The city of Bangalore is India’s third largest city and the state capital of Karnataka, known for being a modern, cosmopolitan metropolis at the helm of the country’s IT-boom. Bangalore is a shopper’s haven overrun with big malls and shopping districts, as well as a food lover’s paradise with one of the highest concentrations of places to eat in the continent. Spotted with parks and natural lakes, Bangalore is alternately known as ‘The Garden City of India.’ Recently voted as the most livable metro in the country, Bangalore is known as‘Pensioner’s Paradise’ on the one hand and as ‘Start-up City,’ on the other, attracting youth from across the world with its trending markets and rapid availability of jobs. With Bangalore’s ever-doubling IT infrastructure, it is often referred to as the Silicon Valley of India.
Another aspect of Bangalore is soaked in the history of bygone, ancient cultures. Bangalore has been peopled for up to 3000 years, bearing megalithic monuments that treasure its rich past. Bangalore, as we know it today, was established in 1537 by KempeGowda I, who constructed a well-planned city within an oval mud fort in the area that is today known as City Market. Gradually, Bangalore grew into a commercial center and a chief part of the silk industry. Over successive centuries the Marathas, Mughals, Wodeyars and the Mysore Sultanate, all did their bit to develop the city further. In 1809 the British set up a cantonment in Bangalore, drawn by its pleasant weather and central location.
The earliest recorded usage of the name Bengaluru is found in today’s ‘Old Bangalore,’ in a 9th century temple. According to legend, King ViraBallala was once lost in the jungles that once overran these parts. He was wandering, tired and hungry, when an old woman revived him with her hospitality and a plate of boiled beans. Out of gratitude the King consequently named the area ‘Benda KaaluUru’ (Town of Boiled Beans). It was only in 1831, when the British seized Mysore from the ruling Wodeyars that the capital was shifted to Bangalore. The anglicization of Bengaluru turned it into Bangalore until it was recently reverted back to its original.
Although Bangalore is not a popular tourist destination, there are many sites worth taking a tour of. The legislative House of Karnataka, VidhanaSoudha, is one of the Chief attractions of Bangalore. It was built during the 1950s using granite in a neo-Dravidian style of architecture. Other places of historical interest include the Bangalore Palace, constructed by the Mysore Maharajahs and Tipu Sultan’s Palace, built around 1790 as Tipu’s summer retreat.
A tour of Bangalore must also include Lalbagh Botanical Gardens- built by Hyder Ali in 1760, and the Bannerghatta National Park- a 25,000-acre zoological park one and a half hours away from Bangalore City. Educational tours of Bangalore may include the Vishweshwaraiah Industrial and Technological Museum, the State Archaeological Museum, the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, the Venkatappa Art Gallery and the Karnataka ChitrakalaParishad. Religious tours of Bangalore cover the Bull Temple in Basavanagudi, the Maha Bodhi Society Temple- a replica of the Bodh Gaya Stupa, the ISCKON temple, the Maruthi Temple, the GaviGangadeshwara Cave Temple as well as many other temples, mosques and churches of historic significance.
Due to an average elevation of 920 meters above the sea level, Bangalore enjoys a cool climate throughout the year. Although summers can get hot with dry heat waves, it seldom exceeds 35 degrees Celsius and hovers around a mean temperature of 24 degrees Celsius.
Palakkad Greenline Travels is a town and a municipality in the state of Kerala in southern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District. Palakkad lies near the Palghat Gap, a pass or natural depression through the Western Ghats ranges that run parallel to the west coast of India, and connects Kerala to the plains of the state of Tamil Nadu to the east. The people of Palakkad speak Malayalam.
Places of interest in Palakkad and can be viewed by Greenline Travels
View from outside the northern wall of Palakkad Fort.
1) Palakkad Fort - Fort dating from 1766, built by Hyder Ali of Mysore. In 1784, after a siege which lasted eleven days, the British Colonel Fullerton stormed the Fort.[citation needed] Later it fell into the hands of the Zamorin’s troops, but was recaptured by the British in 1790. This well-preserved fort is also known as Tipu's (Tipu Sultan, son of Hyder Ali) Fort. Today there is a functioning jail in the fort grounds.
2) Malampuzha Dam and Malampuzha dam garden. This is a large irrigation dam built on the river Bharathapuzha at the base of the hills of the Western Ghats. The gardens, the amusement park for children, and the boating facilitices on the reservoir make Malampuzha a centre of interest for tourists, easily accessible from Palakkad.
3) Paddy fields in Palakka Jain Temple of Jainimedu - Situated on the western border of Palakkad town and not far from the railway station, this is an historic Jain Temple. The area around the temple is known as Jainimedu. This is one of the few places in Kerala where vestiges of Jainism have survived without substantial damage. The granite walls are devoid of decoration. The temple, 32 feet (9.8 m) long and 20 feet (6.1 m) wide, consists of four divisions with images of Jain Thirthankaras and Yakshinis in three of them. Kumaran Asan wrote his monumental poem Veena Poovu (the fallen flower) at a Jain house here during his brief stay with his master Sri. Narayana Guru.
