South India is famous worldwide for its temples and Bangalore is no exception. Besides the temples in Bangalore there are ancient shrines that are located adjacent to this tech city in Karnataka as well. Both the pilgrims and tourists can drop in at these religious places.

The temples around Bangalore are as follows:-

Kolar (65 km): The Kolaramma temple was built during the pre-Chola period and renovated subsequently. A holy stream called Antaragange flows nearby. Sri Neelakanteshwara Temple is situated at the foothills.

Sivaganga (60 km): This holy hill with an altitude 5000 feet is to be found near Tumkur. It has been a popular pilgrim spot for ages. The hill appears as a huge Nandi, while resembling Ganesha or Lingam from other angles. Sri Gangadheeswara temple is situated inside a cave-like structure. It is said that when ghee is offered during `abhisheka,` or coronation it turns to butter. This is a rare phenomenon. This butter is considered to possess medicinal properties.

Goddess Honnadevi, standing on Rakta Beejasura, is in another temple. Adi Sankara had installed a Sri Chakram in front of the Devi. Sapta Mathas, Chandikeswara, Dikbalakas and Navagrahas have separate shrines.

On top of the hill, there is a shrine dedicated to Sri Virupaksheswara inside a cave with a perennial spring, known as Patala Ganga or Olakkal Theertham.

On Makara Sankranti day, Ganga is believed to worship Shiva in the form of rain.

In Hebbur (Tumkur taluk), there is another shrine worth visiting that is dedicated to Goddess Kamakshi Sharadambal.

Devarayanadurga (79 km): This hill temple near Tumkur is dedicated to Narasimha, installed by Dhurvasa. There are separate shrines for Lakshmi Devi, Dhurvasa and Sri Ramanuja. Opposite to this hill, there is another shrine of Narasimhaswamy, whose image was installed by Brahma.

Ghati Subramanya (52 km): The temple of Lord Subramanya (17 km from Dodaballapur) is visited by thousands of pilgrims throughout the year.

Nandi Hills (60 km): This is a popular hill resort situated at an altitude of 1,478 metres. Rivers Pennar, Palar and Arkavati originate here. There is a temple of Yoga Nandiswara. At the Nandi town at the foot of the hill, there is a shrine of Bhoganandiswara.

Yediyur (52 km from Tumkur): Sri Siddhaligeswara temple is situated here. The annual car festival during March-April is largely attended by devotees.

Several other temples around Bangalore are as follows:-

Temples of Ganesha and Someshwara at Kurudumale (12 km)

Anjaneya Temple, Mulbagal (29 km)

Virupaksha Temple

Rameshwara Temple, Avani

Shankaranarayana Temple, Malur (32 km)

Markandeshwara Temple, Vokkalery hill

Anjaneya Temple, Tekal

Venkataramanaswamy Temple, Guttahalli

Chandeshwari Temple at Srinivaspur

Chandramouleeswara Temple, Chintamani

Veerabhadra and Channakeshava Temples, Chikballapur