Bangalore Fort was originally built by Kempe Gowda in 1537 a feudatory of the Vijaynagar Empire and the founder of Bangalore as a mud fort. It was converted into a stone fort by Haider Ali in 1761. It was a stronghold of Tipu Sultan that was captured by the army of the British East India Company led by Lord Cornwallis on 21 March 1791 during the Third Mysore War (1790–1792). Only the Delhi gate of the fort presently exists on Krishnarajendra Road bearing a marble plaque recording the spot where a breach in the fort wall delivered Bangalore Fort to the British. There also exists a wooden palace of Tipu sultan, and his armoury in the old fort area. The fort has provided the setting for the treasure hunt in the book Riddle of the Seventh Stone.

The confirmed history of the Bengaluru Fort is traced to 1537, when Kempe Gowda I (pictured), a Chieftain of the Vijayanagara Empire, widely held as the founder of modern Bangalore (now renamed as Bengaluru), built a mud fort and established the area around it as Bengaluru Pete as his province.

Fort structure

Kempe Gowda I

Bugle Rock (Kannada: ಕಹಲೆ Kahale)  is a massive rock in the Basavanagudi area of South Bangalore, in the state of Karnataka. It is an abrupt rise above the ground of peninsular gneiss as the main rock formation and with an assessed age of about 3,000 million years. Bugle Rock has generated wide interest among the scientific community.

Kempe Gowda II (who came to power in 1585), the feudal ruler of Bangalore, is credited with building four watchtowers setting limits for Bangalore's expansion, which included a tower on the Bugle Rock (on the southern boundary) as it commands a panoramic view of Bangalore city. It is said that at sunset a sentry would blow the bugle and hold a torch (Kannada:panju) which was visible from the other three watch towers (one on the southern bank of the Kempambudi tank on the west, the second near Ulsoor Lake in the east and the third tower adjoining Ramana Maharshi Ashram on Bellary Road, namely Mekhri Circle in the north). This was done to inform people that everything was safe at that location and to give a warning bugle call to alert the citizens of any intruders into the city.Most of the rocks on the Bugle Rock, next to the Bull Temple, have hollows, which were once used to light lamps. This landmark spreads over an area of 16 acres (6.5 ha). This rock is contiguous and similar to the rock at Lalbagh tower.

The Geological Survey of India has listed this site,  as "Geological Monuments of India" and has displayed a commemorative plaque in front of the rock tower which states.

Amidst the natural rock formations, a small park with waterfalls and fountains has been developed as one of the green lungs of the garden city of Bangalore, which is frequented visited by children, families and the elderly. The park houses three temples. The densely tree-lined park developed by the Horticulture Department of the Government of Karnataka is considered a “walkers paradise” since over 750 to 1000 visitors (70% of them senior citizens) visit the park every day. One can also hear calls of a number of bats perched on the trees. An amphitheatre, which can accommodate 300 people, has been developed in the precincts of the park. The Hindu temple Dodda Basavana Gudi or Bull Temple, said to be the biggest temple to Nandi (the bull referred to as a sacred Hindu demi-god) in the world, and a Ganesha temple are in the limits of the park. According to an inscription in the Bull Temple, a spring beneath the Nandi is the source of the Vrishabhavathi River, which flows to the west of Bangalore.

During the Third Mysore War, a contingent of the Mysore army, regrouped in this rock area under the leadership of Mir Khammar-ud-din before attacking the British Army.

Honour to distinguished people

The outer wall of an old water tank in the confines of the Bugle Rock park has murals of famous people of Bangalore and Karnataka: Kempe Gowda I (1513–1569), the ruler of Bangalore and Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya (1860–1962), the engineer statesman and the builder of modern Karnataka, behind the statue of D V Gundappa, (1887–1975) popularly known as DVG, the Kannada litterateur, philosopher erected in 2002–03 to honour him. It is said that Bugle Rock was the place where D.V. Gundappa used to meet Masti Venkatesh Iyengar, journalist P.R. Ramaiya (of Tainadu newspaper fame, one of the founders of Kannada journalism and the first MLA from the area after independence), artist A.N. Subbarao (founder of Kalamandira which used to be in Gandhi Bazar), lawyers M.P. Somashekhara Rao and Nittoor Srinivasa Rau (who later became the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court) and several other noted people like Prof. V.T. Srinivasan, founder and principal of Vijaya College, Bangalore.

