Karnataka in 6 days: Bangalore, Mysore and the Coorg hills

Six days is Mysore's palace, a night of coffee estates in Coorg, and a safari at Nagarhole or Bandipur on the way between them. It is the gentlest route in south India — short drives, good roads, and no temple marathon.

South Asia
6 days
≈ AED 1,250 / person
A palace, a tiger reserve and coffee country, all within a short drive of one airport

Researched & checked by Nitesh Parasher Last verified 26 October 2026

Before you go

Six days in Karnataka is a short, easy loop out of one airport: Bangalore, Mysore’s palace and the Hoysala temples near it, a safari in the Nilgiri forests, and two nights in the coffee hills at Coorg.

This is the gentlest trip in south India. Nothing is more than three hours from the last thing, the roads are among the best in the country, and there is no temple marathon — which makes it the obvious choice with children or for a first trip south.

Hampi is the other half of Karnataka and a completely different trip: ruins, boulders and heat, six hours north of here.

Figure INR 32,000 (≈ AED 1,250) per person. October to March, with Coorg at its best just after the monsoon in September–October.

Before you go: the short version of the admin

Visas

e-Visa at the official indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa and nowhere else. Bangalore is an e-Visa port of entry.
Six months’ validity, two blank pages.

Flying in from the Gulf

Bangalore (BLR) takes directs from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Doha, Muscat, Kuwait and Bahrain — around four hours.
The whole loop returns to Bangalore, so there is no open jaw to arrange and no internal flight to book. That is unusual on this site and it is why this trip is cheap.
Bangalore’s airport is 40km north of the city and the traffic is genuinely bad. Allow two hours to reach it, three at rush hour.

The one booking that will not wait

Safari permits at Nagarhole or Bandipur. Jeep safaris are limited in number and the Forest Department releases them in batches. Book through your lodge, weeks ahead for weekends and holidays.

Money and getting around

UPI QR payments everywhere.
₹4,000 in small notes for tips, entries and estate guides.
A car and driver for all six days, ₹2,800–3,500 a day. Coorg’s estate roads and the park gates are not served by anything else.
Uber and Ola work well in Bangalore and Mysore, not beyond.

Day by day

Day 1 — Bangalore

Arrive and do not over-plan. Bangalore is a working city rather than a sightseeing one, and the traffic will eat any ambitious itinerary.
16:00 — Lalbagh Botanical Garden: 240 acres, a glasshouse modelled on Crystal Palace, and a rock outcrop older than almost anything else you will stand on. Early morning or late afternoon — the middle of the day is hot and flat.
17:30 — Bangalore Palace, Tudor revival and faintly absurd, or Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace, which is small, teak and much older. Cubbon Park and the red-brick Victorian streets if you would rather walk.
20:00 — Eat and drink. The food and the breweries are the real reason to give Bangalore an evening; this is the best place to eat on the route.

Day 2 — Down to Mysore

08:00 — Leave Bangalore, three hours south on a good expressway, and early enough to clear the city before it jams.
10:30 — Srirangapatna, Tipu Sultan’s island fortress capital, where he was killed resisting the British in 1799. The Daria Daulat Bagh summer palace is covered inside with murals of his campaigns, and Gumbaz, his family’s mausoleum, sits in a cypress garden.
13:00 — Into Mysore and lunch.
16:00 — Devaraja Market: flowers, bananas, sandalwood and great pyramids of kumkum powder.
17:30 — Chamundi Hill at sunset, 1,000 steps or a road, with a monolithic Nandi bull two-thirds of the way up.

Day 3 — Mysore Palace, and the Hoysala temples

10:00 — Mysore Palace at opening. Indo-Saracenic, finished in 1912 after the old one burned, and one of the most visited buildings in India. The Durbar Hall and the stained glass are the parts people remember. Shoes off, no photography inside.
12:30 — Somnathpur, 35km east: a Hoysala temple from 1268, small, complete, and carved with a density that has to be seen to be believed — every surface, inside and out. Or Belur and Halebidu, grander and a longer drive north. Pick one or the other, not both.
16:00 — St Philomena’s Cathedral on the way back, neo-Gothic and unexpectedly large.
19:00 — Sunday evening, if your dates allow: the whole palace is lit with close to 100,000 bulbs for an hour. It also happens on public holidays and through Dasara.

Day 4 — Safari, then up to Coorg

05:30 — Leave for Nagarhole or Bandipur, both about two hours south and both part of the Nilgiri Biosphere.
08:00 — The morning safari. One of the best places in India to see wild elephant, in herds rather than singly, and the tiger density is among the highest in the country even if sightings are not guaranteed. Gaur, dhole, sambar, langur and a great deal of birdlife are near-certain. Jeep over the bus wherever you have the choice.
12:00 — Lunch, then two to three hours up into the coffee hills.
16:00 — Into Coorg (Kodagu).
18:00 — Raja’s Seat in Madikeri for sunset over the valleys.

