherman to guide you through the emerald waters on a country boat- nothing like it. While you sail through the waterways, green paddy fields, villages and fishing boats glide past you. Watch the rustic cultivation and fishing methods like you have till now seen only on the National Geographic and Discovery channel. The places that can be visited on a tour to Kuttanad are listed below.
Vembanad Lake, Ramankarry, Kaipuzha, Kumarakom, Edathua, Mampuzhakkary, Neelamperoor, Kainadi, Kavalam, Pulincunnu, Veliyanadu, Vezhapra, Kunnamkaryy, Kidangara, Muttar, Neerettupuram, Thalavady, Changankarry, Champakkulam, Nedumudy, Moonnatummukham, Venattukad, Kayalppuram, Moncompu, Manalady, Koduppunna, Pullangadi.
Kuttanad, called the rice bowl of Kerala because of her wealth of paddy crops, is at the very heart of the backwaters. The scenic countryside of Kuttanad with its shimmering waterways also has a rich crop of banana, cassava and yam.
This is perhaps the only region in the world where farming is done 1.5 to 2 m below sea level. Inland waterways which flow above land level are an amazing feature of this region.
Alappuzha is the nerve centre of the backwaters of Kerala. Kuttanad is an expanse of water-logged land lying below sea level. Often the level of water here is higher than that of the green paddy fields on either side.
Kuttanad bears strong resemblance to Holland in terms of geographical features. Three rivers - the Pamba, the Manimala and the Achankovil - crisscross this region.
Until a few years ago, water was the main mode of transport. Today buses and trains ply the region. However, the landscape is so unique that a boat trip through Kuttanad is an unforgettable experience - bustling rural life on the banks of the rivers, green expanses of paddy fields and shady coconut grooves.
Kuttanad is one of the tourists place in kerala and also beautiful place which can make journey through Kerala Lines