The park has been named in honour of T.R. Shamanna, a humanitarian and local politician. It has been spruced up with landscaping with rocky steps. An impressive entrance has been sculpted with rock pillars and by adding murals on the unused outer wall of the water tank with engravings of the faces of eminent people.

Fruit bats

In the Bugle Rock park, in a study carried out by bat biologists, fruit bats (Pteropus giganteus) (also called Indian Flying-fox, listed as least-threatened in the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Chiroptera Specialist Group 1996) have been recorded in roost trees (Ficus sp., Mangifera indica (mango fruit tree), Samanea saman (rain tree), Eucalyptus sp., Glaycindia sp.), and also in Gulmohar (Delonix regia) and jackfruit tree ((Artocarpus heterophyllus) in the garden, tree groups and protected areas with a roost size of 650–710. The roost trees, about 20–25 and generally 30–40 feet (9.1–12.2 m) tall, are in the central area of the park and are 50–60 years old. The area is maintained by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). The farmland, before roost, is stated to be undisturbed and ancient. The study has observed that there is need to conserve urban roosts of bats. It is recorded that the Police Commissionerate on Infantry Road, Bangalore has geared to preserve bats, which have nested in the trees in the Commiserate for many years.

Transportation

City bus routes: 36, 43, 45 from Majestic/Market, 3 from Jayanagar, 34, 37 from Shivajinagar, T-12 from Yeshvantapur RMC.

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Dodda Basavana Gudi (the Bull Temple) is situated in the N.R. Colony, Basavanagudi, area of South Bangalore, part of the largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. The Hindu temple is inside the a park called Bugle Rock.

The bull referred to is a sacred Hindu demi-god, known as Nandi; Nandi is a close devotee and attendant of Shiva. Dodda Basavana Gudi is said to be the biggest temple to Nandi in the world. The stone cult image of Nandi is continually covered with new layers of butter, benne in the local language of Kannada. There is a cult image of the elephant-headed Hindu deity son of shiva Ganesha close by.

Every year on the last Monday and Tuesday of the Hindu month of Karthika Maasa a groundnut fair is held in the temple premises and groundnut is offered to the deity. This fair is known as 'Kadalekaayi Parishe' in local tongue. Groundnut sellers and devotees throng the place during Kadalekaayi Parishe.

Basavana Gudi is a regular place of visit for tourists and is covered by most of the tour operators including the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation.

Nandi Temple is exclusively for the worship of the sacred bull (Basava in Kannada) in Hinduism, known as Nandi, Lord Shiva's vahana, . The word "nandi" means "joyful" in Sanskrit.

The temple was built in 1537 by a local ruler under the Vijayanagara empire in the Vijayanagara architectural style. The ruler, a feudatory chief named Kempe Gowda, also founded the city of Bangalore. The temple is named after the large granite Nandi monolith placed on a plinth in the temple shrine (garbhagriha) which has become blackened from years of being rubbed with charcoal and oil. The temple is a small one, consisting only of the shrine fronted by a porch in the Vijayanagara style. The current tower (vimana) over the shrine was constructed in the early 20th century and is adorned with Saivite figures and motifs.

It is said to house one of the largest Nandi murthis in the world. The height of the murthi is approximately 15 ft (4.6 m) and it is approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) long.

Bugle Rock garden

The Bugle Rock garden is behind the Dodda Ganesha temple and adjacent to the Bull temple. The garden gets its name from a bugle call made on top of a very large rock formation to alert the nearby dwellers. It is densely covered with trees and one can usually see and hear a number of bats perched on the trees. There is a water tank with motifs of famous people from Karnataka.

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Sri Radha Krishna-Chandra Mandir (Hindi: श्री राधा कृष्ण-चन्द्र मन्दिर ) or ISKCON Bangalore temple is a Gaudiya Vaishnava (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu) temple of Krishna and Radha located at Rajajinagar, in the North Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It is one of the largest ISKCON temples in the world. The temple is a huge cultural complex that was inaugurated in 1997 to carry out the vision of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON to promote Vedic culture and spiritual learning.

