Day Trips

If you have a day off, take a day trip to the neighboring town of Mysore or if you prefer more adventure, visit Nandi Hills. Alternatively, you could explore some Indian wines and vineyards or spend a day watching traditional Indian dances. 

Day Tours outside Bangalore

Average cost: $20

Bangalore Walks offers two kinds of day trips out of the city:

•    The Tiger’s Final Battle (7am to 7pm): This is a day trip to the neighboring town of Mysore, where you can visit the Maharaja’s palace, explore ancient forts and more. The tour includes breakfast and lunch.

•    On the Tiger’s Trail (8am to 5pm): If you like outdoor adventure, you can climb the rocky countryside, explore an old fort, and more during this day trip to Nandi Hills, which includes lunch.

Transportation is organized by the company, either by AC car or coach, depending on the number of people. The tour groups are not very large with about 15 people on average. Often, you will get to meet other western tourists on these tours. To see the schedule of day trips organized by Bangalore Walks, visit their website. You can also email bangalorewalks@gmail.com or call +91 98806 71192 to book your tour.

Wine Trails

Average cost: $35

Although Indian wines are not yet world-famous, viniculture in India dates back to the time of the Indus valley civilization, when grapevines were reportedly introduced from Persia. Winemaking has existed throughout most of India’s history and was encouraged during British and Portuguese colonization. Bangalore has a climate well suited for viniculture and so the city is attempting to place itself on the global wine destination map. A company called Grovers has its vineyards and winery on the outskirts of Bangalore and offers a range of red and white wines. Guided tours through these vineyards or ‘wine trails’ are conducted by a company called Tulleeho.
The tour fee includes AC transport to and from your hotel, snacks, lunch, a guided tour of the vineyard, wine tasting, and a bottle of wine to take home. Tulleeho also offers a Tea Trail, Beer Experience, Wine Tasting and Cocktail Workshops from time to time.

Note: You will need to pre-register for all their events. Tours are usually conducted between 8:45 am and 4:30 pm. To view their event schedule, visit their website or email mohit@tulleeho.com or tulleeho@tulleeho.com.

Tour of Indian Dance Village

Visit the unique dance village of Nrityagram on the outskirts of Bangalore, roughly 18 miles from the center of the city, which showcases a variety of traditional Indian dances such as Odissi, Mohiniattam, Kathak, Bharatnatyam and more. The dance village offers three kinds of experiences for visitors:

•    Casual Tour of Nrityagram
Cost: $0.50 per person
This is a self-guided tour with a brief orientation talk before the start.  
•    Lecture-Demonstration at Nrityagram
Cost: $17 for a minimum of six people
This is a guided tour of the dance village with a 45-minute lecture-demonstration on Indian dance and includes a home-cooked vegetarian meal.
•    Performance at Nrityagram
Cost: $25 for a minimum of ten people
This experience includes a guided tour of the dance village and a dance performance of 45 minutes.

Via-Her’s tips for women business travelers:
•    The Lecture-Demonstration and Performance experiences at Nrityagram require advance booking and payment. Call +91 80 8466313 extension 4 for reservations
•    The dance village is open to visitors from Tuesdays to Saturdays, between 10 am and 5:30 pm
•    Book a cab from your hotel to take you to Nrityagram and back
•    If you happen to visit in the month of February, witness the colorful dance festival “Vasantha Habba” at Nrityagram, which has been called “the Woodstock of Indian dance”.