"Silicon Valley", "Garden City", "Paradise for pensioners", "Capital of pubs" - as soon as Bangalore (India) is not called. This metropolis was the first in the country to have electricity. And it continues to be the most innovative city where knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy are developing. For this, he received the second name - "Silicon Valley of India". “Brains flow” here not only from other parts of the country, but also from various states. As a result, the city has developed a cosmopolitan flavor. High-tech amenities and plenty of green space have earned Bangalore the reputation of a "Retiree's Paradise". This city is considered the best for living in India, and we althy citizens tend to move here in their declining years. In this article we will tell you a lot of interesting things about Bangalore. How to get there, where to stay, what to see - all the practical information based on the reviews of tourists is given below.
Where isBangalore (India)
On the map of the country, the metropolis is located in the south. It is elevated above sea level, since it lies on the Deccan plateau. Bangalore (the name of the city is often pronounced as Bengaluru) is the capital of the state of Karnataka, and is located in its southeastern part. The city is seventy-seven degrees from the Greenwich meridian. But tourist reviews warn that the time in Bangalore is quite interesting: the state of India lives in the UTC +5:30 time zone. For comparison: Western Europe - UTC +1, Eastern - UTC +2, Moscow - UTC +3. Thus, to find out the time in Bangalore, you need to add five and a half hours to the UK timer. And if it's noon in Moscow, then it's half past two in an Indian city. Bangalore is located at the thirteenth degree of northern latitude. Therefore, there is no need to switch to daylight saving time.
Climate of Bangalore (India)
On the map, the city lies in the humid tropical zone. But the elevation of the Deccan Plateau creates a unique climate in Bangalore. When it is stuffy and hot in other cities of India, fresh winds blow on the hill all year round, dispersing the heat. Tourists advise to go to Bangalore from March to May. These are the hottest months of the year. The temperature during the day reaches +36 ° C in the shade, at night it does not fall below twenty-three. Rain during this period is extremely rare. From June, the monsoon begins to blow, which brings showers. All summer months, the city of Bangalore (India) experiences a period of rains. In autumn, the showers begin to subside. In winter, the weather is clear, but, due to the elevation of the place, it is cool. The air temperature in Januarydrop to plus five degrees.
How to get there
Unfortunately, this city in India is not connected with Moscow by direct flights. Banlagore can be reached from London (British Airways), Paris (Air France), Frankfurt (Lufthansa), Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Bangkok, Hong Kong. Naturally, the administrative center of the state of Karnataka is connected with other cities in India by domestic flights. Arriving in Bangalore is met by a brand new international airport, which opened in May 2008. As befits Silicon Valley, its hub is the most modern in India. It is located forty-four kilometers from the city. The cheapest way to get from the airport to Bangalore is called the VMTS (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) buses. They leave every fifteen minutes. Private taxis (they park next to the red Volvo buses) are much cheaper than official ones, which will cost you about a thousand rupees. Luxury hotels in Bangalore are equipped with helipads. So you can get to the Golden Grand Apartments and other similar hotels by air on Air Limousine helicopters (at least five thousand rupees). It is also planned to open a high-speed train to the business center of Bangalore.
Where to stay
This city in India offers the visitor a huge number of hotels and apartments for every taste and - most importantly - a wallet. For picky clients, for whom the main thing is not money, but convenience, we can recommend JW MarriottHotel Bengaluru. Prices there start from eleven and a half thousand rubles per night. Good five-star hotels "Oakwood Premier Prestige Bangalore", "Luxury Collection Hotel" (8,000 rubles). Middle price segment: Lemon Tree Premier, San Mark Hotel, Ibis Bengaluru City Center hotels. A room in them will cost from three to four thousand rubles. For those who want to have a small kitchenette in the room, you can advise NM Suites and Studios. Such an apartment costs only 2300 rubles. Do not be afraid to rent budget hotels in Bangalore. According to the reviews of tourists, Atlantic Inn and Tribo Urs Regency have proven themselves well. A night in such hotels will cost the traveler nine hundred rubles for a double room.
History of the city
Bangalore (India) was founded in 1537 as a military fort at Kempe by Gouda I, a feudal lord of the Vijayanagara empire. The small settlement was turned into a large city by the British. In 1831, Britain took over the kingdom of Mysore and made Bangalore the provincial capital. In 1906, the streets of the city were electrified - for the first time in India. But the most powerful impetus to the development of Bangalore was the construction of "Electronic City". This special area in the southern suburbs is made up of various IT companies that satisfy the demand of mankind for computers and software, as well as for telecommunications and aerospace products. Bangalore not only attracts IT people from all over India, but also forges its own personnel. There are many institutes and colleges in the city. "Brain gain" increased the population of the metropolis toless than nine million people. According to this indicator, Bangalore ranks third in India and 28th in the world.
City attractions
As you can see, the not too long history of the metropolis does not imply the presence of any antiquities. Most tourists (judging by their reviews) regard Bangalore (India) as a launching pad for a trip to the ancient cities of the south of the country. But still, there are some sights here. The Lalbach Botanical Garden was not built by the British. It was founded in the eighteenth century by the ruler of the kingdom of Mysore Hyder Ali. Symmetrical lawns, lotus ponds, greenhouses spread over an area of 97 hectares. Here, the tower of the fort, built by Kempe Gouda, was saved from the onslaught of time. The Bangalore Palace was built in the nineteenth century in the architectural style of the Tudor era. There are many religious Hindu shrines in the metropolis. Among them, the tourist attractions are the temples of Nandi and Shiva. The first shrine was built in 1537. The temple is famous for its huge Nandi statue. In Hindu iconography, he is depicted as a bull-headed creature. The statue is five meters high, carved from a granite monolith. But the sculptural image of Shiva, sitting in a lotus position in the middle of a reservoir, overshadows Nandi. This magnificent statue reaches a height of twenty meters.
Beautiful buildings
The state capital is rich in fine and imposing government buildings. One of them is Vidhana Soudha, a palace in whichmembers of parliament are sitting. Although this building was built in the middle of the 20th century, it repeats the elements of Dravidian and Indo-Saracenic architecture. No less beautiful is the summer residence of Tipu Sultan (built in 1790). This wooden building impresses with carved wooden balconies, arches and columns. The palace is surrounded by a beautiful park.
Museums
Bangalore, whose sights are located not only in the open air, can show an inquisitive tourist a lot of antiquities. To do this, you need to visit the Cubbon Museum, named after the former commissioner of the city, who collected an excellent collection of coins, ceramics, and sculptures. Here you can see spearheads and arrowheads from the ancient city of Mohenjo Daro, figurines of the Hoysala era and much more. Not far from the Cubbon Museum is the Bangalore Art Gallery. The Silicon Valley of India also has an interesting Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium. Those tourists who arrived in Bangalore in November can visit the Maharaja's palace. This attraction is only open to the public one week a year.
Shopping
The city of Bangalore is full of shopping centers, boutiques and bazaars where you can buy products of local artisans. For clothes and shoes of world brands, tourist reviews advise you to go to Vittal Mallia Road, as well as to the U-Bee City area. Tourist reviews advise avid shopaholics to walk along Brigade Road. Here you can buy souvenirs, Indian jewelry, clothes. Chic Bannerghatta Road will dofor evening walks. There are theaters, restaurants and other places of entertainment here. The street name Commercial Street speaks for itself.
