Ruvimbo M
Jul 26, 2026
I genuinely can't recommend the Bangalore Through the Ages tour enough. It was an amazing experience from start to finish. Praveen is by far one of the best tour guides I've met. He is incredibly knowledgeable about Bangalore, India, and its history—truly taking you through the ages with fascinating stories and insights. His passion for history really shines through, and he's also such a warm, kind, and friendly person. What impressed us even more was that we booked at the very last minute, just before midnight, and he still managed to fit us into a tour. That level of dedication and flexibility made the experience even more special. If you're visiting Bangalore and want to understand the city's rich history and culture, this tour is an absolute must. Thank you, Praveen, for such an unforgettable day!
Escape41195894882
Aug 12, 2026
Praveen provided a very authentic experience of seeing life outside the city of Bangalore. We ate at a few local restaurants and tried a variety of delicious foods. The various sites and pace was perfect. He makes every effort to ensure you’re having a great experience. I highly recommend scheduling a tour.
Ilja T
Aug 2, 2026
Awesome tour! I booked it after returning from another tour with same operator, so knew what to expect. Praveen did a great job managing the logistics of moving in the city, showing us the awesome places, and having a great conversations. Lunch was a blast. I got also very lucky with the group. It was a day well spent. Highly recommend!
S W
Aug 2, 2026
An amazing tour Praveen was such a wonderful guide! Learnt so much about the history of Bangalore. Definitely recommended !
Ilja T
Aug 2, 2026
A friend of mine recommended this tour. I booked and was very satisfied both the tour and the operator. Praveen took all the stress of planning, moving logistics, finding best time to visit the sites when there were no crowds there off my shoulders. I liked the places we visited and the conversations we had. Highly recommend!
Rachel P
Jul 27, 2026
Excellent tour. A very knowledgeable and hospitable friendly guide. We had a great time
Pedro G
Jul 27, 2026
Had a great tour with Pradeep! Pradeep is very knowledgeable, and shared amazing details from a variety of themes. From trees and birds to religion and history of India and Bengaluru. Also, our driver Nadeem was really nice and friendly. Really worth it. Highly recommend it for people visiting the city!
Angela S
Jul 26, 2026
Great tour, very knowledgeable guide and excellent service throughout
gpresazzi
Jul 26, 2026
Amazing tour of Mysore! Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable, passionate, and shared fascinating insights about the city's history, culture, and traditions. It felt like a truly authentic experience rather than a typical tourist tour.
Daniel
Jul 26, 2026
I decided to check this trip out for the hell of it, since it was my first time in India and people kept recommending Mysore. So here is my review: - I went with Praveen. He was extremely communicative the entire time. I booked super late (2 days before), and was scared he wouldn't see it in time. He messaged me immediately and gave me details within 12 hours. - Praveen was EXTREMELY knowledgeable. He knew everything: from history, culture, and a lot about how the world works. His english is extremely good and he would give you good tips on what to avoid and what to not. - Praveen doesnt take you to tourist-trap places. Actually, he even said that he personally doesn't like to have people shop during the trip unless they specifically request it. This is mainly because he doesn't want people to get scammed or overcharged. I did request to buy sweets to take home and also spices. He ended up taking me to his favorite spots. - The places he brings you too are fantastic. Let him take the wheel, and he'll bring you to extremely authentic and delicious tasting foods. Have an open mind. 100% You'll absolutely love this tour!!!
Ruvimbo M
Jul 26, 2026
I genuinely can't recommend the Bangalore Through the Ages tour enough. It was an amazing experience from start to finish. Praveen is by far one of the best tour guides I've met. He is incredibly knowledgeable about Bangalore, India, and its history—truly taking you through the ages with fascinating stories and insights. His passion for history really shines through, and he's also such a warm, kind, and friendly person. What impressed us even more was that we booked at the very last minute, just before midnight, and he still managed to fit us into a tour. That level of dedication and flexibility made the experience even more special. If you're visiting Bangalore and want to understand the city's rich history and culture, this tour is an absolute must. Thank you, Praveen, for such an unforgettable day!
