Among the South Indian States, the State of Karnataka is famous for many places of tourism as well as its stupendous temples. Karnataka temples are mostly rock-cut temples and many of them are remnants of the glorious dynasties that ruled the state; temples in Karnataka represent mostly the Dravidian style of architecture. Of the many famous temples Karnataka, the Bull Temple in the Capital City of Bangalore draws thousands of devotees daily. This Karnataka temples main attraction is a 4.57 meter high and 6.10 meter long granite rock carving of the Nandi or the Bull, entirely out of a single rock. The Chamundeshwari Temple, on top of the Chamundi Hills about 13 kilometers from the Mysore town is another famous temples Karnataka with a Nandi sculpture in granite stone that is almost 15 feet high and 24 feet long. The Mookambika Temple at Kollur town near to Mangalore is well known pilgrimage center and famous temples Karnataka. The attraction of this Karnataka temple is that, just in front of the deity Mookambika’s statue lies a Jyothirlingam with a golden divide that can be only seen when sunlight is reflected on it in a particular angle. Many devotees throng these famous temples Karnataka throughout the year. Of the famous Karnataka temples, the Iskcon Temple of Bangalore is a very popular pilgrimage site that attracts devotees from all parts of the world. The Sravanabelagola, near Mysore dates back to 3rd century B.C. and the home to the most famed monolithic statue of Gomateswara which is almost 60 feet in height and a famous tourist spot. There are many other famous temples Karnataka, across the state which include Shri Manjunatheshwara Temple, Dharmastala, Shri Mahalingeshwara Temple, Puttur, ahatobar Shri Siddi Vinayaka Temple, Idagunji, Shri Mahaganapathi Temple, Sharavu, Shri Mangaladevi Temple, Mangalore, Shri Subramanyeshwara Temple, Kukke Subramanya, Shri Rajarajeswari Temple, Polali etc.
The name Karnataka conjures up image of the metropolitan city of Bangalore. With an area of 191,976 square kilometers, Karnataka is the eighth largest state by population of about 55,000,000. Tourism is the main attraction in Karnataka state with more ancient temples, modern cities, splendid hill stations, unexplored forests and beautiful virgin beaches. It is no wonder therefore, that Karnataka is ranked as the fourth most popular destination for tourism among other states of India. There are a total of 25 or more wild life sanctuaries in the state. The dilapidated remnants of the Vijayanagara Empire at Hampi, many prominent monuments at Pattadakal have been considered as the world heritage sites by the UNESCO. For nature lovers the spectaculare waterfalls of Karnataka and Kudremukh National Park are considered among the must-see places as listed in “1001 Natural Wonders of the World”, whiled the Jog Falls in Karnataka are India’s tallest single-tiered waterfalls, with the Gokak Falls, Unchalli Falls, Magod Falls, Abbey Falls and Shivanasamudra Falls also among others in the state.