Around 1976, the devotees from different parts of India and the world had initiated activities of ISKCON in different parts of South India like Bangalore, Hubli, Madras, etc. Sankirtans in the streets, enrolling Life Members, arranging programs in the houses, and arranging large public programs in pandals were being conducted.In May 1997, Bangalore Iskcon Temple was inaugurated by former president of India - Shankar Dayal Sharma.

ISKCON does not discriminate its visitors on the basis of religion, color or socio-economic status. The temple is open for darshana from 4.15 am to 5 am, 7.15 am to 12.50 pm and 4 pm to 8.20 pm everyday. 

The gold-plated dwajastambha (flag post) at 17m (56 ft) high and the gold plated kalash shikara at 8.5m (28 ft) high, shimmer in the night sky, leaves the onlooker speechless. Yet another salient feature of the temple is the free distribution of delicious Sri Krishna prasadam to all the visitors during the darshana hours.

Meticulously clean surroundings, drinking water, hygienic washrooms, elevators for senior citizens and the specially-abled, adequate car parking, visible signboards, a variety of eatables, etc. are some of the well thought of amenities for visitors

ISKCON Bangalore celebrates festivals that are either related to avatars of Lord Vishnu or with Vedic culture. Main festivals that are celebrated within the temple are:

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an initiative of ISKCON Bangalore is principally involved in implementing the Mid-Day Meal programme to the children in Government and Government-aided schools across India. It follows a Public-Private Partnership model of operation, and hence has been working in partnership with the Central and State Governments. Since 2003, the Foundation has been implementing the mid-day meal programme under the guidelines of Government of India.

Akshaya Patra is currently operating in 19 locations across 9 states of India. It is reaching out to over 9000 Government schools feeding 1.3 million children round the year on all school working days. It is steadily moving towards achieving its goal of feeding 5 million children by 2020.

ISKCON Bangalore has been praised many times for its services towards poor and helpless people. It provides free food to those in need.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one initiative started by members of the temple, which has received praise from United States President Barack Obama for feeding and educating children across India.

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A shopping mall or shopping center is a building or set of buildings that contain retail units and a multiplex with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, offering diverse brands and utilities at the same place.

Now a days, in Karnataka State also Shopping Malls are becoming very popular in big cities like Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli, Belgaum,Gulbarga,etc. Here is a list of famous shopping malls in Karnataka State.

Shopping Malls in Bangalore:

Name	Location	Year	Size
Leela Galleria	Old Airport Road		110,000 sq ft (10,000 m2)
Garuda Mall	Magrath Road	2005	810,000 sq ft (75,000 m2)
Bangalore Central	Residency Road		275,000 sq ft (25,500 m2)
The Collection	UB City		130,000 sq ft (12,000 m2)
Mantri Square	Malleswaram	2010	1,700,000 sq ft (160,000 m2)
The Forum	Hosur Road, Koramangala	2004	625,000 sq ft (58,100 m2)
Total Mall	Hosur Road, Koramangala	2006	225,000 sq ft (20,900 m2)
Forum Value Mall	Whitefield		300,000 sq ft (28,000 m2)
Phoenix Market City	Whitefield		700,000 sq ft (65,000 m2)
Park square mall	Whitefield		400,000 sq ft (37,000 m2)
Bangalore Central	Jaya Nagar		225,000 sq ft (20,900 m2)
Bangalore Central	Outer Ring Road		329,000 sq ft (30,600 m2)
Total Mall	Madhivala|		225,000 sq ft (20,900 m2)
Total Mall	Old Airport Road		170,000 sq ft (16,000 m2)
Cosmos Mall	Kundanahalli
Orion Mall	Malleswaram-Rajajinagar	2012	850,000 sq ft (79,000 m2)
Royal Meenakshi Mall	Bennerghatta Road	2011
Gopalan Mall	Bannerghatta Road	2011	180,000 sq ft (17,000 m2)
Salarpuria Group Oasis Mall	Oasis Center, Koramamngala 100ft Road	2011
Inorbit Mall	Whitefield	2012	339,000 sq ft (31,500 m2)