Mysore : A Day Trip

By Pass Road

After evaluating various routes to Mysore, I finally chose to go through Tumkur. We reached Tumkur at 9.35 am after covering a distance of 200 kms. Since there were no directions anywhere along the highway, I overshot the deviation towards Kunigal. After a brief navigation through the streets of Tumkur, we found the Kunigal road.

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The stretch of road to Kunigal was in pathetic strait. It took us an hour to cover 43 kms. We were looking for a decent hotel at Kunigal for breakfast and in the process, we headed towards Mangalore instead to Maddur. Very soon we realized the error and headed back to the correct route. We had to skip the breakfast; fortunately we had stock of banana and biscuits. We covered another 55 kms in 1.45 hrs to reach Maddur. The road to Maddur was definitely better than the road to Kunigal. One must be prepared for sudden appearance of huge potholes or speed breakers on this stretch.

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We had to break for lunch and we halted at Kadamba Veg Restaurent, adjacent to the bust stand. After spending an hour, we left to Srirangapattana. It is here that we joined the Bangalore-Mysore highway and we were glad to drive on this road. 

On the way, we crossed Mandya city; we covered another 52 Kms and reached Srirangapattana at 2.15 pm. We took to right and visited the fort. There was a signboard indicating places to visit inside the fort. A man offered his services as guide but we declined. Our first visit was to the spot where Tipu’s body was found.There was no point spending beyond 2 minutes there. We moved on towards the Colonel Bailey’s dungeon.

From mysore

From mysore

Just as we descended to the dungeon, the place was swarmed by school kids from Kerala. After managing to click few snaps we left in a hurry. Strangely, videographing was forbidden. We had to do with still photography only. We refreshed ourselves with tender coconuts; these were bigger and cheaper than the ones sold in Davangere.

There were few temples inside the fort, unfortunately for us we were early. We were told that the temples opened after 4 pm. The most famous, Ranganathswamy temple too was closed.

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On the way back, there was a signboard indicating another colonel’s dungeon but we failed to locate it. Also present in this area was the birthplace of one of the Mysore kings, which too was found locked. A mini museum was housed within Jayachamrajendra memorial chatra. It has no entry fee and photography is allowed.

From mysore

From mysore

From mysore

Also present was Tipu's erstwhile Lal mahal, which has been decimated (dismantled) by the British. Nothing but few broken walls and a signpost remains.

We crossed the highway again, took a left turn and went towards Dariya Daulat bagh (Tipu’s summer palace).

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This one was maintained by ASI. I had to pay a special fee of Rs.150 for video camera only to discover that photography/videography was prohibited inside the palace. I felt cheated. People with camera that can record video have unfair advantage over those possessing handycam. After walking through elaborate garden and wading through mass of tourist, we entered the palace.

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The walls and the roofs were all painted with intricate designs, a delight to the eyes.

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Placed inside the palace were artifacts of royal possession, paintings of Tipu and his family and much more. The palace closed at 5.30 pm and we left for Nimishamba temple, which is on the bank of Kaveri River.

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After the temple, we visited Ghosai ghat, which was basically a river bank. It gave a wonderful view of the flowing river.

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Fortunately there were none to disturb us. We left for Mysore at 6.10 pm and reached after covering 14 kms reached our hotel. We had booked accommodation at Nandini Hotel at Irwin Road situated close to KSRTC bus stand. 

Next morning, we started a little slowly (9.25 am). After breakfast our first destination was Chamundeshwari temple at Chamundi hills.

From mysore

From mysore

From mysore

Since we were late, there has a huge rush at the temple and we decided against entering the temple. As we descended the hills, we made a brief stop at the huge Nandi.

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After a brief break, we continued our tour at 10.30 am. Our next destination for the day was Talakadu.

From mysore

From mysore

The road towards Talakadu was excellent and was newly laid for the recent festival.

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We were a little confused whether to take or right turn at the circle. We took right turn and reached Talakadu at 12.30 pm after covering 52 kms. Although a guide is not essential, we were duped into hiring one. From an initial quote of Rs.350, we settled his fee for Rs.80. He sounded excited in his narration was uncertain and confused himself. There were few shiva temples buried in sand, that were excavated. 

From mysore

From mysore

From mysore

Besides shiva temple, there was a Vishnu and durga temple in the premise. The amount of sand present around this area is unbelievable. A local folklore suggests that the place was covered by sand following a woman’s curse. Whatever the legend, presence of sand in that area is baffling. I have a feeling that this area was once in the course of a river, which later got diverted. There were no good hotels around for lunch. We savored tender coconuts and left the place at 1.30 pm.

Over next destination was Gaganachukki / Barachukki falls.

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The road from Talakadu to the falls was in poor condition at most places.

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After covering a distance of 30 kms in 1.15 hours we reached the falls. We slowly descended the steps to reach the bottom. One has to tread carefully to avoid slipping at the steps. A breathtaking view of water rushing down awaited us. It is always the mass of tourists that spoils the view and serenity of the place.

From mysore

From mysore

From mysore

One has to be aware of monkeys, who are waiting to snatch away any edible stuff. We hired a coracle for fun-filled 10 minutes ride to towards the falls for a mere Rs.100. He took us close to the point where falls crashed down, paused for us to take photos and even gave us a spin. This was probably the best part of the trip. There were a few vendors selling snacks, cold drinks and tender coconuts. After spending a good 3.30 hrs, we left for Somanathpura.

