Banavasi Madhukeshwara Temple

Karnataka's oldest town — capital of the 4th-century Kadambas, its honey-stone Shiva temple carrying carvings from every dynasty since, ringed by pineapple country.

Why visit: Where Kannada statehood began, in a temple still warm with worship.

History: The Kadambas, the first native Kannada dynasty, ruled from here; poet Pampa called it heaven on earth.