In the hill country of southwestern India, 540 mi/870 km southeast of Mumbai, the Mysore region is cooler than the coastal cities—one of the reasons so many maharajahs chose to live there.
The main sight in Mysore is the Mysore Palace built in Indo-Sarcenic style with beautiful domes, arches, turrets and colonnades; it was the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty. The Dushera festival is celebrated with traditional pomp and grandeur for nine days during October and November every year. Be sure to see the Nandi Bull, carved from solid stone, and a 2,000-year-old Hindu temple. Jagmohan Palace in the city center houses an art gallery that includes the traditional Mysore gold leaf and oil paintings by contemporary artists such as Raja Ravi Varma and Svetoslav Roerich.
Krishna Raja Sagar Dam lies 12 mi/19 km northwest of Mysore on the river Cauvery, built by Sir M.V. Vishweshwaraiah, who developed a unique system of building dams in the 19th century. Well-manicured Brindavan gardens stretch below the dam. The vibrant, musical fountains presented there at sunset are composed by creating a harmony of water, color, light and music. At the nearby Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary, migratory birds come all the way from Siberia, Australia and even North America.
There are several interesting sights within about a 100-mi/161-km drive: Bangalore; Sravanabelagola, with its impressive statue of Jain Saint Gomateshwara, cut from one rock; and Belur with its 11th-century Chenna Kesava temple, Halebid temple carvings and spectacular Jog Falls (one of the highest in the world). Every 12 years, the Sravanbelagola statue is anointed with thousands of pots of milk, curds, saffron, bananas and sandalwood.
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