Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SOUTHERN KARNATAKA
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Bengaluru (Bangalore)
080 / POP 8.5 MILLION / ELEV 920M
Cosmopolitan Bengaluru is the number one city in the Indian deep south, blessed with a be-
nevolent climate and a burgeoning drinking, dining and shopping scene. It's not a place you
necessarily come to be wowed by world-class sights (though it has some lovely parks and
striking Victorian-era architecture), but instead to experience the new face of India. Here
you'll encounter many locals chatting in English instead of local dialects and getting
around in jeans and heavy metal band T-shirts rather than traditional attire.
As the hub of India's booming IT industry, it vies with Mumbai as the nation's most pro-
gressive city, and its creature comforts can be a godsend to the weary traveller who's done
the hard yards.
The past decade has seen a mad surge of development, coupled with traffic congestion
and rising pollution levels. However, it's a city that has also taken care to preserve its
greens and its colonial-era heritage. So while urbanisation continually pushes its boundar-
ies outward, the central district (dating back to the British Raj years) remains more or less
unchanged.