Escape41195894882
Aug 12, 2026
Praveen provided a very authentic experience of seeing life outside the city of Bangalore. We ate at a few local restaurants and tried a variety of delicious foods. The various sites and pace was perfect. He makes every effort to ensure you’re having a great experience. I highly recommend scheduling a tour.
We don't show you India. We tell you its story.
Hidden Gems Tours was born from a single conviction: that a place's soul lives not in its monuments, but in the stories behind them. Since 2016, our expert-guided tours have taken thousands of travellers far beyond the surface — through Bangalore's layered 1,000-year history, around the fabled Golden Triangle and Taj Mahal, across Karnataka's UNESCO temples and wildlife forests, deep into Rajasthan's desert kingdoms, and along South India's ancient spice coasts from Chennai to Kochi.
Whether it is a two-hour walk in Bangalore or a fourteen-day passage across the subcontinent, every Hidden Gems tour is personally led by a local expert, meticulously curated, and built around depth over box-ticking.
Consistently rated among the top tour operators in Bangalore on Viator and TripAdvisor. Over 1,000 verified reviews across TripAdvisor, Viator and GetYourGuide, from travellers in more than 80 countries. Book a tour and discover what guided truly means.
Bangalore gives you the impression of a modern new city, yet if you scratch the surface, you will uncover a storied past dating back over 1000 years. In this tightly paced tour, we will visit interesting sites of different eras – Historical Temples, Palaces, Heritage Buildings, Markets, Statues, a Fort, a Museum, a lush Park, and more and learn about their significance and contribution to the making of Bangalore. It’s a tour of the story of Bangalore – from its modest origin in pre-medieval times; to the era when it was just another place compared to its more illustrious peers, now long faded into oblivion, to the fascinating times when the city was traded, and gifted like a commodity; then fought over and retained like a shining possession; right down to the times when it reached an inflexion point and came into its own as a modern mega city. This is by no means an ordinary sightseeing trip, but a true journey of exploration with engaging commentary sprinkled with interesting facts and anecdotes. A tour sure to stimulate your mind and invigorate your senses.
On this tour, you’ll experience two of India's most exciting attractions: the vibrant UNESCO-listed Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve with several National Parks and home to the world's largest population of Asiatic elephants, the second-highest number of tigers in India, and a variety of other unique wildlife. You'll also visit the iconic Mysore Palace, one of the most popular monuments in India. Whether you’re an adventure seeker or a family with children, you'll gain insider knowledge from expert guides as you explore the rich nature and culture of this captivating region.
An action-packed day tour where the journey is as exciting as the destinations. Typical itinerary: Stop At: Ramanagara We believe food is an integral part of an Indian cultural experience; hence we start our tour early and detour from the highway to visit a traditional eatery serving authentic local breakfast. Here our accompanying guide will take you through a sumptuous culinary experience. Duration: 45 minutes Stop At: Silk Cocoon Market We visit India's largest silk cocoon market - a sight to behold. From our accompanying expert guide, learn the history of the famed Mysore silk and the complex stages of creating a silk garment from scratch. Duration: 20 minutes Stop At: Keshava Temple, Somnathpur We get off the highway for an extended detour through lush countryside to reach this stunning Hindu temple( a ruin) from 1268 AD. It is nominated as a UNESCO heritage site and awaiting accreditation. Some of humankind's most exquisite stone carvings and sculptures are here. Our accompanying expert guide will introduce its history, Hinduism, its pantheon of gods, and the context of each beautiful carving. Duration: 1 hour Stop At: Mysuru/Mysore Palace We explore this bejeweled palace, among the most visited sites in India and the home of one of the wealthiest individuals in the world in its heyday – the Maharaja of Mysore. From our accompanying expert guide, learn about the Wodeyar rulers and their incredible contributions to putting this region on the global map as we leisurely survey and explore the interiors & exteriors of this dazzling palace. Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes Stop At: Devaraja Market, Mysore Our accompanying expert guide will take you through a stroll inside an 1880s market stuck in a time warp. As you take a walk back in time, marvel at the sights, smells and sounds of the shops & people in the bazaar selling the choicest fruits, flowers, vegetables, bangles and local produce such as Jaggery, Attar, Masalas etc. Duration: 30 minutes Stop At: Srirangapatna From Mysore, we drive to the historic river island of Srirangapatna. Here we break for a relaxed and sumptuous lunch at a picturesque setting by the gurgling waters of the River Cauvery. Duration: 1 hour Stop At: Dariya Daulat Palace - Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace, Srirangapatna Our final stop is the exquisite 1780s wooden palace of Tipu Sultan, where every inch of its interiors has delicate frescoes and murals of evocative battle scenes, floral and geometric patterns and portraits. Our accompanying expert guide will provide context to each hand painted artwork and regale you with stories of the valiant efforts of this ruler, the Tiger of Mysore, against the colonial powers of the time. Duration: 45 minutes
Some days you come home with photos. This one you come home changed. Most visitors to Karnataka never make it beyond Bangalore's city limits. That's their loss — and quietly, your gain. Because an hour or two from the city, an entirely different world is waiting. One that has been waiting, in fact, for over two thousand years. This is a day of three extraordinary stops, each remarkable in its own right, each made richer by the company of an expert native guide who knows these places not just as monuments, but as living chapters of a civilisation that never stopped breathing. Shravanabelagola — The 57ft Stone Giant Nothing quite prepares you for Gomateshwara. Rising 57 feet from a granite hilltop, carved from a single rock over a thousand years ago, this is one of the most extraordinary things you will ever stand before. Getting there means climbing 700 ancient steps — barefoot, as tradition demands. Your guide walks every step with you, sharing the story of the Jain prince who renounced his kingdom, stood motionless in meditation, and became a god in stone. By the time you reach the summit, the statue doesn't just impress — it moves you. Belur & Halebidu — Where Stone Becomes Poetry The Hoysala temples at Belur and Halebidu are UNESCO-nominated for good reason. Every inch of their exterior is carved — gods, goddesses, celestial dancers, elephants, lions, lotus flowers, and scenes from ancient epics — all executed with a precision that modern tools would struggle to match. Scholars call it the finest temple architecture in India. Standing before it with your guide, who decodes the stories panel by panel, you'll understand why. These aren't ruins. They are conversations across a thousand years, waiting for someone to listen. The Journey Between A day like this deserves to be fed well. Traditional breakfast and lunch are included — filter coffee, dosas, and the honest, flavourful cooking of Karnataka. The drives between sites become part of the experience too, with your guide offering context, stories, and the kind of unhurried conversation that only a small group makes possible. With no more than 8 travellers, this is never a tour. It's an expedition — intimate, immersive, and impossible to forget. This is Karnataka at its most ancient and most magnificent. Come and witness it.
A Fascinating Day Trip Exploring India’s Cultural, Historical, and Natural Wonders Embark on a captivating journey to discover some of India’s most remarkable treasures. We begin early in the morning, traveling to a charming medieval town to explore a stunning Vijayanagara-era temple. This site is home to several of India’s largest monolithic artifacts, including the biggest Nandi bull, a magnificent snake sculpture, and the largest hand-painted fresco. The temple also features the intriguing "hanging pillar," a true architectural marvel. If you’re short on time and unable to visit Hampi, this monument, located just a few hours from Bangalore, offers a glimpse of its grandeur. En route, we’ll enjoy a delicious traditional breakfast. Next, we visit a remarkable 9th-century Hindu temple, the oldest in the Bangalore region. Frozen in time, it stands as a testament to the legendary South Indian empires that shaped its history. Our journey continues with a hands-on pottery workshop, where you can try crafting your own clay pot or urn—a fun and creative experience. Afterward, we head to the ancient Nandi Hills, estimated to be 3.5 billion years old. At the summit, the crisp air and lush greenery provide a refreshing contrast to the day’s earlier sites. Enjoy a delightful lunch here, accompanied by breathtaking views of the countryside. The final stop of the day is India’s first biodiversity heritage site: an extraordinary grove of 800-year-old tamarind trees. The gnarled trunks and unique root structures of these ancient trees are a true botanical wonder. We return to Bangalore by approximately 6 PM, leaving you with cherished memories of an unforgettable day.