Day 5 — Coorg

07:30 — A working coffee estate walk, which is the best thing here. Coorg grows most of India’s coffee, and the plantations are shaded, cool and full of pepper vines climbing the shade trees. An hour with a planter beats any guided tour.
10:00 — Abbey Falls, best just after the monsoon and dry by March. Iruppu Falls if you are heading south.
12:00 — Dubare Elephant Camp on the Cauvery, a Forest Department camp where the interactions are limited and better regulated than most — but decline the rides.
15:00 — Talakaveri, the source of the Cauvery at 1,276m, where the river begins as a tank in a temple courtyard.
20:00 — Eat Kodava food: pandi curry, akki roti, kadambuttu. Unlike anything else in south India, and pork-heavy, which is rare here.

Day 6 — Back to Bangalore

08:00 — Leave early. Five to six hours, and the longest drive of the trip.
12:30 — Break it at Mysore for a last lunch if the timings work.
Allow properly for Bangalore’s traffic. Two hours to the airport from the city, three at the wrong time of day — this is the most common way people miss flights in south India.

Costs and practicalities

Best time to visit

October to March — the season. Days 24–30°C, nights cool in Coorg, everything open and green.
September and October are Coorg at its absolute best: the monsoon has just stopped, the waterfalls are full, and the coffee is flowering or close to it.
December to February — dry, clear, and the best wildlife viewing as water sources shrink.
March to May — hot on the plains, pleasant in Coorg, and the best time for tiger sightings at Nagarhole and Bandipur as animals concentrate on water.
June to September — the southwest monsoon hits Coorg very hard. Beautiful, very wet, landslides close roads, and the parks sometimes shut.

Travel tips

Book safari permits through your lodge, weeks ahead.
Sunday evening at Mysore Palace for the illumination, if your dates allow.
Pick one Hoysala site, not two — Somnathpur if you are short of time, Belur and Halebidu if you are not.
Allow two to three hours for Bangalore’s airport run. This is the most common way people miss flights in south India.
Coorg is a driving destination. The estates are spread out and nothing is walkable from anything.
Dasara in Mysore (September–October) is extraordinary and books out entirely months ahead.
Leeches in Coorg during and just after the monsoon — salt, socks, and closed shoes.

What this trip actually costs

Two people, 5 nights, mid-range comfort, international flights excluded:

Item	Cost
Hotels, 5 nights (1 Bangalore + 2 Mysore + 2 Coorg estate)	INR 26,000 (≈ AED 1,015)
Car and driver, 6 days, including both airport runs	INR 20,000 (≈ AED 781)
Palace, temples, jeep safari and park fees	INR 6,000 (≈ AED 234)
Food and drink, 6 days	INR 9,000 (≈ AED 351)
SIM, tips, extras	INR 3,000 (≈ AED 117)
Total for two	INR 64,000 (≈ AED 2,499)

Roughly INR 32,000 (≈ AED 1,250) per person, and this is one of the better-value weeks in India — no internal flights, no open jaw, and nominal entry fees.
The safari line is the variable one. A single jeep safari for two is modest; adding a second drive or a premium lodge changes the shape of the budget quickly.
Coorg’s estate homestays are the nicest nights and often the cheapest, at ₹3,500–6,000 with meals included.
Hotel picks here are chosen on location, not on commission — always check prices and recent reviews before booking.

What to pack

A warm layer for Coorg evenings, which drop to 12–15°C in December and January.
Closed walking shoes for estate walks, and socks against leeches after rain.
Neutral colours for the safari — no bright white or red.
Mosquito repellent for the hills.
Binoculars, which Nagarhole and Bandipur repay.
Shoulders and knees covered for Somnathpur and the hill temples.

FAQ

Is six days enough for Karnataka? For this southern loop, comfortably. It leaves out Hampi entirely, which is six hours north and a separate trip.

Will I see a tiger at Nagarhole or Bandipur? Probably not on one drive. Elephant herds are near-certain and the forest is beautiful regardless. March to May is the best window if tigers are the priority.

Mysore or Hampi, if I had to choose? Mysore for a palace and an easy trip; Hampi for one of the most extraordinary landscapes in India. They are not substitutes for each other.

Is this good with children? It is the best route in south India for it — short drives, a palace, elephants, and no barefoot temple marathons.

Is Coorg worth two nights? Yes. One night means arriving in the dark and leaving after breakfast, which misses the point of the place entirely.

Prices and entry rules change, and what you need depends on your passport; last checked 26 October 2026, so confirm with the embassy or your airline before booking.