Karnataka Tourism markets Karnataka as ‘One State, Many Worlds’ and it is a pretty apt way to describe this South Western state of India. It offers a diverse collection of cultures, landscapes and experiences for travellers willing to spend adequate time during their travel in Karnataka. With this blog post, we aim to capture the essence of what makes this such a unique state with many so many worlds.
- Tigers and Elephants!!!: There are about 4,500 tigers in the wild, in the world of which about 50% of the tigers are just in India. And 400 of these big cats live in the jungles of Karnataka – about 10% of the world’s tiger population. This means, the next time you travel in Karnataka, you know you have a pretty good chance of spotting a tiger. And don’t even get us started on the elephants. You can see some of them on your next travel with goMowgli on the Pandi Curry Pass
2. The forefathers here had a serious fetish for stones: Southern India is famous for some really tall stone temples. And the fashion trend was set by the Chalukyas of Badami back in 5th century AD. This meant, for the next 1,500 years stunning stone temples were built, especially along the Cauvery Basin. It would not be inappropriate to say they perfected the art of stone sculpting, as the sculptures below testify. You can see some of them on the Jackfruit Kadubu Pass with goMowgli
3. Centrepieces of both Hindu and Muslim architecture: Travel in Karnataka is not all about temples. If you do not believe us, travel to Bijapur to see the Gol Gumbaz for yourself. And it is an engineering and acoustic marvel built 350 years go. But wait, there are more Hindu temples in the surrounding regions of Badami. You can explore these temples on the Khardantu Pass before hopping off to explore Bijapur and Gol Gumbaz.
4. Bangalore, a cosmopolitan city, is less than 200 Kms away from a population of forest dwelling tribals: A lot of people live and work at the Silicon Valley of India. However, on your next travel in Karnataka, venture out a little bit to meet these forest dwelling tribes living in the forests of BR Hills and learn how they have been living off the forest for generations together. You can meet these tribals on the Ragi Mudde Pass with goMowgli
5. Silk, Inlay art, Perfume oils and more. There is no dearth of shopping opportunities here: You can’t go wrong with authentic Silk Sarees can you? You can buy some expensive smelling, but not really expensive, perfumes too. And if you really have money to splurge, indulge in some sandalwood carvings. There are just so many things to buy here, especially if you have a fat enough wallet. If this incites your curiosity, this recent blog post about Mysore may interest you further.
6. Crazy geography at work here -1. The Shola Grasslands: India is home to all types of forests. From the arid shrub forests to the deciduous ones to the evergreen ones. However, beyond a certain altitude, the evergreen forests give way to stunning shola grasslands like these.
7. Crazy geography at work here -2. Hilly, evergreen rainforests forests are just a short distance away from arid flatlands: In Agumbe, Karnataka has one of the highest rainfall receiving regions in India. And about 300 Kms North East of Agumbe lie regions which have not seen proper rainfall in many years. Don’t ask us why, we are baffled too!
8. They take their dance very seriously here. And the dance attire too: On your next travel in Karnataka, ask the locals for an invite to a local dance performance. The rustic ones are Dollu Kunitha, Kamsaale in the South and Jaggahalige in the North. But the most surreal of performances are the Yakshagana performances, usually found along Karnataka’s coast.
9. The seafood here is just as good as the vegetarian plantain leaf meal: You have not experienced South Indian food till you have sampled some in Karnataka. They serve everything from Fish (Bangda Ambat) to Pork (Pandi Curry) to a hearty vegetarian meal on a plantain leaf.
10. The favoured Rotis here are made from Rice or Corn and not Wheat: Still on the subject of food, the staple food here is rice. So much so that the rotis here are made from rice and they taste lip smackingly good with Pandi Curry. In Northern Karnataka, they make their rotis with corn, which usually goes well with egg plant curry.
11. The languages here are several and the dialects many: Karnataka is home to a variety of languages apart from Kannada. Konkani, Tulu and Kodava is spoken in specific regions while countless dialects of Kannada exist all around the state. And we are not even counting the languages spoken by the forest dwelling tribes.
12. Free food at the temples. Totally free.: Really, we mean it! Absolutely free at a lot of temples, especially in the little temple towns in the hills of Western Ghats, like Dharmasthala, Shringeri, Horanadu to name a few. And the food tastes divine. Make sure you include a tleast one of them during your next travel in Karnataka.
Now, you have 12 more reasons to plan your travel to Karnataka. And, needless to say, Karnataka is best explored on the Masala Dose Pass with goMowgli! 
Photo Credits: Photos for this post were sourced from Wikipedia, with proper usage rights.
