10 Things Karnataka is Famous For

1. Mysore for Silk and Sandalwood

Mysore is popular for its sandalwood products like soaps, sandalwood oils, incense sticks and show pieces. Mysore is also home to the famous Mysore silk sarees.

The speciality of these sarees is that they use pure silk and pure gold zari, a kind of thread used for weaving. The sarees are woven in a factory in Mysore city. The Mysore Palace at night is also a visual delight.

Photo Courtesy: Kiranravikumar

2. Hampi

Hampi is a tourist destination in Karnataka that's known for its festivals. Tourists flock in from various parts of the world to be a part of the annual festivals that take place here.

Hampi Festival, locally known as Hampi Utsav, is the most popular celebration of Hampi. The festival depicts the cultural richness of Hampi and showcases puppet shows, dances, music and fireworks as a part of the celebration.

3. Dandeli for Adventure

Dandeli, a small town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, is known for its adventure activities and sports. Some of the activities here include white water rafting, rappelling, trekking, bird watching, jungle safari, kayaking, canyoning, moonlight boat ride and riverside fishing to name a few. Here are the other attractions in Dandeli.

4. Channapatna Toys

Channapatna, located around 60km from Bangalore city, is famous for its wooden toys that are popularly known as Channapatna toys. Toy making is a traditional craft of the town and is also protected by World Trade Organisation. This art took birth during the reign of Tipu Sultan. Traditionally only ivory wood was used to make these toys, but as the years progressed, others woods such as rubber, sycamore, cedar, pine and teak are also used to make them.
Photo Courtesy: HPNadig

5. Mangalorean Cuisine

The Mangalorean cuisine is a special cuisine from Mangalore in Karnataka. If Mangalore has residents who speak Konkani, Kannada and Tulu, one can imagine the variety of dishes their cuisine could have. One of the specialities of the dishes is that they use coconut extensively in the dishes in the form of grated coconut, coconut paste, coconut milk, etc. Some of the dishes of Mangalorean cuisine include Kori Rotti, Neer dosa, Patrode, Dukra Maas (a pork dish) and Khali, a country liquor prepared from coconut flower sap.
Photo Courtesy: GracinhaMarco Abundo

6. Ancient Temples of Hooli

Hooli is a small village in Belgaum district of Karnataka. The village is known for its 10th century temples that are mostly in ruins today. The Panchalingeshwara Temple here is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India and the other temples too are known for its temple architecture and sculptures, though in ruins due to negligence.

7. Jog Falls

Jog Falls is one fo the 10 things Karnataka is famous for. The cascading falls are a beautiful sight and has several view points from where one can enjoy its beauty. 

8. India's Best Travel Destination – Coorg

As per the latest stats provided by the Kerala and Karnataka tourism departments, Coorg is considered as India's best tourist destination. This position was enjoyed by Munnar till recently. Find out more reasons to visit Coorg here.
Photo Courtesy: Challiyan

9. Yakshagana – The Traditional Art Form of Karnataka

Yakshagana, the traditional art form of Karnataka, is a dance drama which is performed with music and dialogue delivery. This art form is performed during the monsoons as the culture of Karnataka is largely based on agriculture.

Photo Courtesy: Vaibhav Mehta

10. The Radio Pioneer Dr. M V Gopalaswamy

M V Gopalaswamy is the great person behind the term Akashvani that we all have heard on AIR. He is a treasure of Karnataka as it was here that Akashvani took birth at his home in Mysore. For more details, refer to this link.