Overview
Meghalaya’s natural beauty is most conducive for extended holidays with the hill station of Shillong continuing to be a hot favourite . Three hundred varieties of Orchids are found in the state which is also rich in wildlife. Meghalaya has two national parks which are home to some rare species of flora and fauna. The gentle hills of Meghalaya are interspersed with rich meadows and pine forests.
Both nature and human efforts have combined together in making Karnataka, a ‘Tourist Paradise’. Its long sea shore has silvery beaches. The tall Western Ghats are covered with lush green forests full of varied fauna and flora, blessed with a number of east and west flowing rivers originating from the Ghats, enrich the soil of the land and contribute to State’s agricultural prosperity. These rivers have created many water falls which are a feast to the eyes of the on-lookers. The plain area is renowned for its beautiful river banks and projecting wonderful stony hills looking like Natural Rock Parks. The hilly tracks have many Wild-life Sanctuaries.
The Gangas, Alupas,Kadambas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas,Hoysalas,Vijayanagar a Rulers, Bahamanis of Kalaburagi and Bidar, Adil Shahis of Vijayapura, Barid Shahis of Bidar, Wodeyars of Mysuru, Nayaks of Chitradurga, Keladi, Magadi and other minor ruling dynasties have raised wonderful forts, beautiful temples decorated with impressive plastic art in stone, and magnificent mosques and mausoleums of Indo Saracenic style. The advent of the Portuguese and the English introduced European Renaissance architecture, imitation of both gothic and Indo European styles. They built imposing churches and captivating public as well as private buildings in Karnataka. The National Parks, the Animal and Bird Sanctuaries provide the tourist the sight of wild animals like elephants, tigers, bisons, deers, black-bucks, peacocks and a variety of other animals in their natural habitat. If one is spiritually inclined, there are living seers, whether Hindu, Christian or Muslim who can provide one with spiritual solace. There are also tombs of great religious leaders of Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Jaina affiliation. In the precincts of these tombs even today people seek spiritual solace.
Karnataka has many cool and pleasant hill resorts of which Kudremukh is one, mentioned above. Kemmannagundi in Chikkamagaluru district (in the Western Ghats) is another hill resort surrounded by a park with good accommodation facilities arranged by the Horticulture department (housed at Lalbag, Bengaluru). Biligiri Ranganabetta in Chamarajnagar dt. is famous for its ancient Srinivasa temple atop a hill around which temple, there exists a Wild Life Sanctuary. If you want to bask in the sunshine of the sea shore or get beaten by the oceanic waves, there are fine beaches. At Bengre, which is almost an island and at Ullal, both near Mangaluru, are notable beaches. Maravanthe in the Kundapur taluk of Udupi district has a fine beach on one side and river Sauparnika on the other, running parallel to the coast for a considerable distance before its confluence with the sea and the highway runs in between sea and the river provides the tourists an enchanting travel experience and the sunset here is a magnificent divine spectacle. Kapu beach near Kundapur is also an enchanting tourist spot. Gokarna, the holy town in Uttara Kannada, has a very long beach which has also become a second resort to many people who visit Goa. Karwar has a number of beaches like Blue Lagoon Beach, Ladies Beach around it and Poet Rabindranath Tagore had unforgettable experiences at Karwar beach to which he has given expression to in poetic prose. Om beach, Murudeshwar and Kasarkod are other beautiful serene beaches of Uttara Kannada Dist. These are only a few among the many.