Weekend getaways from Bengaluru

A fortified hilltop an hour north of the city, famous for a sea-of-clouds sunrise, Tipu Sultan's summer palace and a 9th-century Nandi temple at the base. Go early - the gate queues build fast.

Best time: October to June

The granite domes where Sholay was shot, now Karnataka's beginner climbing capital and a vulture sanctuary. Closest real adventure day to Bengaluru, and you can be back by dinner.

Best time: October to April

The Kaveri splits around an island and drops twice - Gaganachukki and Bharachukki - beside Asia's first hydroelectric station. Thunderous after the monsoon, walkable in winter.

Best time: August to January

A Kaveri fishing camp inside the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary - coracles, zip lines and otters, with jungle lodges on the riverbank. One of the few places this close that feels genuinely remote.

Best time: August to February

The City of Palaces: a Wadiyar palace lit by nearly a hundred thousand bulbs on Sunday nights, a hilltop temple, a sandalwood-scented market and the best-organised weekend in south Karnataka.

Best time: October to March

A small Tamil Nadu hill station reached by fourteen hairpin bends - lake, orchards and paragliding, without the crowds or the price of Ooty. Easy enough for a first hill trip with kids.

Best time: October to June

The Kaveri drops through carbonatite gorges into a churn of coracles - locals call it smoking rock. Ride the round boats, then eat river fish fried at the bank.

Best time: October to February

Two Hoysala temple towns sixteen kilometres apart, carved in soapstone so fine the bracelets on the sculptures turn. A UNESCO-listed pair best seen in one unhurried day.

Best time: October to March

The backwater edge of Nagarhole, and the best odds in India of a black panther. Two safaris a day, elephants on the shoreline at dusk, and lodges that book out months ahead.

Best time: October to May

Coffee estates, monsoon mist and Kodava food in the hills of Kodagu. The longest drive on this list and the one people repeat - go for three days if you can, two if you must.

Best time: October to March