By
virtue of its varied geography and long history, Karnataka hosts numerous
spots of interest for tourists. There is an array of ancient sculptured
temples, modern cities, scenic hill ranges, unexplored forests and endless
beaches. Karnataka has been ranked as the fourth most popular destination
for tourism among the states of India.Karnataka has the second highest
number of nationally protected monuments in India, second only to Uttar
Pradesh, in addition to 752 monuments protected by the State Directorate
of Archaeology and Museums. Another 25,000 monuments are yet to receive
protection.Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur, has the second largest pre-modern dome
in the world after the Byzantine Hagia Sophia.The districts of the Western
ghats and the southern districts of the state have popular eco-tourism
locations including Kudremukh, Madikeri and Agumbe. Karnataka has 25
wildlife sanctuaries and five national parks. Popular among them are
Bandipur National Park, Bannerghatta National Park and Nagarhole National
Park. The ruins of the Vijayanagara Empire at Hampi and the monuments of
Pattadakal are on the list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. The cave
temples at Badami and the rock-cut temples at Aihole representing the
Badami Chalukyan style of architecture are also popular tourist
destinations. The Hoysala temples at Belur and Halebidu, which were built
with Chloritic schist (soap stone) are proposed UNESCO World Heritage
sites. The Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Rauza are famous examples of the Deccan
Sultanate style of architecture. The monolith of Gomateshwara at
Shravanabelagola is the tallest sculpted monolith in the world, attracting
tens of thousands of pilgrims during the Mahamastakabhisheka
festival.Mysore Palace at Night, Mysore, Karnataka.The waterfalls of
Karnataka and Kudremukh National Park are listed as must-see places and
among the "1001 Natural Wonders of the World".Jog Falls is India's tallest
single-tiered waterfall with Gokak Falls, Unchalli Falls, Magod Falls,
Abbey Falls and Shivanasamudra Falls among other popular waterfalls
