Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple

Five ancient Shiva temples (Panchalinga — Vaidyanatha, Pathaleshwara, Maruleshwara, Arkeshwara, Kirtinarayana) half-buried in sand dunes beside the Cauvery river — an extraordinary and eerie landscape. The famous Panchaling Darshana (viewing all five) once in 12 years during the Teerthavari festival draws 3 million pilgrims.

One of the most important Shiva temples in Karnataka, located on the banks of the Kabini river. Lord Srikanteshwara (Shiva with a blue throat) is the tutelary deity of the Mysuru region. Famous for the Nanjangud Banana (Nanjangud Rasabale), a GI-tagged rare variety of banana grown only near the temple.

A hilltop shrine atop Chamundi Hills overlooking Mysuru, dedicated to Goddess Chamundeshwari, the fierce form of Durga said to have slain the buffalo-demon Mahishasura nearby. A giant statue of the demon stands near the temple, and the thousand-step stone stairway up the hill passes a monolithic Nandi bull carved from a single rock.

A Vishnu temple on the historic island of Srirangapatna — the former capital of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Tipu Sultan, despite being Muslim, was a devotee of this temple and gifted it precious jewels. The site also has Tipu's summer palace and the place where he fell in battle (1799).