Mysore: Day Trip with family
Mysore: A family visit
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| Inside Mysore Palace (The Royal Court) |
Closest Airport: Mysore
Closet Train Station: Mysore
Date: 14th Jan, 2021
Distance from Bangalore: 200 km (via NH4/150A), 4 hours
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| Mysore palace from outside |
My elder sister (Didi) had come down to Bangalore, from Patna, with my adorable and beautiful niece Pihu. In fact, Pihu had come 3 weeks earlier with my younger sister Pinki. Didi had come for a week. We planned for family day trip to Mysore.
Reaching Mysore: We heard that a lot of road construction work was going on Mysore Road and it would be better to take NH75 even if it was longer. Since, it would take 4 hours one way, we decided to drive to Mysore evening earlier, spend night there and then cover as much we can during the day. We booked a big family room at KSTDC Mayura hotel in Mysore (close to Mysore palace). We started from Bangalore at around 5:30PM (after the office got over). We faced a lot of traffic inside Bangalore and just getting out of Bangalore and reaching Nelamangala took us more than 2 hours. The road after that is pretty good and with very less traffic. We made one halt to have our dinner. It was already 10:30 PM, by the time we reached to Mysore. The room was pretty big, with 8 beds and 2 bathrooms. Kids wanted to play a game of Catan before we retired to bed.
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| Big Family room of Mayura Hoysala, Mysore |
Day starts: We woke up at around 7AM next morning, and we were ready for breakfast by 9AM. After breakfast, we planned to make our first stop at Mysore Palace. We were there by 9:45AM and had to wait for 15 mins before the door was opened for visitors. We bought tickets near the main entrance. We deposited our shoes near Palace entrance and hired a guide which proved to a good decision. Guide explained us many things which I did not know of (and this was my 4th visit to Mysore palace).
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| Mysore Palace garden |
Mysore Palace is one of the most beautiful and the grandest palaces in India; It is a royal palace and official residence of Wadiyar Dynasty. It is located in center of Mysore and overlooks the famous Chamundi Hills. The current palace was completed in 1912, architected by British architect Henry Irwin during reign of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodiyar IV. The palace is surrounded by a very scenic large garden spread in acres of land. Inside of the palace is extremely rich in grandeur, with very expensive decorative items, 3D wall paintings (beauty and secret of which you will not be able to fathom without a guide explaining it to you), rich courts and halls.
We were out in about an hour, did some shopping in souvenir shop inside the compound and clicked many pictures in the garden.
Lalitha Mahal Palace: By the time, we started from Mysore palace it was 12:45PM. We decided to have lunch first and then head to other attractions. We decided to have lunch inside Lalitha Mahal Palace (which has partially been converted to a heritage hotel).
Lalitha Mahal Palace is second largest palace in Mysore was built in 1931. It is located at foothills of Chamundi hills.
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| Lalitha Mahal Palace |
You need to pay Rs.100/- person at the entrance which is refundable against the food. Contrary to Mysore Palace which is very colorful, Lalitha mahal palace is completely white from outside and very grand indeed. The grand ballroom has been converted into the dining area and looks very elegant. Service is a bit slow but food was good. Both the kids rode horses after the lunch and then we decided to head towards Chamundi hills.
Chamundi Hills: After lunch and few pics, we headed towards Chamundi hills which turned out to be a disappointment this time. There was too much construction and most of the views were blocked. Mahishasur Statue which used to stand tall and was easily visible from everywhere, stood small in front of those constructions. According to some some folk-lore, Mysore name was derived from Mahishasur as the place was village of Mahishasur.
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary: We decided to go to Ranganthittu Bird sanctuary the next, which is in Srirangapatna and approx 28 km (45 mins) from Chamundi hills. It is largest bird sanctuary of Karnataka, spread in 40 acres and 6 small islets. There are more than 100 bird varieties which nest and breed. Openbill stork, black headed ibis, spoonbill, kingfisher, Egret, Cormorant, Oriental darter, Pelican and Heron are come of regulars which breed here. During winter, thousands of bird migrate from Siberia, America and Australia, they build nest, lay eggs, hatch chicks and fly back by March end.
There is a boat ride which takes you around for 20 mins ride around couple of islands where you observe these migratory birds very closely and many crocodiles, bathing in the sun.
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| Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary |
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| Nesting and Hatching |
We had lots of fun during the boat ride, post that we went around the sanctuary, had some evening snacks.
Brindavan Gardens: Brindavan gardens was our last stop. It is 15 kms from the bird sanctuary. It lies besides KRS (Krishnaraj sagar) dam on the river cauvery. Many movies have been shot here depicted the beatiful flora of the gardens. In the evening they have a musical fountain show as well.
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| Brindavan gardens at night |
After enjoying the musical fountain show, we decided to head back to Bangalore at around 8. All were pretty tired. Stopped midway for dinner and reached back Bangalore by mid night.
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