Weekend getaways from Mysuru

Coffee-country hill station at 1,170 m in the Western Ghats, 120 km west of Mysuru. Estates, waterfalls and Kodava cuisine; the monsoon (Jun-Sep) is intensely wet, so roads and falls viewpoints get slippery.

Best time: October to March

The 'Queen of hill stations' at 2,240 m in the Nilgiris, 125 km from Mysuru across Bandipur forest. Botanical gardens, lakes and the UNESCO-listed toy train. Note: the forest highway shuts to traffic 9 PM-6 AM.

Best time: October to June

Kerala's green plateau district across Bandipur forest from Mysuru: prehistoric Edakkal caves, Banasura Sagar dam, lakes and wildlife. NH-766 through the reserve closes 9 PM-6 AM, so plan daylight crossings.

Best time: October to May

Safari weekend on the Kabini reservoir's edge of Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, ~80 km from Mysuru. Tigers, leopards and big elephant herds; the dry months pull wildlife to the water. Book lodge safaris well ahead.

Best time: October to May

Mysuru's nearest tiger reserve, ~80 km south on the Ooty road, a Project Tiger park since 1973 in the Nilgiri Biosphere. Pair safaris with the fog-wrapped Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta hill temple. Highway shut 9 PM-6 AM.

Best time: October to May

Day loop east of Mysuru: the Kaveri's twin Shivanasamudra falls in full spate after the monsoon, Talakadu's sand-buried temples and Somanathapura's UNESCO Hoysala gem. Falls shrink to a trickle by late spring.

Best time: July to January

Day trip up the Madikeri road: Namdroling Monastery's Golden Temple in India's largest Tibetan settlement belt, then Dubare's riverside elephant camp and the Nisargadhama island on the Kaveri. Easy year-round outing.

Best time: Year-round

Hill-and-jungle escape 90 km southeast: the white-cliff Biligiri Ranganathaswamy temple crowns a tiger reserve bridging the Western and Eastern Ghats, with K Gudi safaris, Soliga tribal culture and cool ridgetop air.

Best time: October to May

Karnataka's coffee capital in the Baba Budangiri foothills, 183 km out - the longest haul here, worth a full two days. Estate stays, Mullayanagiri (the state's highest peak) and Hoysala Belur on the way home.

Best time: September to March

Tipu Sultan's island capital 19 km up the road: fort ramparts, the Ranganathaswamy temple, Daria Daulat's frescoes and a ranger-rowed boat among nesting storks and crocodiles at Ranganathittu. The easiest outing here.

Best time: Year-round; best birds Jun-Jan