Most visitors to Mysore come for the palace and leave with little else. They walk through the royal rooms, take a photo of the illuminated facade after dark, and declare the city done. This is a mistake. The palace is extraordinary, but Mysore is a city built on craft, conquest, and ritual. It rewards anyone who stays a day longer.
The current Mysore Palace opened in 1912, after the previous wooden structure burned down in 1897 during a wedding celebration. The British architect Henry Irwin designed the replacement in the Indo-Saracenic style, a hybrid of Hindu, Muslim, Rajput, and Gothic elements. The exterior is dominated by a five-story tower with a gilded dome, and the interior contains 200,000 electric bulbs that light up the building every Sunday evening and during festival periods. The effect is theatrical, not subtle. Photography is forbidden inside, which is a mercy. The Kalyana Mantapa, the marriage hall, has a stained-glass ceiling with peacock motifs supported by cast-iron pillars from Glasgow. The Amba Vilas, the private durbar hall, contains a carved mahogany ceiling and enough ivory inlay to make modern conservationists wince. Entry costs ₹100 for Indian nationals and ₹600 for foreigners, with an audio guide available for ₹200 in English, Hindi, Kannada, and several other languages. The palace opens at 10:00 AM and closes at 5:30 PM. Arrive before 10:00 AM to avoid the worst of the crowd, or visit during the week to skip the Sunday illumination spectacle, which draws thousands of domestic tourists.
Chamundi Hill rises 1,062 meters above the city and is visible from almost everywhere in Mysore. The Chamundeshwari Temple at the summit dates to the 17th century, though the site has been sacred far longer. The goddess Chamundeshwari, an incarnation of Durga, is the family deity of the Wodeyar dynasty that ruled Mysore from 1399 until Indian independence. The current temple structure is a Dravidian pyramid tower in gray granite, and inside the sanctum the deity sits in solid gold. The 1,008 stone steps to the top are climbable early in the morning before the heat sets in. Most visitors drive or take the bus. The Nandi statue halfway up the slope is carved from a single block of granite and measures 4.9 meters long. It was built in 1659 and is one of the largest Nandi bulls in India. There is no entry fee for Chamundi Hill or the temple, though a special queue for quick darshan costs ₹25. The temple opens at 7:30 AM, closes at 2:00 PM, reopens at 3:30 PM until 6:00 PM, and again from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM. Photography is not allowed inside.
St. Philomena's Cathedral is the other architectural landmark that deserves attention. Built in 1936, it is one of the largest neo-Gothic churches in India and was designed by a Frenchman, Daly, after the Cologne Cathedral in Germany. The twin spires reach 53 meters, and the interior contains stained glass from France depicting biblical scenes. The crypt houses a relic of Saint Philomena, a Greek princess martyred in Rome. The church is on Ashoka Road, about 2 kilometers east of the palace, and entry is free. Mass is held daily at 6:00 AM, 7:30 AM, and 6:00 PM. Even for visitors with no religious interest, the building is worth the detour for its scale in a city otherwise dominated by Hindu and Indo-Islamic architecture.
The Jaganmohan Palace, built in 1861, now functions as an art gallery and is the better choice for visitors who find the main palace too crowded. The collection includes paintings by Raja Ravi Varma, the 19th-century artist who defined the visual style of Hindu mythology for mass reproduction, as well as work by the Russian painter Svetoslav Roerich, who lived in India from 1923 until his death in 1993. The building itself is a simpler example of the same Indo-Saracenic style as the main palace. Entry is ₹100 for Indians, ₹300 for foreigners. It opens at 8:30 AM and closes at 5:30 PM.
Devaraja Market is where Mysore's identity as a trading city survives. The market building was constructed in 1880 under the reign of Chamaraja Wodeyar and covers 3.5 acres near the main bus stand. The layout is a series of covered aisles devoted to specific goods: flowers near the entrance, then fruits and vegetables, then spices, then sandalwood oil and incense. The flower section is the most photogenic, with vendors threading jasmine and marigold into garlands for temple offerings. The sandalwood section is the most expensive. Mysore has been a center of sandalwood carving for centuries, and the oil distilled here is still considered the finest in India. A small vial of pure sandalwood oil costs between ₹800 and ₹2,500 depending on concentration, and the price is non-negotiable in the better shops because the supply is controlled by the Karnataka government. The Mysore Sandalwood Oil Factory on Sayyaji Rao Road offers guided tours on weekdays at 9:30 AM and 3:00 PM. Entry is free but requires advance booking through the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited website.
