A Visit to Mysore Palace

littlevoice (55)in #travel • 7 years ago (edited)

It was a free Saturday and we were quite itching for a short trip anywhere outside of the city. We zeroed in on some hills at the outskirts of the city about 100 km from our home. There was, however, one place where most of us hadn't been to, and although it exceeded the distance we had initially planned to travel within, we just couldn't give it a pass. Not this time!

Mysore Palace is among the most famous tourist attractions in India, with around 6 million annual visitors. This palace is the official residence of the Wadiyar dynasty and the kingdom of Mysore. It was built in the late 19th century after the old palace was destroyed by fire. The construction cost was estimated around $ 4 million and it looks worth every penny.

7 AM

We packed our bags, put it in the car and were off after having the morning tea. We were expecting traffic on the way but unusually we didn't face much of those. We reached the palace around 10 AM and couldn't wait to explore the area.

10 AM

We got to the palace and it was a sight to behold. Being a weekend it was also very crowded as are most tourist places. We took the entry passes and continued walking inside.

10:20 AM

The architectural style of this palace is called Indo-Saracenic and has blends of Hindu, Rajput, Mughal and Gothic style. As we walked further we were greeted with a huge courtyard that had two lion sculptures guarding the entrance.

10:30 AM

As we walked further we were greeted with more architectural beauty. This is the audience hall which served as a place for musical performances

10:35 AM

This is the Kalyana Mantapa, or marriage hall, a grand, octagonal-shaped pavilion with a multi-hued stained glass ceiling with peacock motifs arranged in geometrical patterns. The entire structure was wrought in Glasgow, Scotland. The floor also displays a peacock mosaic, designed with tiles from England. Oil paintings illustrating the royal procession and Dasara celebrations of bygone years are displayed on the walls.

11 AM

There were parts of the palace where taking pictures was not allowed. We walked around the palace gazing at the beauty and trying to take it all in. Entry to some parts of the palace was blocked and wished we could go there. Finally, we came outside to have a proper look at it from the front which I think looks magnificent.

11:05 AM

2 PM

We also stopped by a small waterfall, more on that in the next post!
The palace looks best at night when illuminated with lights, an event that takes place on Dussehra and on Sundays between 7 PM to 7:45 PM