Sakleshpur or Sakleshapura is a hill station town and headquarters of Sakleshpur taluk in Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located at 12.943°N 75.775°E. It has an average elevation of 933 m (3,061 ft) above mean sea level The town lies in the Malnad region on the hills of the biodiversity hotspot, the Western Ghats. It has a temperate climate surrounded with lofty green hills full of coffee, cardamom, pepper and areca plantations. Sakleshpur is known for its salubrious climate, and had earned the sobriquet Poor Man's Ooty during the British rule.

 

Belur was the early capital of the Hoysala Empire. Along with Halebidu about 16 km away are one of the major tourist destinations in Karnataka. Belur is located in Hassan district. According to inscriptions discovered here, it was also referred to as Velur or Velapuri. It was the early capital of the Hoysala kings in 11th-century and remained a second capital through the 14th-century. The city was so esteemed by the Hoysalas that it is referred to as "earthly Vaikuntha" (Vishnu's abode) and "dakshina Varanasi" (southern holy city of Hindus) in later inscriptions.The primary mode of employment in the Belur region is agriculture and tourism. Crops grown include coffee, rice, finger millet, pepper, cardamom, ginger and sugarcane, with paddy being dominant.Belur is home to a Vishnu-related Hoysala Hindu temple complex from the 12th century called the Kesava Temple at Belur. This temple along with Hoysaleshwara Temple and Jain temples in Halebidu have been proposed as UNESCO world heritage sites.