Hampi: Stones, Stories & Sacred Silence A 2-Day Journey into the Soul of India's Greatest Lost Kingdom ________________________________________ The World That Time Forgot Before Rome fell, before the Renaissance bloomed, a city rose on the banks of the Tungabhadra that stunned every traveller who laid eyes on it. Portuguese merchants wrote home in disbelief. Arab traders ran out of words. Italian explorers simply called it the greatest city on earth. This was Vijayanagara — the City of Victory — and today it sleeps beneath a boulder-strewn, otherworldly landscape, waiting for those curious enough to find it. Hampi isn't a ruins trip. It's a reckoning — with scale, with beauty, with the sheer audacity of what human civilisation once built and lost. ________________________________________ Day One — Arrival in Another World Your journey begins before dawn, slipping out of Bangalore as the city stirs. After a traditional breakfast at a beloved highway stopover, the landscape begins its slow, extraordinary transformation — flat Deccan plains giving way to a terrain that looks sculpted by giants: rust-red boulders stacked impossibly high, banana groves threading between ancient walls, the glint of a sacred river in the distance. This afternoon, Hampi doesn't ease you in gently. It overwhelms you immediately. You'll enter through the Virupaksha Temple — not a monument frozen in time, but a living, breathing place of worship that has stood without interruption for over a thousand years. Priests chant. Elephants bless. Pilgrims mill about beneath a towering gopuram that has watched empires rise and crumble around it. Climb Hemakuta Hill as the afternoon light turns golden — a terrace of forgotten shrines and early Vijayanagara temples where most visitors simply don't go, offering a panoramic hush that the crowded main temple can never give you. Then come the giants. The Sasivekalu Ganesha — named for a mustard seed, which is what his belly is said to contain — sits serenely within a small pavilion, carved from a single boulder with remarkable refinement. Not far away, the Kadalekalu Ganesha (named for a Bengal gram, visible in his rounded stomach) is larger still, one of the biggest Ganesha figures in the region, tucked quietly against a hillside. These are the Ganeshas Hampi does not put on its brochures. They should. Come face-to-face with the Lakshmi Narasimha — a monolithic figure of terrifying serenity, carved from a single boulder, its sheer scale something photographs simply cannot prepare you for. At the Hazara Rama Temple, read the walls like a book. Every inch of stone is carved with a narrative — armies, dancers, horses, ceremonies — a visual epic of a kingdom at its most confident and alive. End the day at Malyavanta Raghunatha Temple Sunset Point, a spot quietly known to those who seek it out, where the boulders glow amber and the landscape stretches into myth. Dinner and overnight rest at your hotel, with the stars and the silence doing the rest. ________________________________________ Day Two — The River, the Ruins & the Royal Quarter If the morning sky is clear, there are few finer ways to begin a day than walking the banks of the Tungabhadra — the sacred river that gave this civilisation its lifeblood. Watch fishing boats drift past ancient bathing ghats. Feel the strange, tender intimacy of a place that once fed an empire. Then, the masterpiece. The Vijaya Vittala Temple complex is where Vijayanagara's ambition peaked. The iconic stone chariot. The Musical Pillars — each one ringing a different note when struck. The vast ruined bazaar where once merchants sold diamonds by the fistful. This is the Hampi that haunts you long after you leave. At the Lotus Mahal, pause and consider the puzzle of it — an elegant fusion of Hindu and Islamic architecture, built not for gods or kings, but perhaps simply for beauty's own sake. Nearby, the Elephant Stables stand with a grandeur that makes you acutely aware of just how different this world once was. The Royal Enclosure is where power lived. The Mahanavami Dibba — a ceremonial platform of extraordinary carvings — once hosted ten-day festivals that drew visitors from across the known world. The Stepwell and Queen's Bath speak of daily royal life with an intimacy that larger monuments never can. After a traditional lunch, we begin the long, satisfied drive back to Bangalore — carrying the particular quiet that only ancient places leave behind. ________________________________________ Hampi is not a place you visit. It's a place that visits you — and doesn't entirely leave.
