Visiting Mysore

Mysore, Karnataka, the former capital of Wodeyar Dynasty and current cultural capital of the state, is the second biggest and cleanest city of Karnataka. Mysore is known for so many things, but foremost for the peaceful and helpful nature of the residents. The place has changed itself according to the time, but it retained its charm and pace. Travelling to Mysore is easy and there is so much to see:

1) Travelling: The nearest Airport to Mysore is Bangalore. You can fly to Bangalore and then travel to Mysore by road. Or if you can, you can travel to Mysore by road all the way from your destination. But the best of all is by train. You can plan your travel and book your tickets accordingly. You can also track train in India i.e. its statustime to time whether it is late or running on time. The most comfortable way to reach Mysore is via Bangalore.

2) Staying: Mysore has a number of good hotels. You can pre-book any of them according to your taste and budget.

3) Local transport in Mysore: Auto-rickshaws can be easily found for conveyance. During the day, they run by meter. In night, they charge 50% extra of the meter, and after midnight, it gets twice of the meter. You can also hire a private taxi for the day. Most of the hotels provide this service. Otherwise, there are a number of car rental companies. If you want to see the life of common people of Mysore, travel by buses that are run by the government. And if you want to take a close and leisure look to the city, hire a tonga.

4) Cuisine: Apart from the Idli and Dosas of Mysore, there are many more delightfully delicious cuisines in Mysore. Uppittu is another famous breakfast item. Other famous breakfast items are kesribhath, puripalaya, uttapam and vada sambhar. Lunch includes various dishes like palayas, kosambri, gojju, tovve, etc. You will also find a range of cuisines based on rice. And they have some unique desserts to offer you after meals.

5) Folk art: Rural Karnataka has varieties of folk arts like drama, dance, singing and puppet shows. These artists visit Mysore on various occasions to perform. It can be seen on many festivals especially Dusshehra. Yasksghagana, BessuKamsale and Somanakunitha are the popular folk art of Mysore and can be seen during Dusshehra festival.

6) Tourist attraction: Mysore is the city of palaces. There are a lot many palaces to be seen like Mysore Palace, Cheluvamba Mansion, Lalitha Mahal Palace, Jaganmohan Palace, Karanji Mansion, Jayalakshmi Vilas, etc. The Brindaban Garden and adjoining KRS dam should not be missed. The oldest Mysore zoo is also worth seeing. Then there is Chamundi Hills and St. Philomena's Church. You can also visit Chamundi Temple, Prasanna Krishnaswamy Temple, Lakshmiramana Swamy Temple, Mahabaleshwara Temple, Trinesvaraswamy Temple, Shweta Varahaswamy Temple. Then there are museums in Mysore that are worth visiting. To name a few, there is Sri Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery, Folk Arts Museum, Regional Natural History, Private Residential Museum, and Mysore Railway Museum. You can also visit places close by Mysore.

Plan a trip to this cultural capital and enjoy your holiday!