Gateway City: Bangalore, India

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I briefly touched upon Bangalore as a gateway to Coorg but this will be a more comprehensive guide.  Bangalore is India’s third most populous city and is known as the Silicon Valley of India because of its role as the nation’s leading Information Technology (IT) exporter.  But once you get out of the urban jungle into the lush Western Ghats a far more beautiful jungle awaits you!

BANGALORE AIRPORT

Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru is a large modern structure.

IMG_3048 IMG_3049But nothing wrong with starting your birding a bit early at the food court!  These photos were taken in the domestic terminal.

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GETTING THERE

Bangalore (as well as all Indian cities) requires a Central Asian award.  There are no direct flights from the USA, Canada or Australia so you will have to travel via Europe or South-east Asia.

STAR ALLIANCE

Thai flies from Bangkok

Lufthansa flies from Frankfurt

Singapore Airlines flies from Singapore

ONE WORLD

Sri Lankan flies from Colombo

Qatar Airways flies from Doha

Malaysian flies from Kuala Lumpur

Dragonair (Cathay Pacific affiliate) flies from Hong Kong

British Airways flies from London

SKYTEAM

Air France flies from Paris

Saudia flies from Damman, Jeddah, Riyadh

NON-ALLIANCE BOOKABLE WITH MILES

Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi (AA partner)

Emirates flies from Dubai (Qantas partner)

Air Mauritius flies from Mauritius (Air France partner)

DOMESTIC

Air India (future Star Alliance), IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways, Jet Lite

WHERE TO STAY WITH HOTEL POINTS

As one may expect, India’s 3rd largest city is well supplied with chain hotels you can book with points.  Pay close attention to the location as you can get stuck in traffic for hours!

Best Western – 3 hotels ranging from 12,000 – 16,000 points

Choice – 2 hotels ranging from 8000 – 12,000 points

Club Carlson – Park Plaza  – 38,000 points  My review

Hilton – Double Tree Suites – 40,000 points

Hyatt – Hyatt Bangalore MG Road – 12,000 points

IHG – Crowne Plaza – 30,000 points

Marriott – 4 hotels ranging from 7500 – 30,000 points

Starwood – 5 hotels ranging from 4000 – 10,000 points

GROUND TRANSPORT

Booking buses and trains in advance can be a challenge for foreign tourists as bot Indian Rail and most bus companies require a mobile phone to set up an account.  I have a more detailed post on my experiences with buying bus tickets during my recent trip.  Back in 2011, I was able to book trains online with Cleartrip.  It seems they changed the procedure so you now have to get an account with IRCTC.

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TO & FROM THE AIRPORT

There will be prepaid taxis available at any time your flight comes in.  See more information and approximate fares here.  You’d be looking at 600-800ish rupees.

IMG_3050There are also Vayu Vajra airport buses but only a very few run through the wee hours when flights tend to come in.  See the website for schedules and fares which are very cheap.  We ended up jumping on the first one that was going downtown (just after midnight), then getting an auto-rickshaw to our hotel.  Local people know the approximate fares for taxis and auto-rickshaws but for tourists it is best to ask someone what they would pay to go someplace and bargain to the best of your ability!

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WHAT TO DO & SEE IN BANGALORE

Bannerghatta Wildlife Sanctuary – detailed report coming tomorrow.  Located in Bannerghatta National Park.

Lal Bagh

Government Museum

Karnataka Folk Museum

Kempegowda Museum

Shopping areas – Chickpet & MG Road