Mysore
Former Capital Of The Kingdom Of Mysore Under The Wodeyar Dynasty; Home Of Mysore Dasara · Mysuru, Karnataka
The former royal capital of the Wodeyar kings, a city of gardens, markets and palaces in southern Karnataka, officially renamed Mysuru in 2014 but still widely known by its old name. Its centre is Mysore Palace, an enormous Indo-Saracenic building completed in 1912 after the old wooden palace burned, and one of the most visited monuments in India. Its halls of stained glass, carved doors and painted ceilings are impressive by day, but it is on Sunday and holiday evenings, when nearly a hundred thousand bulbs light the whole facade for under an hour, that it becomes unforgettable. Dasara, the ten-day autumn festival, is the city's great event, ending with a procession of decorated elephants through the streets. Around it are the Devaraja Market, among the best traditional markets in the south, the Chamundeshwari temple on Chamundi Hill, St Philomena's cathedral, and just outside the city Srirangapatna, the island fortress of Tipu Sultan. Mysore is also a world centre for Ashtanga yoga, and famous for silk, sandalwood and the sweet called Mysore pak.
Sayyaji Rao Road, Agrahara, Mysuru, Karnataka, 570001, India
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED; confirm before planning. The usual pattern: Mysore Palace is open roughly 10 am to 5:30 pm daily, with the last entry shortly before closing, and the illumination runs for under an hour, roughly 7 to 7:45 pm, on Sundays and public holidays, and every night during Dasara. Temples, including Chamundeshwari, open around dawn, close for a few hours at midday and reopen in the late afternoon. Mysore Zoo has had a weekly closed day, usually Tuesday. The traps: visiting without a Sunday, arriving at the palace at midday with the tour groups, and taking a taxi up Chamundi Hill and missing the Nandi.