Mysore receives a
good share of tourists because of its cultural heritage. The
maximum influx of tourists is during the Dasara festival.
Some of the well-known palaces in Mysore are the Ambavilas
Palace (also known as Mysore Palace), Jaganmohana Palace,
Rajendra Vilas, Jayalakshmi Vilas and Lalitha Mahal which
have been constructed by the Wodeyars. Another popular
tourist destination is the Chamundi Hill which has a Hindu
temple of Goddess Chamundeshwari at its top. Other religious
locations in Mysore include the Ganapathi Sachidananda
Ashram and the St. Philomena's Church. The Krishna Raja
Sagara dam across the river Cauvery and the adjoining
Brindavan Gardens are places which receive a lot of
tourists.
Mysore is also home to the following museums:
- The
Regional Museum of Natural History has exhibits on
plants, animals and the geology of the southern region
of India.
- The Folk
Lore Museum (1968). Located on the University of Mysore
campus, the museum exhibits over 6500 items of folk art
and craft from all over the state of Karnataka.
- The
Railway Museum exhibits vintage locomotives and is the
second such museum to be set up after the National
Railway Museum in Delhi.
- The
Oriental Research Institute, formerly known as the
Oriental Library established in 1891, contains over
33,000 palm leaf manuscripts.
Mysore is also
a place for health tourism, mainly related to Yoga and
receives lot of visitors from outside India who come here to
perform Yoga under masters like Pattabhi Jois. GRS Fantasy
Park and Planet-X are theme parks that also receive a good
number of people. Mysore Zoo is one of the largest of its
kind in India and is a popular place for kids. Mysore has a
number of lakes and among them, the Karanji lake and
Kukkarahalli lake are visited by many people. |
