This week, The Musafir Stories speaks to Subhadip Mukherjee from the blog Indian Vagabond

Today's destination: Mysore or Mysuru!

Nearest Airport: Mysore Airport (MYQ)  

Nearest Railway Station: Mysore Junction (MYS)

Prerequisites - Book early if you plan on traveling during the festive season of Dussehra (usually around Oct)

Packing - Pack light, make sure to carry appropriate clothing as it tends to get hot during summers

Time of the year - NA

Length of the itinerary: 2 days

Itinerary Highlights:

• Subhadip takes us on a speed date with the royal city of Mysore or Mysuru, the home of the Wodeyars!

• We start the day by making an early sprint to the Mysore Zoo, one of the older zoos of India and is home to a variety of animals. Plastic bags are not allowed inside the premises, so plan accordingly. The Mysore Zoo used to be home to penguins in the 1980s! Yep, it's true!

• After the zoo, we head towards the St. Philominas church, built in 1936. Don't miss out the relics of St. Philomina inside the church premises.

• Next stop to the railway museum to get first hand expereince of the cabs and wagons of the Mysore railway network that dates back to the British era.

• Jaganmohan palace and art gallery is a treasure trove for the art lovers. Noteworthy are the paintings of the famous painter Ravi Varma in this art gallery.

• You can spend some time at the Karanji lake, enjoying the nature and a serene boat ride!

• After savouring some art and nature, it is time to head to the Chamundi Hills that houses the famous Chamundeshwari temple and the statue of Mahishasura, from whom the city of Mysore gets it's name. Do stop for some fine viewpoints of Lalith Mahal palace enroute the Chamundi hills.

• Our first evening is a great time to head to the Mysore Palace (Amba Vilas palace), the iconic palace that symbolizes Mysore. Get a view of beautiful Indo-sarcenic architecture and interiors including arches, Darbar-e-aam, Darbar-e-khaas and ofcourse the beautiful lighting during weekends and Dussehra.

• One can also shop for sandalwood artifacts and momentos as well as mysore silk sarees in the vicinity of the Palace. If you want to explore the palace further, you can also visit the 12 temples within the Palace complex.

• Lalith Mahal is another one of the popular palaces in Mysore which is now a heritage hotel, but be prepared to pay for luxury!

• Another popular destination that one can spend an evening at is the Brindavan Gardens and KRS dam. The musical fountains and the variety of flowers and gardens are the mainstay of the garden. Make sure to catch a good spot to view the musical fountain show during the evenings. One can also enjoy a boat ride by the KRS dam, but this can be quite crowded during weekends.

• Other places of interest include Srirangapatna (which deserves an itinerary of its own), Ranganthittu bird sanctuary, Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav sanghralaya, National museum of Natural history, Folklore museum, Kukkarahalli lake among others!

• And last but not the least, do not forget to binge on some mouth watering Mysore Masala Dosa and Mysore Pak, the iconic dishes of Mysore!

Links:

Link to the blogpost

Link to the blog:

https://indianvagabond.com/

Thanks to Ashim D’Silva from Unsplash for this beautiful picture!

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