What makes a Hidden Gems tour different
We have been running tours from Bangalore since 2016, and in that time we have taken guests from more than 80 countries to Mysore Palace, the Hoysala temples at Belur, Halebidu and Somanathapura, the ruins of Hampi, the tiger forests of Bandipur, and through Bangalore's own thousand-year history — Lalbagh Botanical Garden, the Kempe Gowda towers, Tipu Sultan's summer palace, the old fort, and markets that have traded on the same streets for centuries. Every tour is led by a guide who lives here. Every group is capped at eight. Nothing is outsourced, and no review has ever been paid for.
No scripts, no one reading from a laminated card. Every guide we work with is handpicked — professionals who share how we think a tour should be run, and who want to work this way. Some are part of ou...
No scripts, no one reading from a laminated card. Every guide we work with is handpicked — professionals who share how we think a tour should be run, and who want to work this way. Some are part of our core team, others are long-standing partners we've guided alongside for years. All of them know this region deeply and have spent years learning the history they're telling you. Our guests consistently name their guide in reviews, which tells you where the value actually sits. All tours are conducted in English. On day trips, the same guide stays with you from pickup to drop, twelve to fourteen hours later.
We have never paid for a review. Since 2016 we've earned over 1,000 five-star ratings across TripAdvisor, Viator and GetYourGuide, from guests of more than 80 nationalities. TripAdvisor ranks us first...
We have never paid for a review. Since 2016 we've earned over 1,000 five-star ratings across TripAdvisor, Viator and GetYourGuide, from guests of more than 80 nationalities. TripAdvisor ranks us first among tour operators in Bangalore, and Viator lists us as a top-rated experience provider. Our press coverage began in 2017 with the Economic Times, India Today, The Hindu, Deccan Herald and The New Indian Express — and we've been running continuously ever since.
One region, five very different ways to know it. Our tours cover Bangalore's thousand-year history, the temple architecture of the Hoysala empire, the street food of VV Puram and Chickpete, the tiger ...
One region, five very different ways to know it. Our tours cover Bangalore's thousand-year history, the temple architecture of the Hoysala empire, the street food of VV Puram and Chickpete, the tiger forests of Bandipur, and the ruins of Vijayanagara at Hampi. A single day might move from a 9th-century shrine to a 1924 dosa counter. Guests choose us because we refuse to separate these things — in South India, the food, the faith, the stone and the forest have never been separate. Tours run from two hours to fourteen days, always with a specialist guide, never more than eight guests.
We started with a two-hour walk through the old city. Today our tours reach Mysore, Srirangapatna, Hampi, Belur, Halebidu, Somanathapura, Bandipur, Lepakshi and Nandi Hills — and beyond Karnataka to D...
We started with a two-hour walk through the old city. Today our tours reach Mysore, Srirangapatna, Hampi, Belur, Halebidu, Somanathapura, Bandipur, Lepakshi and Nandi Hills — and beyond Karnataka to Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and the Malabar Coast of Kerala. Multi-day journeys run from two to fourteen days. The guiding standard that made us first in Bangalore travels with us everywhere.
You arrive curious, not stressed. We handle hotel pickup and drop, private air-conditioned transport, monument entry tickets, meals at places we'd eat ourselves, and every logistical detail in between...
You arrive curious, not stressed. We handle hotel pickup and drop, private air-conditioned transport, monument entry tickets, meals at places we'd eat ourselves, and every logistical detail in between. Most guests reach us on WhatsApp and hear back within a few hours. Your guide messages you directly before the tour to confirm timings. For multi-day journeys we arrange accommodation, inter-city transfers and local access across states.
Founded in 2016, still run by the same people. Over a thousand guests have taken the time to write about their day with us, and a meaningful number have booked again — a second tour on the same trip, ...
Founded in 2016, still run by the same people. Over a thousand guests have taken the time to write about their day with us, and a meaningful number have booked again — a second tour on the same trip, or a return years later. Some send friends before they've flown home. We have no loyalty programme. We have guides worth coming back to.
We build every itinerary ourselves, from scratch. Nothing here is a white-labelled package bought from a wholesaler and resold — a common practice in this industry that guests rarely find out about. O...
