Your chauffeur meets you at Bengaluru (Kempegowda) airport and transfers you into the city for check-in and time to settle.

The afternoon takes in the 240-acre Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, with its glasshouse modelled on London's Crystal Palace, and the Tudor-style Bangalore Palace, built by the Wodeyar rulers, an easy introduction to Karnataka's capital.

A long but scenic drive north brings you into the boulder-strewn landscape of Hampi, the former Vijayanagara capital, roughly six to seven hours across the Deccan plateau.

You arrive in time to climb Hemakuta Hill for sunset, dotted with ancient shrines and looking out over the temple town as the granite boulders glow orange.

The morning begins at the living Virupaksha Temple, dedicated to Shiva and in continuous worship for centuries, with its towering gopuram over Hampi Bazaar.

The afternoon is the celebrated Vitthala Temple complex, home to the iconic stone chariot and the musical pillars that ring when tapped, the artistic peak of Vijayanagara stonework and the image on India's ₹50 note.

You explore the royal core of the city: the Royal Enclosure with its stepped tank, the grand Mahanavami Dibba platform, and the underground temple.

Nearby stand the Islamic-influenced Lotus Mahal pavilion and the majestic Elephant Stables, along with the Zenana enclosure, showing the courtly, secular side of the empire alongside its temples.

You drive west towards Badami, breaking the journey at two cradles of South Indian temple architecture. UNESCO-listed Pattadakal showcases a stunning group of 7th to 8th-century Chalukyan temples blending northern and southern styles.

Nearby Aihole, often called the birthplace of Hindu temple architecture, holds over a hundred early experimental shrines, including the Durga temple. You continue to Badami for the night.

The morning is the spectacular Badami cave temples, four rock-cut sanctuaries carved into a red-sandstone cliff, dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva and a Jain tirthankara, with intricate reliefs.

Across the emerald Agastya Lake stand the Bhutanatha temples, a classic Badami view. The rest of the day is relaxed, exploring the old town beneath the cliffs.

After breakfast you drive to Hubli, roughly two-and-a-half to three hours away, for your onward flight or train.

Hubli's airport connects to Bengaluru, Mumbai and other cities; we time the transfer with buffer so you reach your departure comfortably.