Places of Interest

The Mysore Palace is open all days of the week, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It is worth lingering just outside the Palace till 7:00 pm (in some seasons, it is 7:30 pm) for the palace lighting to be turned on. The sudden change is breath-taking. Not visiting the Palace is like staying in Agra and not visiting the Taj Mahal.  

The Jaganmohan Palace, just opposite one of the gates of the Mysore Palace, along with the rich art collection there, is also worth a visit.

Please get up early and experience a walk before 7 am around the 150-acre expanse of Kukkarahalli Lake right across the road from our home. It is also a bird sanctuary, and the 4.5 jogging-walking track of over 4 kms around it offers beautiful lake views that morph as you walk, as well as dense greenery all around. You will probably want to do it every morning! The sunsets at Kukkarahalli are so beautiful that Kuvempu and RK Narayan, two great Indian authors, have sung its praises. Lingabudi Lake, on the outskirts of the city near Srirampura, is also worth a visit.

Mysore boasts one of the best maintained zoological gardens in Asia, spread over 250 acres, including the Karanji Lake (which is a bird sanctuary). Please reserve a whole morning for viewing the zoo. It is a wonderful morning's visit for adults and children alike. If you are among the early visitors, you may be able to book a golf cart to take you around (that may be great for any senior citizens accompanying you, though kids will also enjoy it). The zoo and Karanji Lake is closed on Tuesdays, and is open from 8:30 to 5:30 on all other days.  

Besides, the Chamundi Temple (about 8-9 kms from our home), Railway Museum, Srirangapatna (15 kms outside Mysore) - the capital of Tipu Sultan, Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary (very near Srirangapatna) are worth seeing,  

Places in and around Mysore worth a visit include wildlife sanctuaries like Bandipur National Park and Nagarhole National Park, River resorts like Kabini, Hill stations like Ooty and Coorg (also called as Mercara, Madikeri or Kodagu), waterfalls like Shivanasamudram (sometimes locally referred to as the "bluff") and Balamuri, plus many other probably lesser known places like Bylakuppe Tibetan Golden Temple and Dubare Elephant Camp (where you can give the elephants a bath) on the route to Coorg, places of historical interest like Sravanabelagola, Halebid and Belur and temples like Nanjangud are all worth seeing. There are also lesser known attractions like the Bonsai Garden, Wax Museum and Regional Museum of Natural History.