Hassan is located in the heart of Malnad and about 195 km from the capital city of Bangalore, Hassan is a picturesque, quite and peaceful town. The city acts as an entry point to famous archeological sites Belur, Halebid and Shravanabelgola, all situated in its close vicinity. ISRO's Satellite Tracking System Centre is also located in Hassan.

Some of the other popular attractions in Hassan are Hasanamba Shrine, a temple with an anthill representing the deity Hasanamba. It opens only once in a year for a week in October, and a fair 'Jatra' is held on this occasion. District Museum of Hassan has some of the finest sculptures, paintings, weapons, and coins.

But the importance of Hassan as a tourist spot is only because its proximity to famous archeological sites of Belur, Halebid and Shravanabelagola.

Belur:

This quaint hamlet - 38 kms from Hassan - is located on the banks of the river Yagachi. It was once the capital of the Hoysala Empire, today made unforgettable for its exquisite temples. The Chennakeshava Temple is one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture. It took 103 years to complete and you can see why. The facade of the temple is filled with intricate sculptures and friezes with no portion left blank. Elephants, episodes from the epics, sensuous dancers. they are all there - awe-inspiring in their intricate workmanship. Inside are hand-lathe-turned filigreed pillars. The Veeranarayana Temple and the smaller shrines are well worth a visit.

Halebid:

Former Dwarasamudra in Hassan district is in Belur taluk and 27 kms away from Hassan and was the capital of Hoysala after Belur. The Hoysaleswara Temple, dating back to the 12th century, is astounding for its wealth of sculptural details. The walls of the temple are covered with an endless variety of gods and goddesses, animals, birds and dancing girls. Yet no two facets of the temple are the same. This magnificent temple - guarded by a Nandi Bull - was never completed, despite 86 years of labor. The Jain basadis nearby are equally rich in sculptural detail. Belur and Halebid are 222 and 216 kms from Bangalore, respectively. Channarayapatna, Ramanathpur, Gorur and Manjarabad are the other places of interest around Hassan.

Shravanabelagola:

Shravanabelagola in Hassan District is 157 km away from Bangalore is an important Jaina centre. There is a pond and two stony hills, called Chandragiri and Indragiri. Chandragiri has the Chandragupta basadi of the Gangas and the Parashwanatha basadi here is the biggest. The town below the hill has the Jaina matha whose walls have very old paintings. Indragiri has the Gommata monolith, 58' tall, installed by a Ganga general and scholar Chavundaraya, and also Siddhara basadi, Odegal basadi, Chennanna basadi and Chauvvisa Tirthankara basadi, and also the finely engraved pillar called Tyagada Brahma Pillar. The floral designs on it are excellent. To the north of town is Jinanathapura which has the Aregal basadi and the Shantinatha basadi of Hoysala times. Shravanabelagola has over 500 inscriptions, and some of them are recording death by starving (`sallekhana') by Jaina ascetics and laymen.

Gorur Dam:

The Hemavathi is impounded behind dam  here,  to form a reservoir called Hemavathi Reservoir. It is situated about 12km from Hassan to Arakalagud. The temple of Yoganarasimha here is  the center of devotion. This town has contributed Goruru Ramaswamy Iyengar as a valuable asset to the Kannada Literary World.
At the entrance of Gorur, the paravasudeva Temple is also situated. In both the temples daily rituals of pooja and the annual car festivals take place, even today.

Sakaleshpur:

It is the subordinate divisional district center. This town has been considered as the boon of the river Hemavathi. The name of the town is derived from the Sakaleswara Temple of this place. This is famous for the Production of coffee, cardamum, pepper and honey.

Manjrabad Kote:

On the top of Adanigudda, 6kms from Sakleshpura on the road to Mangalore, this fort has been built. Its purpose is not to enclose any town but is to serve as a point of political strategy in the form of a protection and control point on the enemies to the rulers. In order to subdue or attack the enemies who would infiltrate from Madikeri and Mangalore sides, Tippu sultan developed this fort about 1782 AD. This is neither a carved fort nor a quadrangular one, but of an untraditional form, with 8 angular limbs stretching in the eight directions. These limbs are built according to the rules of geometry. On the outside the fort lined with stone wall and guarded by the deep trench all around. The inner part of the fort is built of burnt bricks and binding lime mortar. At the geometric center of the fort there is a plus(+) shaped well with four outer corners four inner corners. Brick steps are arranged in order to claim down the well. At present the well is dry. On the banks of well are built two cool and exceptionally strong rooms, ment for preparing and storing explosive powder for use during war time. Along the inner flanks of the fort there are many rooms of diverse utilities such as Horse stables, Soldier camps, Guards service, food stores etc. There are defence chambers in all the eight angular corners in order to defend the fort by using guns. The fort is well equipped with platforms for cannons and arrangements behind the wall sectors to stand in position for shooting bullets from guns etc. There is a secrete entrance meant for transporting raw materials to the open area within the fort. Thus the Manjrabad Fort is both attractive and deserving to serve as a subject of study, of all the forts of Karnataka.

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