Mysore Tourist Places - Most popular tourist destinations in South India

The abode of the royal family of Wodeyars, the Mysore Palace, also known as Amba Vilas Palace, is one of the largest palaces in India. Any trip to Mysore is incomplete without visiting it. The palace is the official residence of Mysore royal family, Wodeyars; who ruled over Mysore between 1350 and 1950. The history of Mysore palace goes back to the 14th century when the first structure was laid out. It is said that the very first construction was with wood. It was unfortunately struck by lightning in 1638....

Chamundi Hills can be simply called as the identifier of Mysore. This ancient temple is situated on a small hillock around 10 km from the city, dedicated to and named after Goddess Durga. The story of the shrine is narrated in ancient Markandeya Purana. Sumbha and Nisumba were the two demon brothers strengthened by the boons received through severe penances. They began to irritate the divine souls and the people of the earth. On their request to Goddess Parvati, she took the form of a young maiden and came down to Earth....

Karanji Lake is a fresh water located at the bottom of the Chamundi Hills. Because of its huge fountain installed inside the lake, it is also called Fountain Lake. It was dug initially as a percolation tank by the Mysore King, to serve as a source of drinking water for residents. It was converted into a reservoir in 1976 and since then maintained by the Mysore Zoo authority. It is spread across an area of 90 hectares of lush greenery. Out of 90, 55 hectares is the water spread area while the foreshore area is 35 hectares....

This breathtaking Chennakeshwara temple is one of the three famous & finest representations of Hoysala architecture next along with Belur & Halebid. This Vaishnavite temple was built in 1268 by Somanatha Dandanayaka, who was general of King Narasimha III during the Hoysala reign. By the time when the construction of this temple was over, Hoysala's reign was already more than 250 years old. It is said that Dandanayaka Somanatha had taken the permission of King Narasimha III to create a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, as the latter was also a devotee of Vishnu....

St. Philomena's Cathedral is a Catholic Church built in honor of St. Philomena. Philomena was the daughter of a monarch of a small state in Greece. The monarch and his wife had been childless for a long time. After a lot of prayers, they were blessed with a girl who was named Philomena. The girl was so charming and devoted to God since childhood. The monarch took his daughter along with him to Rome to seek help from Emperor Diocletian....

Mysore Sand Sculpture Museum is the first of its kind in India, located close to the Chamundi Hills. This Sand museum is the brainchild of MN Gowri, one of the leading sand sculptors of India. A bachelor in fine arts, Gowri, took 4 months of hard work and dedication to create this. This eco-friendly attraction established over a spread of lush greenery in an area of 13500 sq ft, was inaugurated in 2014....

Devaraja market is one of the best and oldest markets in the heritage city Mysore which was built during the rule of Chamaraja Wodeyar IX with the Indo-Muslim architectural style. It is the right place if you want to get the local flavor of everyday Mysore life. With 100 years of existential history, this market is a good example of a South Indian bazaar. The environment here is noisy, vibrant, a bit chaotic, yet colorful at the same time. The market is oriented along the Sayyaji Rao Road....

Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, popularly known as Mysore Zoo, it was established in the year 1892. Mr. G.H. Krumbiegel, a German Landscaper and a horticulturist was the responsible for this natural habitat for exclusive wildlife creatures. Spread in an area of 78 hectares, the zoo houses 1450 specimens comprising 168 species representing more than 25 countries. It attracts more than 3 million visitors annually....

Mysore Rail Museum, established in 1979 by the Indian railways, the rail museum is the second of its kind, after the National Railway Museum in Delhi. It is run by the South Western Railways and displays vintage steam locomotives, railway carriages, inspection cars, telecommunication equipment and other objects related to the railways. One of the major attractions of the museum is the Chamundi Gallery....

Situated at a distance of 90 km West of Mysore, the Namdroling Monastery or the Golden Buddhist Monastery, officially Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargyeling is the world’s largest teaching centre of Nyingmapa – a lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastery was established in 1963 by throne-holder Pema Norbu Rinpoche, shortly after his exit from Tibet as the second seat of the Palyul Monastery, which is one of the six great Tibet Nyingma Mother monasteries....

Shortly called as KRS dam, the majestic KrishnaRajaSagar Dam, located in Mandya district, was built at the confluence of three rivers Kaveri, Hemavathi & Lakshmana Thirtha. The construction work of the garden was started in 1927 and completed in 1932. It was built under the guidance of an eminent engineer Sri Visveswaraya and named after the then ruler of Mysore kingdom Krishnaraja Wodeyar....

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is a piece of land on the bank of Kaveri in Mandya district. It is the largest bird sanctuary of the state. The sanctuary is named after the Lord Ranganathaswamy, the nearest temple in Srirangapatna. The famous ornithologist Salim Ali noticed that the islets were an important nesting ground for a number of endemic birds. He requested that the region should be protected and leave it for the birds....

At a distance of around 90 km from Mysore in Mandya district, this majestic waterfall forms from river Kaveri. Shivanasamudra, literally translates to ‘Shiva’s sea’, is the second largest waterfall in India. The falls is almost 890 meters wide and 320 feet high. Here, the river Kaveri splits in two separate places namely Gaganachukki and Bharachukki and they reunite at the downstream with great velocity as Shivanasamudra falls....

One of the few river islands in India, this Srirangapatna river island in Mandya district is more famous for this Vishnu temple, than its geography. Ranganathaswamy Temple Srirangapatna, the presiding deity here is Lord Ranganatha in a reclining position. According to Hindu mythology, the river Kaveri is considered equivalent to river Ganga, in that she cleansed all the sins of those who bathed in her....

Daria Daulat Bagh, which literally translates to ‘wealth of the sea’, is famously known as Tipu’s Summer Palace. The construction of this palace by the famous ruler of Mysore, Hyder Ali in 1778 and completed by his son Tipu Sultan in 1784. Tipu Sultan considered this construction as ‘Abode of Happiness’ and ‘Envy of Heaven’. It is a rectangular palace built in Indo Saracenic style of architecture on a raised platform, made of teakwood with open corridors and wooden pillars....

Gumbaz is the burial chamber built by the famous ruler of Mysore, for his parents Hyder Ali and Fakhr-Un-Nisa. It was raised in 1784 to honour his father Hyder Ali especially for his rule. Also known as Tipu Sultan’s Mausoleum, this chamber is located close to Tipu’s Summer Palace in the Daria Daulat Bagh. Along with his father, Tipu was also allowed to be buried here, following his death in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore war with British in 1799....

Nanjangud is a temple town on the banks of Kabini river. The Srikanteshwara Temple is dedicated to Nanjundeshwara (God who consumed poison), a form of Lord Shiva. As per Hindu mythology, while the Gods and the demons churned the ocean for nectar of immortality, poison emanated first out of the ocean. To prevent the poison from spreading across the universe, Lord Shiva came to the rescue and drank it. That is how the Lord got this name and the shrine is described as one who cures diseases of his devotees....

Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple, located around 50 km from Mysuru, this Vishnu temple comes under Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district. Also known as Thirunarayanapuram, this temple is built on granite rocky hill that comprises some of the oldest rock formations on earth overlooking the Kaveri river valley. The temple has strong connections with the 12th century Tamil Vaishnavite saint and social reformer Ramanujacharya....

Spanning across 875 sq km in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Bandipur National Park and Tiger Reserve is located in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka, bordered with Nilgiris of Tamil Nadu. Once used as a hunting ground by the then rulers of Mysore, it was designated as a reserve forest in 1931 and upgraded as a tiger reserve in 1973. It was one Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, who was a keen wildlife enthusiast, worked harder to protect the forests....