Silk is the other craft that defines Mysore. The Mysore Silk Weaving Factory on T. Narasipura Road was established in 1912 by the Maharaja of Mysore and is still run by the Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation. The factory uses pure mulberry silk and 22-carat gold thread for its sarees, and a single genuine Mysore silk saree takes 15 days to complete and costs between ₹8,000 and ₹50,000 depending on the weight of the zari. The factory showroom sells directly to the public, and there is a small museum on-site explaining the rearing of silkworms and the handloom process. The factory is open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and entry is free.
The city's most important festival is Mysore Dasara, held during the ten days leading up to Vijayadashami in September or October, depending on the lunar calendar. The festival celebrates the victory of the goddess Chamundeshwari over the buffalo demon Mahishasura, after whom the city is named. The climax is a procession on the final day in which the idol of the goddess is carried through the city on a golden howdah atop a decorated elephant, followed by marching bands, dancers, and cavalry in period uniform. The palace is lit with 100,000 bulbs for the entire ten days. Dasara is the worst time to visit if you dislike crowds, and the best time if you want to understand how the city still organizes itself around its royal past. Hotel prices triple and buses from Bangalore run every ten minutes. Book accommodation at least two months in advance.
For food, Mysore operates on a different schedule than North India. Breakfast is taken seriously, and the best place for a traditional meal is Vinayaka Mylari on Doora Road, a restaurant operating since the 1920s that serves only three items: neer dosa, a thin water-rice pancake; ghee rice; and a vegetable curry that changes daily. The Mysore masala dosa, distinct from the Chennai version for its softer texture and red chutney spread inside, is available at Mylari and at Hotel RRR on Irwin Road, where the dosas are cooked in pure ghee and served on banana leaves. Neither restaurant has a menu in English, and neither accepts credit cards. Expect to pay ₹80 to ₹150 per person. For filter coffee, the South Indian preparation with chicory and boiled milk, try the stand outside the Devaraja Market main entrance, where a cup costs ₹15 and the vendor has been using the same brass equipment for twenty years.
The Brindavan Gardens, 21 kilometers northwest of the city at the Krishnaraja Sagar Dam, are the standard day-trip recommendation. Laid out in 1932 in the Mughal and Persian styles, the gardens have symmetrical terraces, fountains, and topiary. The musical fountain show runs at 6:30 PM on weekdays and at both 6:30 PM and 7:30 PM on weekends. The gardens are well maintained but generic. More interesting is the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, 16 kilometers northeast of the city, where the Kaveri River broadens into islets that host nesting colonies of painted storks, spoonbills, herons, and egrets between June and November. Boat tours cost ₹100. The sanctuary opens at 9:00 AM and closes at 6:00 PM. Entry is ₹100 for Indians, ₹400 for foreigners.
Practicalities. Mysore is 140 kilometers southwest of Bangalore and is connected by road and rail. The Shatabdi Express covers the distance in two hours from Bangalore City railway station. The Mysore airport has limited domestic flights; most international visitors fly into Bangalore and travel by road or train. Within the city, auto-rickshaws are plentiful and should be hired with the meter or negotiated in advance. Ola and Uber operate but can be scarce in the early morning. The climate is tropical, with temperatures between 20°C and 35°C year-round. The coolest months are November through February. October and March are transitional and comfortable. April through June is hot, and the monsoon arrives in July and continues through September. The most pleasant time to visit, if you are not coming for Dasara, is November or February.
What to skip. The Mysore Zoo, established in 1892, is one of the oldest in India but is cramped and controversial among conservationists. The wax museum on the palace grounds is unnecessary. The regional rail museum is of interest only to dedicated train enthusiasts. Most visitors stay two days, which is enough for the palace, Chamundi Hill, the market, and one meal at a traditional restaurant. Three days allows for the art gallery, the silk factory, and the bird sanctuary without rushing.
By Elena Vasquez
Cultural anthropologist and culinary storyteller. Elena spent a decade documenting traditional cooking methods across Latin America and the Mediterranean. She holds a PhD in Ethnography from Barcelona University and believes the best way to understand a place is through its kitchens and ancient streets.