It took us an hour to cover 43 kms of extremely poor road to reach Somanathpura. By the time we reached its premise, we learnt that it was closed for the day. We were dejected; if only the roads were good we could have arrived a lot early. Damn the government of Karnataka for the poor condition of roads. With sun setting and nothing else around to visit, we left for Mysore via T Narsipur Road and reached Mysore at 7.20 pm after covering 40 kms.

We had reserved the next day of the visit for touring within the city. Our first destination was the zoo. We were advised to be at the zoo by 9 am and so were we. There is no proper provision to park cars and at peak rush it becomes really difficult to park vehicle. I had to pay Rs.150 for using handycam. I had visited the zoo twice before but each time it impressed me. It is perhaps the best in the country and very well maintained.

From mysore

From mysore

From mysore

From mysore

From mysore

Strangely, there were wild animals on the roads too; they looked just like us but behaved just like wild animals. I can’t recall the animals but it contained many exotic and rare animals. As always, wild people continue to tease or feed animals and pollute the place. At places, officials insect visitors for possession of entry tickets and special tickets for photography/videography; hence it is strongly advised to retain the tickets. There were well maintained toilets and cafeteria to cater to visitors needs. Although our plan was to spend only 45 minutes, we ended up spending up 2.30 hours. By the time we exited the zoo, there were hundreds of people lined up to buy the ticket. We were glad that we visited early.

Our next destination was the Mysore Palace. Fortunately, a parking place was available for the visitors. After buying entry tickets we got inside the palace area. We were told that photography of any kind was prohibited inside the palace. One had to deposit their camera at a locker for a fee. Footwear too was prohibited inside the palace. There was facility to hire a guide or for a voice assisted tour.

From mysore

From mysore

It is difficult to describe in words the grandeur of the palace is a must-visit spot for any tourist. There were two parts of the palace to be seen, the second part was more like a museum. Since we were short of time, we could not visit the temple in the palace area. A camel and elephant ride was available for those interested. We were at the palace until 2 noon after which we had lunch and left for KRS Dam.

We reached Vrindavan garden at 2.40 pm after covering a distance of 24 kms. The road was good and there were properly marked directions. There was a good provision to park vehicles. We were advised to leave KRS early as it would become difficult to get our vehicles out. Besides entry fee, we had to pay an additional Rs.50 for using camera. A signboard mentioned that use of video camera was prohibited. We visited a small aquarium before treading towards the gardens. The aquarium too had an entry fee; some of the tanks were empty, some had wrong labels and some had different fishes in one tank. It was too hot to venture out in the gardens, so the children took to playing in the nearby park. While the children played I took to the gardens as I knew it was my best chance to photograph the garden minus the crowd. I am glad that I chose to photograph when it was still hot because the place was swarmed by maddening crowd by 4 pm.

From mysore

From mysore

From mysore

From mysore

From mysore

From mysore

One has an option of walking over a bridge or taking a boat ride to the other side of the garden to witness musical fountain. Anand decided to stay back while I and my family walked to the other side. There we were asked by the officials for the camera ticket. Since Anand had purchased the tickets, they were in his possession. I had to convince him about our position and he excused us with an advice to keep possession of ticket at all times. As the crowd started building up, we decided to skip the musical fountain show, which was to start at 7 pm. Unwilling to get stuck, we moved out of KRS at 6.15 pm. It took me almost an hour to get my car out of the parking lot as people started to come in from all directions. There were none to guide the vehicles in or out, hence people drove in all directions causing irrational jams. As we drove back we noticed incoming vehicles in two lanes for over two kilometers. There must have been at least two-three thousand vehicles coming in at that time. I guess many among them would have reached KRS after 8 pm (when the KRS closes) and many turned back without even getting opportunity to stop at KRS. I was told that most vehicles returned back to Mysore it after midnight. I suppose most of them had to miss their dinner. If one has to visit KRS, one has to start and leave early and if possible park the car as further form KRS as possible. We reached the city at 7 pm.

Next day, we visited Jaganmohan palace, which is now an art gallery. Since we arrived early, we got an opportunity to park the car and get an easy entry. As usual, we had to buy entry tickets and deposit our camera at the counter. The art gallery housed many photographs of the royal family, their belongings, artifacts among other things. Unfortunately, the flow of visitors was not very efficiently managed and sometimes many people had to squeeze through narrow wooden staircase. Of all the things that impressed me, it was Raja Ravi Varman’s original oil paintings. After spending an hour and half, we left for Mysore at 10.20 am. 

We reached Tumkur at 2.30 pm, where we halted for lunch. We continued our journey and traveling through Chitradurga, reached Davangere at 6 pm.

DISTANCE CHART
Davangere to Tumkur: 200 kms
Tumkur to Kunigal: 43 kms
Kunigal to Maddur: 44 kms
Maddur to Srirangapattana: 52 kms
Srirangapattana to Mysore: 14 kms
Mysore to Talakkad: 54 kms
Talakkad to Gaganachukki falls: 30 kms
Gaganachukki falls to Somanathpura: 43 kms
Somanathpura to Mysore: 84 kms
Mysore to KRS Dam (Vrindavan gardens): 24 kms