To start with, I will mention about must see places in Mysuru so that you will be more excited to know about each of them in later part of this blog. The list goes like this.
1. Mysore Palace
2. Chamundeshwari temple
3. Jayachamarajendra Mrugalaya (Zoo Garden)
4. Nandi temple
5. Brundavana gardens, famously known as KRS
5. Mysore Dasara Exhibition
If you are planning for proper Mysuru tour, these are the must see places for you. Now let us go through what are the attractions in these places. Also let us know about what other activities are possible in and around Mysuru.
First of all, Mysuru is known for its world famous Dasara festival. This festival is celebrated as NaadaHabba which means festival of State. This happens during Navaratri period. Well, what is so special in that? You must be wondering right? There is a history for that.
Mysore state was ruled by Wodeyar dynasty kingdom. Wodeyars are considered as a branch of Vijayanagara kingdom which ruled Hampi and other regions of Karnataka. Wodeyars setup their empire in Mysuru, where we can see the world famous Palace now. They worshipped Goddess Chamundeshwari, whose temple lies on top of famous Chamundeshwari Hills in Mysuru. Being Kshatriyas, Wodeyars used to worship the Mother Goddess with all discipline and lots of arrangements during Navaratri period, the ninth day of which is called Ayudha Puja, where in the Kings had the practice of performing Puja for all their Ayudhas (weapons) and celebrated Vijaya Dashami the next day. By taking the blessings of the Mother Chamundi, the Wodeyars ruled the Mysuru state with clean administration. Every weekend, the palace will be illuminated by 1L bulbs, and the view of the same is a treat for eyes. Interesting history right? To know more about the Wodeyars and famous Dasara, please use Wikipedia. In a hurry? Checkout the famous Palace and Chamundi hills below.
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| Palace illuminated |
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| Chamundi temple |
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| View from top of the hill |
Our next place of attraction is Zoo. It is in foothills of the Chamundi hills. The place is spread across a vast area. One has to walk nearly 3-4KM inside the zoo to cover it completely. One can take water bottle along with them inside. However water is available inside zoo at few places. Also in middle of the zoo, there is a refreshment shop as well. You can get quite good refreshments to get rid of the tiredness one gets from walking a long distance. Though one has to walk such a long distance, the environment in the zoo makes it interesting and less tiring. One should visit this place to experience the zoo, hence no photos for this :)
As we finished these 2 attractions, next we move on to know what is KRS/Brundavana gardens. KRS stands for KrishnaRajaSagara. This dam is constructed across the river Kaveri in Mandya district. Since then this river has been called Jeevanadi in Karnataka. Famous engineer Sir.M.Vishweshwarayya was anchor in constructing this dam which is the lifeline for the state. Alongside of this famous dam, they have constructed a huge park with lots of flowers. Also they have constructed nice fountains and also musical fountain in this place which is the main attraction for people of all age groups. One cannot simply settle for the explaination from others to know about this beautiful place. They should make mind to explore it themselves and make memories out of it.
Last but not the least, Mysuru Dasara exhibition. This is the place one must feel to know the charisma of this beautiful heritage place. The exhibition starts from the period of Dasara and continues for about 2-3months. This will be organized just infront of Mysore Palace in Nanjanagudu road. If somebody goes to this place on a Sunday evening, they can capture the beauty of Majestic palace in their eyes and feel the taste of various special items in exhibition. Kids will also enjoy this place since it is filled with lots of colors and many gaming activities like Gaint wheel, toratora, roller coaster etc.
Summary:
1. Mysuru which is at a distance of 130KM from Bengaluru is very easily accessible from Bengaluru by public transport and private transport as well.
2. This is a must visit weekend getaway for all the new people in and around Bengaluru. Not only for the new people in this region, but for whole world. Because everybody knows how famous our Dasara festival is :)
3. This is a perfect weekend getaway.
4. One can plan their tour like below
Day1: Visit Chamundi temple in morning. On the way back to the city visit Zoo garden. By this time it will be evening. In evening, one can plan a visit to KRS.
Day2: Visit the Majestic Palace. There are couple of other palaces also one can explore.
Based on ones comfort, they can split the attractions across 2 days since there are lot of walking activity involved in Day1.
5. Do not miss the lighting of Mysore Palace, for schedule check google
6. During visit to zoo, make sure that you have carried some food items also with you.
7. If there is exhibition going on, make sure to give a visit to that place.
8. In KRS, explore the boating option and also musical fountain.
9. About stay options, there are plenty of hotels available for comfortable stay. One can visit Wikitravel for a complete list of best choices for hotel. One can also consider KSTDC Yatrinivas, which is at the heart of the city for comfortable stay.
10. Explore Mysuru tanga also.
11. You can visit KSTDC also for conducted tour to Mysuru.
12. For food, there are plenty of options, again look wikitravel for more information.
Hope this helps. Any suggestions are appreciated.
