South India HighlightsKarnataka has a long list of things for tourist to buy. There are a lot of luxury shopping malls where you can enjoy both entertainment and shopping together. Apart from these malls, there are a lot of markets, shopping hubs and others making the state, a paradise for shoppers.
Top items to buy in Karnataka
- Sandalwood sculptures, sandalwood oil and soap
- Incense sticks, perfumes
- Metal lamps and metal crafts
- Wood carvings, inlay works and Guledgudda handlooms
- Mysore silk, Bijapur sarees, Ilkal sarees
- Mysore painting
- Jewels from Bijapur and Lambani
Bangalore
Being the capital of the state, you can expect to find a lot of luxury malls and also all kinds of souvenirs here. The commercial streets would be crowded during festivals and weekends. Top places to shop are
- MG Road for novelties, silk sarees, antiques and textile items
- Government emporiums for brassware, wooden items, decorative items, ethnic fabrics and antique jewellery.
- Chickpet is famous for copperware, brassware and jewellery
Mangalore
The best way to enjoy shopping in Mangalore is to choose street and local shopping along with malls. The best items to buy here are gold and silver jewels, sandalwood items, handicrafts and ivory artefacts. Ceramic toys, bidriware, lacquer ware, slippery chiffon and fibre based handicrafts are other items to buy. Top places to shop are Empire mall, Bharat mall, Balmatta, Falnir, Hampankatta and Kankannady.
Hubli
It is a leisure place for shopping. There are a lot of urban malls in Hubli where you can shop and get entertained at the same time. The best thing to buy in Hubli is Dharwad Peda. It is a sweet delicacy made of milk. It is very famous among locals and international visitors. It is usually found in many places in Karnataka but, the original version can be bought only from Hubli and Dharwad city. Other important things to buy are trinkets and fibre based handicrafts. Koppikar road that runs between Hubli and Dharwad is famous for cotton and cotton based items.
Main shopping areas include Javali Sal, Gandhi Chowk, Belgaum Galli, Dajiban Peth, Broadway, Station Road, Tikare Road and many others.
Mysore
If you are looking for any sandalwood or rosewood items, do not miss Mysore. Other top shopping spots to visit during Mysore visit are
- Manandavadi road for silk sarees
- Krishnaraja Circle for sandalwood items and ethnic items
- Emporiums for souvenirs made of sandalwood, teakwood, rosewood, bidriware and others
Shimoga
Just like every other city, sandalwood items are popular here. Spices of various kinds are also found here. People buy pepper, turmeric and cinnamon for here, commonly. You can find a lot of souvenirs made of sandalwood and fibre here.
Bellary
Bellary is famous for furniture. You can find sandalwood furniture here. You can also find designer jewels, apparels and other items here. You can find luxury malls and street shops in Bellary.
Devangere
Devangere or Davangere is famous for furniture, sandalwood and teakwood based decorative items, ceramic decorative items and bidriware. You can find all kinds of ethnic clothing here.
Hospet
This city is famous for Bijapur sarees, Bijapur jewellery, handlooms, lambani jewels and sandalwood items. You can also find handlooms of Guledgudda here. If you wish, you can visit Bijapur for buying the authentic sarees and jewellery too
There are a lot of other shops and malls in various places of Karnataka. Before buying, you should perform two important steps. The first step is to haggle when you are buying from street shops. When they see a foreigner, they would increase the mark up by 300% or more. The second step is to make sure that you are buying authentic items. Even luxury malls have fake items.
