Everyone who has migrated to Bangalore from other parts of India should definitely visit Mysore atleast once. Why? Because you would understand Bangalore and Karnataka much better if you did. We did a 3 day trip of Mysore from Bangalore by car. Here is a review cum travelogue.History: Mysore was the capital of Wodeyar dynasty for most part of its rule of 550 years from 1399 till 1956. Unlike the other historical cities in India, it was not destroyed by the stronger invaders because of Wodeyar’s tact of becoming a feudatory to the empires.
Hence Mysore’s palaces and buildings were left alone by the British and the Vijayanagar armies and Wodeyar paid subsidy to them while retaining the rights of administration and rule. Although the extant of "Mysore State’ included a good part of TN and Kerala in its glory days, for much of its ordinary history Wodeyars had the entire region of present day Karnataka under their control.
Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV (1894-1940) and Chamaraja Wodeyar (1881-94) built most of the attractions (see below) existing to this day in Mysore. For a good part of 1800-1900 Mysore was under the British Commissionars - Mark Cubbon & Bentham Bowring. These guys built most of the structures in present day Bangalore as well..
Almost all of Bangalore places & names originated from Mysore heritage - KR (Krishnaraja) Puram, JC (Jayachamaraja) Road, Cubbon Park, Bowring hospital are named after, while Cantonment, High Court are buildings directly built by British from Mysore.I also learnt that KR was listed as one of the richest people in the world in 1910 with a networth of $400 million at that time!
Travel: Mysore road is excellent. You should check if you can take the peripheral ring road that joins the Mysore Road after Rajarajeswari nagar instead of driving on this road right from city center, JP Nagar etc. This would save you atleast an hour of your journey of 140 kms from Bangalore. Do some research on the PRR and where you can join it from your locality.
Everybody travels to Mysore on the weekend from Bangalore, so expect good traffic to Mysore on Friday eve/Sat morn and from Mysore back on Sunday evenings.Travel time by car: 2.30 hours excluding breaks. Food on the way: Kamat Lokaruchi after Ramanagara, Maddur Tiffanys for the Vada just before Maddur and Indradanush just after Channapatna for south Indian snacks.
Toilets available at all three placesStay: Lots of options. Areas around the palace (Sri Harsha Road) are very crowded and has lots of hotels. This place has the bus station and lots of cinema halls as well. At Hotel Roopa, good rooms start at Rs. 600/day and has parking space for cars. Hotel SVCDS is very old and shabby, does not have parking. You just walk around this locality and take one that suits your taste.
Hotel President and Pai Viceroy looked luxurious, we didn’t try those. If you want to stay away from all this hustle and bustle of the city, there are lots of resorts to choose as well. Google for it. There is a Ginger hotel too.If you want to stay at KRS Brindavan Gardens there is a Royal Orchid at an excellent vantage place atop the gardens. This should be an excellent option, but KRS is 18kms from Mysore.
Places that we saw: In Mysore:Mysore Palace: In city center, this is Wodeyar’s residence till date. Open 10 AM till 5 PM. It has a museum and a temple too. Requires 5 hours for a leisurely walk through. Be prepared for aching legs thanks to continuous walk around the place. If you take a guide (100 Rs.) he will explain everything about the life and times of Wodeyar along with their day-to-day life. On Dusserra, the palace comes to life with a traditional and a must-witness ceremony.
Mysore is jam packed at this time. Conversation with palace workers (they claim serving the family for 40 years) will reveal that the Wodeyar family still lives in the same palace that you take for granted as a picnic spot! Cauvery handicrafts store: In Devaraja market.
This is a government run shop that has good handmade sandalwood, silver and metal, silk and soaps, perfumes etc. Recommended if you are intent on doing ‘Mysore themed’ shopping. This shop is a bigger version of Cauvery shop in Brigade road. Other shops that are present all over the Mysore city sell mostly fakes.There are lots of places to see in the city.
Tourism sites list St. Philomena’s Church, Zoo, Karanji lake and natural park, Jaganmohan Art gallery, Rail Museum, Government Silk factory, Sandalwood soap factory & Lalith Mahal Palace. We skipped these.Close to Mysore (less than 1 hour)Srirangapatna: 15kms from Mysore on the Bangalore Mysore road, this is Tipu Sultan’s capital when he briefly ruled the place.
Places to see: Jamia Masjid (mosque), Daria Daulat Ganj (summer palace), Ranganatha temple and Gumbaz (Tipu’s tomb). Other Tipu’s buildings like Fort, Lal Mahal Palace are destroyed by the British and only ruins are present. Recommended to visit in the mornings and for half-a-day. Ranganathittu: 13kms from Mysore, enroute to Brindavan Gardens & 4 kms deviation. Island, garden and bird sanctuary. A boat ride into the Cauvery for 30 minutes gives you a glimpse of migratory birds from around the world.
Recommended mornings/afternoons, the place will be closed at 5PM. 2 hrs sufficient, but you can spend a day wandering around Cauvery. KRS Dam and Brindavan Gardens: 18kms from Mysore. Recommended to visit in the evenings and stay till 7.30PM when the place is lit. KRS Dam is Visvesvaraya built, Wodeyar funded and is huge, a must see..
As well as the water fountain themed garden. It gets thronged by people on weekend evenings. Be prepared for a 4 km walk on a gradient up laced with steps & down. Chamundi Hill: 10 kms from city center. Has a Chamundeeswari temple atop a hillock and views of Mysore city from vantage points.
For Mysorites this a weekend picnic spot. Avoid on Sundays and Government holidays since it will be thronged with people these days. Around Mysore: (3 hrs from Mysore)Ha, there are so many places. Nagarahole (Bandipur National Park), Wayanad (Muthanga/Periyar/Mudumalai National Park), Madikeri (See Kodava Trails, my review), BR Hills, Shivanasamudra and many others. You can read reviews from others on these places if you want to combine any of these areas along with your Mysore expedition. Happy traveling!