City Guide

The Mysore Palace, also known as Amba Vilas Palace, is a historical palace and the royal residence (house) at Mysore in the Indian state of Karnataka. It used to be the official residence of the Wadiyar dynasty and the seat of the Kingdom of Mysore. The palace is in the centre of Mysore, and faces the Chamundi Hills eastward. Mysore is commonly described as the 'City of Palaces', and there are seven palaces including this one; however, 'Mysore Palace' or 'Amba Vilas Palace' refers specifically to the one within the Old fort.

The land on which the palace now stands was originally known as mysuru. Yaduraya built the first palace inside the Old Fort in the 14th century, which was set ablaze and reconstructed multiple times. The old fort was built of wood and thus easily caught fire. The current fort was built of stone, bricks and wood. The current structure was constructed between 1897 and 1912, after the Old Palace burned down and the current structure is also known as the new fort.

Chamundeswari temple is situated on the top of Chamundi hill which is about 3,489 ft. above sea level and located at a distance of 13 Kms. from Mysore. The temple is dedicated to Sri Chamundeswari, the titular deity of the Mysore Royal Family also described as ‘Mahishasura Mardini’for having killed the buffalo headed demon Mahishasura.

There are two other temples dedicated to Narayana Swamy and Mahabaleswara. Sri Mahabaleswara temple was built before the beginning of the Hoysala rule. Epigraphical evidences indicate this area as Mabhala or Mabbala theertha and states that Hoysala. King Vishnuvardhana has given donations to this temple in 1128 A.D.

Mysore Zoo (officially the Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens) is a 157 acre zoo located near the palace in Mysore, India. It is one of the oldest and most popular zoos in India, and is home to a wide range of species. Mysore Zoo is one of the city's most popular attractions.

While mainly depending on entry fees for its financing, an adoption scheme introduced in the early 2000s has been a success. Celebrities, institutions, animal lovers and volunteers of various clubs in the zoo have contributed directly to the welfare of the zoo inhabitants.

St. Philomena’s Cathedral is a Catholic church that is the cathedral of the Diocese of Mysore, India. The full name is the Cathedral of St. Joseph and St. Philomena. It is also known as St. Joseph's Cathedral. It was constructed in 1936 using a Neo Gothic style and its architecture was inspired by the Cologne Cathedral in Germany. This is one of the tallest churches in Asia.

St. Philomena is a Latin Catholic saint and martyr of the Roman Catholic Church. She was a young Greek princess martyred in the 4th century. The remains of a teenage girl no older than 14 were discovered on 24 May 1802 in the Catacombs of Saint Priscilla at the Via Salaria in Rome. Accompanying these remains were a set of tiles bearing a fragmented inscription containing the words LUMENA PAXTE CUM FI, words of no known meaning in that order. The letters were rearranged to read PAX TECUM FILUMENA, which in Latin translates to Peace with you, Filumena. also some symbols of her martyrdom and a vessel, containing dry blood, was also found in the tomb. From these discoveries, it was concluded that a Christian named Filumena (Philomena) was buried in the tomb and the vessel containing blood was thought to be her relic, an evidence of a martyr's death.

Karanji Lake is a lake located in the city of Mysore in the state of Karnataka, India. The lake is surrounded by a nature park consisting of a butterfly park and a walk-through aviary. This aviary is the biggest 'walk-through aviary' in India. There is also a museum, the Regional Museum of Natural History which is located on the banks of this lake. The total area of Karanji lake is 90 hectares. While waterspread area is about 55 hectares, the foreshore area measures about 35 hectares. Karanji lake is owned by the Mysore Zoo Authority.

Karanji Lake was one of the favourite haunts of migratory birds like herons and egrets. But the lake started getting polluted when sewage from the nearby residential areas were let into the lake. This pollution led to the destruction of aquatic life in the lake and with the food-source getting depleted, the migratory birds started to avoid the lake.

Kukkarahalli Lake also called Kukkarhalli Kere (Lake is ‘’kere’’ in local Kannada language), located in the heart of the Mysore city, adjoins the Manasgangotri (University of Mysore), the Kalamandir (Rangyana) and the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) campus (separated by the Hunsur Road). It provides lung-space to the city. Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, (1794–1868) of the Mysore Dynasty (Kingdom of Mysore) was responsible for getting the lake created, in the year 1864, to provide water for irrigation to about 4000 ha (10,000 acres) of land outside the city. The Lake also used to be a source of water supply to the city of Mysore but over the years, sewage and excessive land encroachments (mostly illegal) and blockage of water flow sources almost led to the eutrophication of the lake.

Jaganmohan Palace is a palace in the city of Mysore, India. Its construction was completed in 1861 and was initially used by the Wodeyars, kings of Mysore as their home (when the present Mysore Palace (Amba Vilas Palace) was under construction after the previous palace burned down). It is now used as an art gallery and a function hall. The palace is one of the seven palaces of the royal city of Mysore.

In 1831, the Kingdom of Mysore, which had been in Subsidiary alliance with the British East India Company since 1800 AD, was seized by that company of tradesmen on a trivial pretext. The Royal Family were compelled to vacate their centuries-old palace and leave Mysore. The Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, took advise from British lawyers and filed a suit against HEIC in British courts, and the matter reached Queen Victoria's Privy Council. In 1858, following the Indian Mutiny, the HEIC was abolished, and the British government took over the administration of India. The Mutiny had taught the British that local aristocracy could be valuable intermediaries and bulwarks for their rule.

The Railway Museum was established in 1979 by Indian Railways, the second such museum after the National Railway Museum in Delhi. The museum is opposite the Central Food Technology and Research Institute on Krishnaraja Sagar Road. It has locomotives and a gallery of photographs and paintings depicting the growth of railways in India. Railway signals and lights are also displayed. The museum has a battery-operated mini-train giving a short ride for children on the grounds.

The Brindavan Gardens is a garden located 12 k.ms from the city of Mysore in the Mandya District of the Indian State of Karnataka. It lies adjoining the Krishnarajasagara Dam which is built across the river Kaveri. The work on laying out this garden was started in the year 1927 and completed in 1932. Visited by close to 2 million tourists per year, the garden is one of the major attractions of Srirangapatna. Sir Mirza Ismail, the Deewan of Mysore, a man with a penchant for gardens, founded the Brindavan Gardens (Krishnaraja Sagar Dam in particular) and built the Cauvery River high-level canal to irrigate 120,000 acres in modern Mandya district. He was inspired by Hyder Ali who had earlier built the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens at Bangalore.

The Nanjundeshwara Temple (also called Srikanteshwara Temple) is an ancient temple in the Hindu pilgrimage town of Nanjanagudu in the Karnataka state, Southern India. It is known for the ancient temple of the god Nanjundeshwara (another name for the god Shiva, also known as Nanjundeshwara). The Nanjundeshwara temple is located in the town on the right bank of river Kapila, a tributary of the Kaveri. Nanjangudu is also known as "Dakshina Prayaga" or "Prayag of South".

Nanju in Tamil means poison; the name Nanjundeshwara means the "God who Drank the Poison", a word that has its origins in the legend of the Great Churning of the Ocean of Milk; thus the town got the name 'Nanjangudu' which means "the abode of the god Nanjundeshwara".