We build every itinerary ourselves, from scratch. Nothing here is a white-labelled package bought from a wholesaler and resold — a common practice in this industry that guests rarely find out about. Our routes come from years of walking them: which temple is quiet at 9am, which highway stop serves the better breakfast, when the light falls right at Hemakuta Hill. Tours range from a two-hour Bangalore walk to a fourteen-day journey across India, and each one was designed around a reason to exist rather than a destination checklist.
Maximum eight guests on every tour, without exception. We have turned away larger bookings rather than break it. Eight is the number at which a tour stops being a lecture and becomes a conversation — ...
Maximum eight guests on every tour, without exception. We have turned away larger bookings rather than break it. Eight is the number at which a tour stops being a lecture and becomes a conversation — you can ask questions, change pace, linger somewhere that catches you. For corporate groups we run multiple guides in parallel rather than merging everyone into one bus.
Bangalore, the third largest city in India, is renowned for its vibrant culture, history, technological innovations, and pleasant climate. It is known as the "Silicon Valley of India."
In addition to being an economic powerhouse, Bangalore is a great destination to explore. Our Bangalore City Tour takes you to several iconic landmarks, including the historic Bangalore Fort, the impressive Vidhana Soudha (the state legislature building), and the majestic Bangalore Palace. Nature lovers will enjoy the exquisite Lalbagh Botanical Garden and serene Cubbon Park.
Bangalore City boasts the third busiest airport in India, connecting it to numerous domestic and international destinations, making Bangalore an ideal hub to begin your India exploration.
Bangalore's unique advantage is also its proximity to world-class destinations. You get to explore Mysore, famous for its palaces and cultural heritage; Belur and Halebeedu, renowned for their exquisite temple architecture and the historical marvels of Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Badami cave monuments. Nature enthusiasts can visit the coffee-draped hills of Coorg and Bandipur National Park, teeming with Tigers, Elephants, and Bisons.
The capital is full of attractions and energy and is the epitome of culture and modernity, with impressive technological advances to learn about during our city tours. On our tours of Bangalore and the surrounding areas, you'll learn all about the rich biography and storied past spanning over 1,000 years.
Most frequent questions and answers
Bangalore tours are capped at 8 guests, and on many days — particularly midweek — yours will be the only booking. You can also reserve any tour privately for your party alone. Our multi-day India journeys are always private.
An experienced local guide who knows this region well. Whether they are part of our core team or a long-standing partner, every guide we work with is chosen for their knowledge and has been guiding with us for years. Your guide will message you directly before the tour to confirm arrangements.
Bangalore tours and day trips: your guide, private air-conditioned transport, monument entry tickets, and meals as listed on each tour page — most day trips include breakfast and lunch.
Multi-day India journeys: accommodation, a chauffeured vehicle throughout, your guide, monument entry tickets, and breakfast daily. Most lunches and some dinners are not included, giving you the freedom to eat where you like — your guide will always have suggestions.
Not included on any tour: personal expenses, shopping, and tips, which are entirely optional.
It's one of the most common reasons people book with us. A guide who knows the region takes the uncertainty out of your first days — what to eat, what to expect, what's worth your time. Many guests tell us it changed how they experienced the rest of their trip.
Yes. Many of our bookings are private groups — families, couples, and companies hosting visiting colleagues. All our multi-day India journeys are private by default. Message us on WhatsApp with your dates, group size and interests and we'll build something around them.
We accept credit and debit cards, PayPal, UPI and bank transfer. Full details on cancellation are on our terms page — message us on WhatsApp if you need to change or cancel a booking and we'll do what we can.
Yes to both. Our day trips are relaxed in pace with regular stops, and we've hosted families with young children and guests in their eighties. Walking tours involve two to three kilometres on foot. Tell us about any mobility needs when you book and we'll adjust.
Yes. Hotel pickup and drop is included on all city tours and day trips, anywhere in central Bangalore. Walking tours have a meeting point instead, which we confirm in advance. Tell us your hotel when you book and we'll arrange the timing with you.
January 24, 2024
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From spicy pani puri to melt-in-your-mouth dosa, street food in Bangalore offers a vibrant explosion of flavors and cultures. Here, you can savor the...
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November 28, 2023
Introduction Hidden in the noisy setting of Bangalore is Lalbagh – an oasis more than JUST a botanical garden. It is an ancient tapestry telling stori...
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