Why visit Mysore
- Mysore has beautiful palaces
- Traditional 10 day long Dasara festivities with an elephant procession
- Palace of Tipu Sultan
- Ranganthittoo Bird Sanctuary
In the heart of the city of Mysore is the magnificent Amba Vilas Palace, a treasure house of exquisite carvings and works from all over the world. A residence of the Wodeyars, built in the Indio-Saracenic style, the palace excludes a grandeur that is unmatched. The durbar hall, the Kalyana mandapa, the gallery and the Royal golden elephant throne, originally made of fig wood overlaid with ivory brought out only during the Dasara festival, are the main attractions here. To the west of the city palace is the Jaganmohan palace, built in 1902 a Neo-classical structure, which now houses an interesting collection of disparate objects including antique furniture, musical instruments, ceramics and ivory. The third palace is Lalitha Mahal Palace, formerly a private royal guest house now a hotel. A short distance from Mysore is Chamundi hill with the Chamundeshwari temple at the summit which was built in the 17th century. Nearby areas include Srirangapattana, the island fortress in the Kaveri river and Somnathpur, site of one of the finest representations of the Hoysla architecture, the Keshava temple. The Ranganthittoo Bird sanctuary covering 0.67 square kilometres of riverine islands in the middle of the Kaveri river is located in close proximity to Mysore. The Sanctuary attracts a large number of water birds during the nesting season especially from June to November.
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