Kolar district

The Ganga-and-Chola Shakti temple in Kolar town after which the district is named — a Dravida vimana of about the 10th–11th century with twin shrines to Kolaramma and the Saptamatrikas, and fine Chola-era bronzes and inscriptions. This temple guide belongs to the Kolar planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (see option in Kochi)

A large 14th-century Vijayanagara Shiva temple near the old fort of Kolar town, an ASI Monument of National Importance with a soaring gopura, a deep temple tank and richly carved yali pillars. (Distinct from the Someshwara temples of Dharwad and Ulsoor.) This temple guide belongs to the Kolar planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (see option in Kochi)

A boulder-strewn hill of the Shatashrunga range about 3 km from Kolar town, known for its perennial Basavanna spring that feeds a stone tank, its volcanic cave passages and monkeys, and the steps up to the Kashi Visweswara shrine — a popular cave-trek and rappelling spot. This cave guide belongs to the Kolar planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (nature option in Kochi)

The historic gold-mining town about 30 km from Kolar, whose Bharat Gold Mines shafts — including Champion Reef, once among the deepest mines on earth — made it India’s gold capital and one of the first Indian towns to be electrified, in 1902; a landscape of colonial bungalows, clubs and deep-shaft heritage. This heritage guide belongs to the Kolar Gold Fields planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (see option in Kochi)

A temple complex at Kammasandra near KGF famous for its colossal ~33 m Shivalinga and ~11 m Nandi — among the tallest in the world — surrounded by fields of lakhs of small Shivalingas donated by devotees, with eleven subsidiary shrines. This temple guide belongs to the Kolar Gold Fields planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (see option in Kochi)

A hilltop Sri Venkataramana Swamy temple at Guttahalli in Bangarapet taluk, said to resemble the great Tirupati shrine, with adjoining Varaha, Vinayaka and Anjaneya shrines — a busy Vishnu pilgrimage of the district. (Distinct from Andhra’s Tirupati and from Ghati Subramanya.) This temple guide belongs to the Bangarapet planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (see option in Kochi)

A reservoir and dam on the Palar built in the early 1900s to supply water to the Kolar Gold Fields, once home to a British sailing club and now a quiet bird-watching and picnic lake in the KGF–Bangarapet country. This dam guide belongs to the Bangarapet planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (see option in Kochi)

A finely carved Shiva temple near Mulbagal with a Simha-vahini Durga shrine and an ornamental temple tank — a lesser-known heritage temple of the eastern plateau. (Distinct from the Virupaksha temple of Hampi.) This temple guide belongs to the Mulbagal planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (see option in Kochi)

A heritage temple village about 13 km from Mulbagal, called the "Gaya of the South" — the 10th-century Nolamba Ramalingeshwara group of ASI-protected Shiva temples (their lingas named for Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna) below the Avani Betta hill, whose Sita temple is linked to the Valmiki-ashram and Lava–Kusha legend. This heritage guide belongs to the Mulbagal planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (see option in Kochi)

A ruined hill fort and heritage village about 15 km from Bangarapet, best known as the birthplace of Hyder Ali, the 18th-century ruler of Mysore — the earthwork-and-stone fort and its old temples anchor the village. This fort guide belongs to the Bangarapet planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (see option in Kochi)

A famous temple at Kurudumale about 10 km north of Mulbagal, housing a ~4 m monolithic Ganesha said to be swayambhu, set in a finely carved Vijayanagara pillared mantapa — one of the largest Ganesha idols in Karnataka. This temple guide belongs to the Mulbagal planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (see option in Kochi)

A revered Hanuman (Anjaneya) temple in Mulbagal town, associated with the Dvaita saint Vyasaraja, and housing shrines to Rama-Sita, Lakshmi-Narasimha and Venugopala — a central pilgrimage of the temple town called the "Dakshina Mandara". This temple guide belongs to the Mulbagal planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (see option in Kochi)

A cave shrine and Dvaita matha near Mulbagal around a swayambhu Yoga-Narasimha on a boulder, where the 15th-century saint Sripadaraja — teacher of Vyasaraja — lived and taught; the Sripadaraja Mutt and its brindavana stand here. This heritage guide belongs to the Mulbagal planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (see option in Kochi)

A large historic reservoir of about 500 acres in the Mulbagal country, a scenic and bird-rich picnic lake fed by the plateau’s seasonal streams. This lake guide belongs to the Mulbagal planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (see option in Kochi)

A living stone-sculpture village in Malur taluk, called the "Shilpakashi of Karnataka", where some three hundred families of traditional shilpis carve granite temple idols by hand — a craft village unlike any other in the district. This heritage guide belongs to the Malur planning base in Kolar, Karnataka, with route context, best-time notes and verified inventory categories for stays, food, operators, shops, wellness and transport as they are approved. (see option in Kochi)