Dakshin Bharat: Mysuru

The first time I visited Karnataka was in 2014. We landed in Bengaluru, the capital city, and an absolutely stunning weather awaited us.

Stretch from Bengaluru Airport to the city

Coming from Kolkata in the month of July, the weather was very welcoming. We were supposed to take a bus from Bengaluru to visit Mysore that day. We spent the morning with a friend of my sister's and left for Mysore that very afternoon.

140 kms from Bengaluru, Mysore, very famous for its sandalwood, is the third largest city in Karnataka. The historic settlement of Mysore is one of South India's most enchanting cities. It is located in the foothills of Chamundi hills and the weather was equally impressive. The city is well connected by road and trains.

We visited the Jaganmohan Palace. Over 150 years old, it was the home of the Wodeyars, kings of

Jaganmohan Palace

Mysore, when Mysore Palace was being built. It is mainly an art gallery now. The original paintings Raja Ravi Verma which are over 100 years old are preserved here.  Unique artifacts, paintings, coins, dresses worn by the royals are all preserved here.

Shri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, popularly known as the Mysore is one of the oldest zoos of the country.

Entrance to the zoo

The zoo was very well maintained and is one of the most popular destinations of Mysore.

The zoo was created in 1892 and was originally called the Palace zoo as it it was built on 10 acres of the summer palace of Maharaja Shri Chamaraja Wodeyar. The zoo was opened to the public after 10 years and now it is 157 acre zoo. I saw elephants, giraffe, zebras, tigers, leopard, a lot of deer, rhinoceroses, snakes.

I did not get a chance of seeing a white tiger in the zoo. There are anacondas. And it has around 10 elephants which is currently the highest number you will find in any zoo in India. It was raining the day we visited the zoo, still we covered most of it. The giraffes were a delight to watch and could be seen from a large distance, thanks to its height.

Next attraction of Mysore is the Chamundi hills. You can see the city of Mysore while travelling around the steep roads around the hill. 

City of Mysore

The average elevation of the hill is 1000 metres. 

We visited Nandi statue on the hills of the Chamundi hills, followed by the Chamundeshari Temple. I visited the temple in 2016 as well. Here are some of the snaps of the place:

Along Chamundi hills

Big Bull Nandi

Chamundeshwari temple

St Philomena's Church is yet another tourist attraction.

The church was constructed in 1936 using a Neo Gothic style and is also one of the tallest churches in Asia.

Mysore sight seeing is incomplete without the magnificent Mysore Palace and the Vrindavan Gardens.

Mysore palace is the official residence of the Wodeyars.

The carvings and the art work inside the palace is exquisite. It made me stare at the wall for a long time to see the beauty of it. The architecture and the carvings are a sign of what royalty means in India. Some of the beautiful snaps of the palace:

Google Image of the entire palace

Inside the palace (Google Image)

An illuminated Mysore palace. I didn't get a chance to watch this beauty yet (Google Image)

The last spot was Vrindavan Gardens. It is a garden located in the Mandya district of Karnataka.

Spread across a large area of land, it is a beautiful place with flowers and fountains. A large number of tourists were present and we couldn't visit the complete garden since it was getting dark.

The garden lies adjoining the Krishnarajasagara dam, built across Kaveri river. Small food stalls outside the garden gate were crowded with tourists. Gobi manchurian was found in almost all the stalls and it was a delicious snack with red sauce. The smell of boiled corns with butter and masala filled the place.

Things to look out for in Mysuru: Silk, Sandalwood, spices, Mysore pak (a special sweet).