Places to See in Mysore in 2 days– The trip started early morning. We left our place at 5 AM. Mysore was 150 km away from Bangalore making it the best weekend plan for the people of Bangalore.
Our journey from Bangalore to Mysore was not as easy as we expected as we did forget that it was a holiday and that pretty much explained the congestion on the roads.
Why Mysore?
Mysore known as the city of palaces is well renowned for its glorious history, art and culture, well-maintained heritage places, and mouth-watering delicacies. But hold on Mysore is more than that.
Mysore which was also used to known as the kingdom of Mysore was ruled by the famous Wodeyars. Their legacy and royalty can be seen at the magnificent Mysore palace which is no doubt considered one of the most beautiful royal palaces in India.
Mysore is also known to have seen the rise and revolt of Tipu Sultan, a mighty warrior who played a significant role in South India’s history.
5 Best known places to visit in Mysore
#1 GUMBAZ
Talking about Tipu Sultan, let me tell you the burial chamber of Tipu Sultan lies in the small town of Srirangapatna which is 18 km away from the center of Mysore.
Though Srirangapatna is now a small town earlier it used to be the capital during Tipu Sultan’s reign.
On our way to Mysore, we first headed towards GUMBAZ, a mausoleum of Tipu Sultan, his father Hyder Ali, and his mother Fathima Begum.
Tipu Sultan built this magnificent structure in 1782-84. It’s an impressive square-shaped structure surmounted by a dome.
The structure is surrounded by pillars of black hornblende and it has beautifully inscribed carved stone windows. The tomb is surrounded by gardens which adds beauty to it.
A burial place of Tipu Sultan and his family sounds fascinating and magnificent, right? But alas! It doesn’t look exactly what many of us might imagine.
The place looks dull, its paint coming off and not much crowd could be seen. If I talk about it’s location, the Gumbaz is situated at the end of the town making it a totally separate destination for visitors to visit.
There were only one or two shops in front of this place making it a peaceful destination.
#2 St. Philomena’s Cathedral
Our next destination was St. Philomena’s Cathedral, inspired by Cologne Cathedral of Germany. If you take a first look of the Cathedral, you might imagine yourself standing in Europe admiring one of the brilliant architectural icon.
Yes, that kind of mind-blowing architecture it has. The Neo Gothic styled Catholic church was built in 1956. The church’ floor plan resembles a cross.
It’s windows are stained glass illustrating the birth of Christ, the last supper, the crucifixion, the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus Christ. Below the main altar is a catacomb preserving the relics of the saint.
The church has been well preserved and maintained because by looking at this captivating beauty, you wouldn’t believe that it is more than 60 years old.
#3 Mysore Palace
The next stop was Mysore Palace which is in close proximity to St. Philomena’s cathedral. We reached there before 10 AM which is the opening time for ticket counters so we were hoping that we’ll get less crowd but what we got there was totally opposed to it.
The Mysore palace also known as Amba Vilas Palace used to be the official residence of Wadiyar dynasty and the seat of the kingdom of Mysore.
Historically, the palace was originally built of wood but was destroyed by a fire and then using the same foundation, the palace was rebuilt using stone, bricks and wood making it a fireproof since then.
The current structure was constructed completely in 1912 and it’s architect was a British person.
The architectural style of domes of the palace is commonly described as Indo-Saracenic, with blends of the Hindu, Mughal, Rajput, and Gothic styles.
Every part of the palace’s interior is an eye-catcher that can glue your eyes on, an attention-grabber that holds your interest, a mind-blower that is capable of taking you to another world and an amazement-maker that could stop anyone on track.
It was such a lavish house-filled artwork. The walls, pillars, and ceilings were not only painted but were intricately designed.
More than 100 years old palace still preserves the essence to captivate people is a mind-blowing thing in itself.
The palace is lit every evening between 7-7:30 PM except on Sundays, and yet we didn’t get the opportunity to witness it.
