Co-Author: Kankana Debnath
If you are located in Bangalore and looking for a Day Trip on your day off, here is a list of options that you can try:
Shravanabelagola – The Gommateshwara Statue is certainly worth a visit if you are looking for a Day Trip from Bangalore. The statue of Bahubali is considered as the Tallest Monolithic Statue in the world and is 57 feet tall. This is placed on a Hill Top and there are stairs to make the journey. Since you have to walk barefoot, during the afternoon or rains it can be challenging. The views from the hill top are great and the greatness of the statue makes you bow to the engineering abilities of our ancestors. This statue was built in 983 A.D.
The area also has the Chandragiri hills where the great emperor Chandragupta Maurya lived and performed penance.
Shravanabelagola is about 150 Kms from Bangalore and takes about 3 hours if you don’t make a stop. Google Maps take you to the other side of the hill (it did that 2 years back, might be updated now). You can ask anyone to guide you to the parking area.
Heritage Vineyards (Sula), Ramanagaram – The shooting location of the Famous Ramgarh in Sholay is the Ramanagaram district in Karnataka. The exact shooting locations might be difficult to find, this district has a very good vineyard of Heritage Winery, now taken over by Sula. They have Wine Tours. You can try Wine Tasting, where they also give you the nuances of making a good wine, how to understand the flavours etc. We found this pretty informative. They do have a cafeteria and the food is pretty good. You can buy vouchers online.
Sula Vineyard is about 100 KM from Bangalore and should take about 2.5 hours. The last stretch of the road is a bit rough.
Wonderla, Bangalore – This amusement park on Mysore Road is well maintained and has a number of rides. The tickets are slightly expensive, but they are worth the money. One option of visiting this place would be to spend a night at the Wonderla Resort. The rooms in this resort are pretty good, the food is nice, includes free breakfast and provides a couple ticket to the park for a day. It is great if you feel like relaxing after spending a day in the park and don’t want to drive back.
Wonderla is about 50 km from Bangalore and takes about 1.5 hours to reach.
Innovative Film City – Innovative Film City opened a few years back with great pomp and show, however, the maintenance of this place is bad. There are a few places where you can take nice pictures. If you are a fan of Bigg Boss Kannada and if you visit here while the show is on, you can see the contestants.
Innovative is close to Wonderla. If you are staying for the night in Wonderla Resort, you can visit Innovative Film City the next day.
