Asia Pacific

Bangalore, India

A comprehensive guide to running in Bangalore

With a population of nearly 12 million, Bangalore is India’s fifth largest city, alternately referred to as the “Silicon Valley of India” and “Garden City of India”. With its wide boulevards, greenery, parks, and altitude at 3,000 feet allowing for cooler weather, Bangalore is arguably India’s best major city for running. But, given the crowds, density, and traffic, you can’t just walk out your hotel or office door and go for a casual run. It’s best head to one of the generally designated spots for running in Bangalore.

For parks, the best places to run in Bangalore are Cubbon Park (the city’s Central Park), the gardens of Lalbagh, and Lakshmi Devi Park. There are also good perimeter loops around Ulsoor Lake and Sankey Tank. For some longer roads/paths, Hennur Trail, or Nandi Hill. Join other runners at the publicly accessible track at Kanteerava Stadium, or take a jaunt around the pleasant grounds of Bangalore University or the GKVK Campus. In the southeastern part of the city near Wipro & numerous corporate offices, there are several lakes that have good jogging paths around their perimeter. Note: Some parks and other running spots might require a modest admission fee. Always bring a little bit of $.

Bangalore has grown quickly in recent years and suffers from serious traffic congestion. The newly opened metro system, called Namma Metro, has north-south and east-west lines and continues to be expanded. The bus system is also good, if heavily used.

Editor's Picks

Some of our favorite runs in Bangalore, India

Cubbon Park

At 300 acres, this wonderful green space is known as the 'Central Park' of Bangalore. A popular... more...

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Hennur Trail

Bangalore, India

One of the best opportunities for a longer off-road run in the Bangalore area. The dirt path in the woods is lined with bamboo and other trees. It is possible to run for up to 12 km one-way. Location of a popular ultra race in Bangalore.
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Bangalore is located at 3,000 feet, so it is a bit cooler than some other cities in India, making it a little more pleasant for running. Still, it’s warm to hot at all times of year, although in the winter months, nights are pleasantly cool. The hottest months are March-May, with high temperatures in the 32-34C (low 90sF) range. In the cooler months, high temps are in the 27C (81F) range. Precipitation is monsoonal, with the wetter months of May-October, and very little rain in the drier months. Humidity is not as high as elsewhere, owing in part to the altitude.

Bangalore is a huge city, and as the ‘Silicon Valley of India’, a major business/travel destinations with many corporate offices. There’s a large selection of hotels and a good number of business class hotels.

From a runner’s perspective, we recommend trying to stay near one of our centrally located routes, such as Cubbon Park, Lalbagh, Ulsoor Lake, and Sankey Tank.

As one of the cities in India with a growing running scene, there are several running stores in the area. The two independent stores are Running Lab, located near the Indira Metro Station, and Running 365.

There are also outlets for Asics, Nike, and Puma. See the overview map on the Bangalore home page.

Group Runs. There aren’t really group runs from the stores or running clubs, but there are some meetups. Bangalore Loves Running is a good one.

There’s a growing calendar of running events in Bangalore. India Running publishes a good calendar of running events. CALENDAR

Signature events include:

TCS World 10k. May.

Run India Marathon. March.

Midnight Marathon – December.