#4 Mysuru Rail Museum
Then we went to Mysuru Rail Museum. Have you ever wondered what trains of earlier times used to look like, how Maharajas and Maharanis used to travel?
You can have a clear glimpse of past travel in this rail museum. It’s an outdoor exhibit of vintage locomotives, it showcases a wide range of railway coaches, steam locomotives, carriages, and cars, some of which are over 100 years old.
Apart from this, it also includes an Austin railway car, the Maharani Saloon Carriage, the royal coaches which used to belong to the Mysore Maharajas.
The place is filled with greenery making it a really good photogenic scenery with all the vintage trains in the background.
#5 Brindavan Gardens
Now after visiting many places, we finally thought of giving ourselves a break. For that, strolling around the Brindavan gardens is not a bad idea.
So we moved on to Brindavan Gardens which took us some time to reach there because of its little far away location.
It was nothing but a park expanded over a large area and it was worth a visit. You can relax over there and click on some beautiful pictures.
Places to See Around Mysore ( Optional)
There are some exciting and adventurous places near Mysore that you can include on your itinerary such as
#1 Bandipur National Park
Bandipur National Park- which is 78km away from Mysore. Park is part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve making it the largest protected area in Southern India and the largest habitat of Wild Elephants in South Asia.
It was 5 PM when we left for Bandipur National Park and the 2hr drive was one of the best I have ever taken.
If you ask me for the reason, I’ll give all the credit to the amazing weather, it was drizzling at that time which made our journey more memorable.
There is no wrong in saying that “live for journeys, not destinations” and I felt that. The whole night it was drizzling and we were silently wishing that it would stop in the morning.
#1 Bandipur National Park Safari
My 2nd day started early morning because we need to catch up for a safari ride at 6 AM. We spent our last night at a lodge named Van Vihar.
There are very few lodges near Bandipur national park and when we were there, we couldn’t find a restaurant over there but you can definitely order food from your own hotel.
Luckily, the rain did stop when we woke up in the morning. When we reached Bandipur Safari Campus, we saw a huge line waiting outside the ticket counter but we were lucky enough because we had already bought the tickets online from the Bandipur official website and we were double lucky because we got the front seats.
The experience was good because jungles have always been a very fascinating place for me, be it for the natural beauty or the chirping of birds, or for the chance to look at the world of animals.
So, during the ride, we got to see peacocks, big lizards (officially known as Bengal Monitor), and some deer. Actually, families of deer would be the right word to describe it.
As we were moving back, our guide spotted a leopard who was on the top of a mountain we could barely see it with our bare eyes but our guide offered us his binoculars which was a great help.
After coming back, something caught our attention which was written on a wall beside the ticket counter and it was “We don’t have any contact numbers of the animals”. Impressive, right?
#2 Chennakeshava Temple, Somnathpur
was our last destination to be covered on this trip. A destination that deserves to be on the itinerary. Chennakeshava temple also known as Keshava temple is a Vaishnava Hindu temple on the banks of river Kaveri at Somnathpura, Karnataka.
This temple was consecrated in 1258 CE by Hoysala dynasty. It is located 38 km east of Mysuru city. The temple is an excellent example of Hoysala architecture.
The temple was an art gallery in itself that made me think about how skillful those artisans must be. I used to hear about the beauty of South Indian temples and this was the living example in front of me.
The guard told us that there are 3 other temples similar to this temple in the same region which are now in ruins.
The temple is built in Vesara style which is a mixture of Nagara (north Indian) and Dravidian style (south Indian). The outer wall of the temple depicts stories of Ramayana, Bhagavad Purana, Vishnu Purana, and Mahabharat.
Detailed carving can be observed on the walls depicting elements of culture, nature, and religion. There is a total of 3 deities placed on 3 Garbhagrihas.
The pillars, ceiling, and walls all depict some kind of story that has the immense power to grab your attention and not let you leave without grasping the ample knowledge it has.
Concluding our Mysore Trip From Bangalore
With this, we left for our homes in Bangalore with a bunch of memories and photographs.
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