4) Parambikulam The Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, covering 285 km², is 135 km from Palakkad and adjacent to the Annamalai Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. Besides being a home for elephants, wild boar, sambar, bison, guar, crocodiles, and a few tigers and panthers, it has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. Trekking in the forest is allowed with prior permission. Boating facilities are available on the lake. The large Cannimare Teak Tree is here near Thunakadavu.
5) Silent Valley National Park A dense rain forest and the habitat of rare species 80 km from Palakkad. It is popularly known as the evergreen forest and noted for its eerie silence because of the lack of cicadas.It is an important biosphere reserve in the Western Ghats and home of the tribal people. The valley is known for the rare Lion-Tailed Macaque. This National Park is a protected area for tigers also
Heap of rice straw, usually seen in front of houses in Palakkad district.
6) Nelliampathi Known as the Ooty of Kerala, Nelliampathy, about 80 km from Palakkad, is a hill station in the Nelliampathy forest ranges. This forest range constitutes a series of ridges cut off from one another by valleys of dark evergreen forests.
7) Pothundy Dam Around 35 km from Palakkad town, Pothundy Dam is situated on the way to Nelliampathi hills. The hill area to Nelliyampathy hills starts from Pothundy Dam. People visiting Nelliampathi, stop here to enjoy the beauty of the dam as well as to relax during their long journey up the Nelliampathi hills.
8) Walayar Dam is around 25 km from Palakkad town, It is located on the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is a beautiful place. It is an easily accessible location to the visitors to and from Tamil Nadu also. There is a Deer park located 3 km from Walayar.
9) A typical fence made of bamboo usually seen in villages of the Palakkad district. Attappady Attappady is an extensive mountain valley above the crest of the Ghat ranges, with several rivulets of the river Bhavani. The area is dominated by tribal people.
10) In Palakkad, Punarjani Guha The Punarjani Guha is a natural tunnel 15 meters long in the rocky cliff. It is 2 km from the Thiruvilwamala Temple and the chief presiding deity is Sri Rama. The idol is believed to be ‘swayambhoo’, i.e. born on its own. It is believed that performing ‘noozhal’ -- crawling through the tunnel from one end to the other—will wash away all of one’s sins and thus bring about rebirth. Only men are allowed to do the ‘noozhal’ women may only visit the cave. This ritual is practised on only one day per year, on Guruvayur Ekadashi. This particular site actually comes under the district of Thrissur.
11) In Palakkad, you can view Killikkurussimangalam This small village is the birthplace of the famous Malayalam satire poet and founder of the Ottamthullal art form, Kunchan Nambiar. The home of the greatest Koodiyattam maestro and authority of abhinaya Natyacharya Vidushakaratnam, Padma Shri Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar, is also here
12) In Palakad there is a Kanjirapuzha Dam This dam feeds almost half the agricultural land of the district. It supplies water to such places as Mannarkkad, Ottappalam and Shoranur, and is the biggest dam built with soil in Kerala. There is a garden in front of the dam.
* Peruvemba Well known for its festivals, the Chandabhishegam in December and Peruvemba Vela in April. * Kalpathi Most famous of the eighteen agraharams of Palakkad, for its annual Ratholsavam.This place is also famous for Ajitha and Lakshmikanth's love story
13) Srikrishnapuram A small and welcoming village; the name comes from Palakkadussery Sekhari Varma Raj. It is one of the many villages of Palakkad. Punchappadam and Karimpuzha are also included in this village area.
14) Dhoni Waterfalls It is a gift of nature to the district with green forest, rocks, shallow water and beautiful water fall. Dhoni waterfall is in the western ghats 15 km from the Palakkad Town bustand and 9 km from the Palakkad Junction railway station. There is a beautiful temple near the mountain valley and it is believed that this was built by the Goddess for Shiva Bhagawan.
15) Integrated Rural Technology Centre - IRTC Integrated Rural Technology Centre is an R&D and Training Institution situated at Mundur, Palakkad. It develops or adapts technology having rural applications. Training and follow up facilities are extended in various livelihood programmes.
17) Koduvayur Koduvayur is one of the major markets in Palakkad district. The vegetable and cloth markets here attract customers as well as dealers from different parts of the state as well. The famous car festival is celebrated here. Major market possessions are managed by Moothans, the Vaisya sect of Palakkad and Muslims.
18) Karnaki Temple. Palakkad has a Karnaki Temple where goddess Kannaki is worshipped in her full idol form.[citation needed] In the Karnaki temple, Kerala form of pooja practices are done by Kerala Brahmins (Namboothiris) and in the Siva Temple in the same compound, Tamil Shaiva form of pooja practices are carried out by Tamil Brahmin Priests.
19) SREE CHEMITTIYA BAGAVATHY KSHETRAM Around 6 km from PALAKKAD town on CHITTUR road is the temple of the goddess. Every year during MARCH - APRIL the annual fair happens here. There are many people who come here for rituals during that season. The temple committee is setting up a MARRIAGE HALL which on completion can help many of the surrounding village to use this.
20) CHITTUR BAGAVATHY KSHETRAM 18 km from PALAKKAD TOWN in CHITTUR dedicated to Goddess CHITTUR BAGAVATHY, annually there is a temple fair conducted by the locals and the family called KONGAN PADA.
Thus Palakkad is one of the tourist place and can make a journey by Greenline Travels