About Karnataka - India

About Karnataka

Mysore State presently known as Karnataka was formed in 1956 by the state Reorganisation act, is located in Deccan Plateau in the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. Bangalore now known as Bengaluru (Renamed from 1st November 2006) is the capital city of this state and the language kannada the official language.

The State is bounded by Maharashtra and Goa States in the North and North-West, Arabian sea in the West, Kerala and Tamilnadu States in the South and Arunachal Pradesh in the East. The State extends to about 760 km from North to South and about 420 km from East to West, and covers an area of about 1,92,000 sq.km divided in to 27 Districts.

Districts of Karnataka

1. Bangalore Urban

2. Bangalore Rural
3. Bagalakot
4. Belgaum
5. Bellary
6. Bidar
7. Bijapur
8. Chamarajanagar
9. Chikkamaglur
10. Chitiradurga
11. Coorg
12. Davanagere
13. Dharwad
14. Gulbarga
15. Gadag
16. Hassan
17. Haveri
18. Kolar
19. Koppal
20. Mandya
21. Mangalore (Dakshina Kannada)
22. Mysore
23. Raichur
24. Shimoga
25. Tumkur
26. Udupi
27. Uttara Kannada

History of Karnataka

The plateau of Karnataka is said to have been associated to the happenings in the Epic Ramayana. It witnessed a horde of historical activities since the ancient prehistoric civilization. Legends associate it to the Kingdom of the grandfathers of Bhagirath and to the Lord Shiva. Having the Arabian Sea on its west it is said to have been

influenced by new cultures from the west coast. This region had a considerable influence of the Jain culture. The Magadhan ruler Chandragupta Maurya, influenced this region till his death at Shravana Belagola. Karnataka witnessed the rule of the Satavahanas for nearly 300 years, followed by the Kadambas and the Pallavas. The Gangadikaras ruled till 11th century. The Chalukyas of Badami and later the Rashtrakutas ruled over this region. The Kalacharis, Hoysalas, Yadavas, Kakatiyas exercised their control. Karnataka also witnessed the onslaught of the Muslims under Malik Kafur. The Hindu power established itself in 1336 at Vijayanagar by Harihara (Hakka) and Bukka. Vijayanagar period was an age of glory and prosperity. The Bahamanis also established themselves in 1337. In 1565 the empire of Vijayanagar was shattered by the Sultans of the Deccan at the famous battle of Talikota. Meanwhile in AD 1399 the Wodeyar dynasty established itself in Mysore, a small principality and made Srirangapatnam its capital. Wodeyar's were overthrown by Hyder Ali. Mysore witnessed the strong rule of Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. In 1799 the British controlled Mysore, the hub of Karnataka. And it remained as a princely state up to 1947. The state of Karnataka earlier called as Mysore became a state of the Indian Union in 1973.

Major Cities of Karnataka

Bangalore —Garden City, Pub City, Silicon Valley of India, Land of Silk, Gold, Sandal Wood etc.
Hassan - Hassan is the most convenient base and the nearest railhead to explore Belur, Halebid and Sravanabelagola.
Hubli - a centre for the textile industry
Karwar - The port town on the banks of the Kali Nadi river is the administrative head quarters of North Kanara District in Karnataka.
Mangalore - The city With an important & modern port is a major commercial centre. It is a centre for the export of coffee and cashew nuts.
Mysore - The former capital city of karnataka (Mysore State).
Udupi - The urban city with an open Square surrounded by temples and matts.

How to reach Karnataka

Air transport
Karnataka is well connected with air transport from all countries with international airports in Bangalore & mangalore and from all major cities in india to well known cites in karnataka few of the cities in karnataka are Hampi, Bellary, Hubli and Belgaum.

Some of the Airlines services avialable (international)

Air India , India's prime international carrier. Though this is an international carrier, you can often get good rates on the domestic leg of its international flights
Air India Express, is the low-cost version of Air-India- offers the lowest fares on key domestic routes like Mumbai-Chennai, (as compared to even Air Deccan) and the lowest rates on major international destinations like Dubai, Singapore, etc. (at almost half the price as compared other airlines like Jet Airways and Air Sahara). This has been found to have been better than Air Deccan in terms of comfort, time of departure and most importantly, pricing.
Air Sahara, full service airline with decent coverage.
Alliance Air - Feeder airline for Indian. Has a spotty safety record. It will soon cease to exist and service taken over by its parent company "Indian".
Jagson Airlines service mostly in North India.
Jet Airways , full service airline with very good coverage. Now services London (LHR) directly from Delhi and Mumbai.

Kingfisher Airlines, full service, but with low fares. The service on this is excellent. On flights to Bangalore (its home base) depending on when you book, you can get prices comparable to Air Deccan or SpiceJet. Same prices for foreigners and Indians.
Paramount Airways - feeder airline, service only in South India. Although the airline is headquartered in Coimbatore, the main hub is at Chennai.

Visa Airways - feeder airline, currently flies Mumbai-Nashik, Mumbai-Pune and Mumbai-Kandla (Feb 2007) only. They plan to expand operations as a regional airline in South India as well.
IndiGo Airlines - low cost airline. Connects the major cities and plans to fly to Jaipur and Goa.

Some of the Airlines services avialable (Domestic)

SpiceJet Airlines , low cost airline, the closest competitor to Air Deccan in terms of fares. If you are willing to shell out a bit more to arrive on time, consider Spice over Air Deccan.
Air Deccan , low cost carrier, the 2nd largest in India (after Indian) connects various cities and small towns. Usually have unbeatable prices but delay of an hour or so is routine (although this situation has improved lately). To cut costs and keep prices low food and beverages (including water) are for sale, not complimentary. They aim for a "quick turnaround", which means that they at times neglect to clean the planes between flights. Same prices for foreigners and Indians.
Go Air low cost
SpiceJet Airlines , low cost airline, the closest competitor to Air Deccan in terms of fares. If you are willing to shell out a bit more to arrive on time, consider Spice over Air Deccan.

Rail transport
Karnataka is connected thru Train Transport to and from all major cities in india operated by indianrailways.

Water transport
Karnataka has 1 major port in mangalore and 10 minor ports in the costal region of karnataka few of them are karwar, Honnavar, Bhatkal, Kundapur, Hangarkatta, Malpe Etc.

Road transport
Karnataka has excellent road network connecting all major cites like Chennai, Mumbai, Mangalore, Mysore, Cochin Etc. The public tansport in karnataka is managed by KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation).