In And Around Mysore : Trip Report

Mysore beckons. It is a mesmerising city that continues to exude an old world charm. One can never have enough of it.

Naturally, we seized a recent opportunity to return. In spite of being peak May summer, the weather was pleasant enough and infinitely more bearable than in Mumbai. Magical Mysore v/s Muggy Mumbai?? How's that for comparison.

A minor hitch was that most of the lower priced hotels were full, being tourist and wedding season. We ended up courtesy Google search, at the Mulberry Bay (www.mulberrybay.in), a service apartment that turned out to be most comfortable, and reasonably priced. Gayathri, the gentle young lady who runs it, ensured that we had a very pleasant stay with superlative home cooked typical Mysore style breakfast and dinners.

What we enjoyed in Mysore city:
The fairy tale vista of the illuminated palace from the Chamundi Hills. Illuminations from 7pm-10pm weekends, holidays and in 'season'.




We went again in the morning to see the large Nandi Bull monolith and the imposing Mahishasura statue at the Chamundeswari temple.





A bonus was to see a pair of small mongooses scurrying through the hillside.

The Mysore Palace itself was well worth the visit. The Kalyana Mandapam (Marriage Hall) is particularly impressive. It is a pity that photography is not permitted inside the palace, perhaps to encourage sales of their own picture postcards!

Karanji Kere: Behind the Mysore zoo, this is a beautiful lake that is also a natural nesting site for avifauna.







Pelicans sailed gracefully on the lake giving us much delight. We don’t see wild pelicans in Bombay! There is also a small walk through aviary. I could not find the hornbills, but there were plenty of peacocks proudly displaying their glorious feathers. A small islet has been turned into a butterfly habitat, with profuse growth of larval host and nectar shrubs. It was full of Blue Tigers and Eggflies, and must surely attract several more species in their season.

Mysore Coffee which was consistently superb. We stocked up on premium coffee from Gayathri Coffee Works. It was surrounded by several other Coffee Works, all milling with customers. With so much competition, they must all be equally good but we stuck to Gayathri based on the excellent coffee we had bought on a previous visit.

Sweetmeats from Mahalakshmi Sweets. I am still gorging on the last remnants of their melt in the mouth, ghee laden, moong dal variant of Mysorepak!

What was disappointing:
Dasaprakash: Food was tasty but not up to much hyped expectations. Very good service.
Vishnu Bhavan: Terrible. Appalling service and nondescript food. We went there on the recommendation of our taxi driver but the hotel was more interested in catering to tour groups. Never again.

We could not find Mylari which must wait for the next visit.



Day trips around Mysore:

Another plus point of Mysore is its close proximity to several places of natural beauty.

One day was spent in a series of gentle walks through the Maldare forest where a cute Giant Squirrel greeted us from his lofty bamboo perch. More walks followed along lush coffee plantation roads around Siddapur, Polibetta and Ponnampet. We enjoyed this area of Coorg immensely on our previous trip and just had to return. It is a perfect place for walking.

From Ponnampet, we attempted to go to the Iruppu falls but turned back due to the deteriorating condition of the road. Returning to Mysore via the Nagarhole forest road, we saw a majestic tusker quietly minding his own business by the side of the road. What a splendid sight!






To Bandipur the next day. A fascinating little pond barely out of Mysore city limits, alongside the busy Mysore-Ooty highway, was chock full of pelicans, assorted ducks, cormorants, darters, ibis, purple moorhens and many more. We could have spent the entire morning here. Delightful!






The Bandipur forest starts from just beyond Gundlupet. No need to do any 'safari' here for elephants, spotted deer and monkeys are easily seen near the road, despite the traffic.




Prominent signboards with "No Parking, No Stopping, No Feeding Monkeys" and so forth, put paid to our walking plans. Nonetheless, we managed to sneak in a short walk through a little trail just beyond the TN border. Our driver helpfully suggested that we drive back and take the Gundlupet-Sulthan Bathery road where we could walk in the forest without restriction. This is also part of the Bandipur NP which becomes the Muthanga Sanctuary at the Kerala border. There was a lot less traffic on this road and the "No Parking etc" signboards were replaced with "Drive Slowly, Wildlife Crossing". This side of the forest was full of spotted deer, literally herds of them at every turn, and we also saw pugmarks on a side trail, perhaps of a leopard. Near the Kerala border, a riverine stream with gushing rapids added to the sylvan setting. The appearance of fresh dung was a gentle reminder that we ought not to be walking too much in elephant country. Back in the car to Gundlupet, where Udupi Upahar revived us with piping hot coffee and mouth watering tiffin.

On the way back, we went through to the Brindavan Gardens. The bridge just before the gardens afforded great views of the beautiful Cauvery. A painted stork and a pelican were perched on a rock in the middle of the river! So idyllic.

The Brindavan Gardens car park was ominously full with tour buses. Crowd management was however excellent, with no waiting for tickets, and plenty of place inside the gardens for all. The illuminated fountains were pretty sight. What a lovely place for a family picnic where children can safely run around in gay abandon … and so close to the city.


The gardens seem well maintained; at least it appeared so in the twilight. I just wish people would not litter.

Enamoured with the Cauvery, we decided to visit Mahadevapura the next morning. After asking around and a few wrong turns, we eventually got there. My favourite Mysore Pelicans were congregated on rocks in the middle of the river along with other feathered friends. Our attention was caught by one particular pelican who flew in multiple loops high above the bridge, as though 'shooting the breeze' on a warm summer morning. Fertile riverine fields in shades of green and gold, completed the canvas.







We proceeded a short distance ahead, to walk along a canal parallel to the river. The densely forested small islets along the river bank here, have been designated as the Gende Hosalli bird sanctuary. We heard a lot of peacock sounds coming from the islet, but could not spot any. The sound of gently gushing rapids by the river bank was so tranquil.

Onward to Arakere which boasts a large serene lake fringed by colourful lantana shrubs, with low slung hills on the opposite bank. Picture postcard perfect, with cute little ducks and a coracle or two thrown in for added measure!



By and by, the sun became uncomfortable strong and it was time to move on. We found interesting ancient looking carved ruins along the roads here. A village lady was cleaning a collection of broken old stone statues of assorted deities. A small stone 'mantap' was being used as a motorcycle parking lot!



The drive back to Mysore via Bannur was through scenic countryside, crossing the Cauvery once more. Spent the rest of the day at the Palace and shopping.

On our way back to Bangalore, we had planned to visit Talacad and the Shivanasamudram falls, but changed our mind as we learnt that the falls were dry. Instead, we stopped at the Ganjam Gosai Ghat – beautiful river but so much litter. The Cauvery Sangam was no better, there seemed to be more garbage strewn around than we remembered from our previous visit. Why do we have this penchant for littering???



The last halt was at the Big Banyan Tree near Kumbalgodu, just outside Bangalore. Even here there was some litter! This place is worth a visit. It is quite an experience to walk through those extensive banyan 'arches', 'bridges' and 'passage ways'. A teeny baby monkey regaled us with his efforts at climbing a banyan root. An early morning visit would surely be rewarding for bird watchers.





And so …… our trip came to an end. Short but sweet with so much more left over for the next visit.

Last but not least, a very big thank you to PM Velu for his informative and useful posts.

More photos from this trip at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4970696...7624062563421/

as always snonymous and a photo essay as well, wah wah
... and thank you


vrindaban gardens though, kinda left/leaves me cold.
its a personal thing i guess - never was/am too fond of manicured topography.
and those paddly thingees on the lake... uuffff

there is a poster [very recent] asking about mysore/bangalore or madurai... [dont ask me which thread and who ]
hope that OP catches sight of this thread.



:brishti

Did your drive from Mumbai who hire a taxi? Many years ago (1970s) my family and I flew to Bangalore and did Bangalore, Mysore, Ooty Kodai, and Madurai and back to Bangalore. Nice journey

Lovely trip, thanks for the pics!!

One small correction for potential future visitors, I believe the palace is only lit up for 1 hour (at least it was so when I was there 3 months ago) on weekends. I think 7-8 is the time. Holidays perhaps longer.

Ah, yes, I just cross-linked the two: help choose between Mysore,Bangalore,Madurai,.

Great report, Snonymous

Thank you.

Brishti, I was pleasantly surprised by Brindavan gardens. What I appreciated most was that such a place exists so close to a city, for families to enjoy a day out without breaking the bank. The next time I go to Mysore, I will walk down to the Cauvery river banks from the fields near the bridge.

Pontesnm
No, we hired a taxi from Bangalore. Originally planned to do BLR Mysore by train but couldnt get a booking as it was last minute planning - as always!!

Candycane
Im sure you are right. The timings I quoted are from the Mysore guide book, I did not actually check but I know it started at 7pm, not sure how long it went on for.

Mach
The best person for info on Mysore and a lot of other places in south India is PM Velu, in my opinion. Ive found his input most useful and practical too.

excellent report, next time try breakfast @ GTR, Gayathri Tiffin Rooms... excellent south indian breakfast... must haves..IDLI, SAAGU DOSA & filter COFFEE...

Thank you, snonymous, for another great Trip Report and amazing pics!

Oh Great Travelogue Again Gita !

As always, information Filled interesting piece of information.

Picture perfect article for getting promoted to Journal Or More better if this can be made as "Sticky" in karnataka Forum !

Just now back after 3 1/2 Days / 1000 kms Trip over Coastal / Canara , Uttara , South & South interior Karnataka with Family in my car and We covered:

Mysore-Madikeri-MAngalore-Malpe Beach -Maravanthe Beach-Murdeshwara-Honnavara-Jog Falls-Sagara-Shimoga-Chicmagaluru-Belur-Halebeedu-Hassan-Mysore

and I will update especially Road conditions and other interesting info onto my another thread. Trip was Fantastic and Me being the lone driver I enjoyed Driving too !

Again, Thanks for sharing Yet another Beautiful Travelogue . I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Regards
Velu

In 3.5 days?! Goodness grief.

I'd probably be sitting in the bar still thinking oh sod it, I'll catch me the next train

Hey Mach,

The theme this time is "Beaches-Nature-Architecture" and hence we visited only malpe beach/ Maravanthe beach/Murdeshwar/Jog Falls/Belur/Halebeedu and all others are just Via Places.

P.S:- Sorry for hijacking your Original thread Snonymous and We assure we won't deviate further.

Cheers
Velu

Mod Note:
The thread hijack to which Velu refers continues now in a new thread in Chai and Chat:
News report about mentally ill people being abandoned by their families

Oh excellent report, Snonymous - and made me recall my own visit there not too long ago. It saddens me to hear about the littering everywhere though - which I too noticed at Sangamam. How on earth does one make people aware of this horrible practice?

Thank you Sweetmango.

Oh, they are all aware but they lack the civic sense to refrain from littering and to take their rubbish back with them.

Everyone learns in school that littering is bad. But unless he sees it in practice at his own home what is the use. Children are taught in school not to litter but their own parents, relatives and neighbours are littering right in front of them, so they follow suit and the lessons are in vain.

There are certain communities in India who keep their kitchens and houses so spotlessly clean, you could literally eat off the floor. These same people do not possess a waste bin. Why? Because it is 'dirty'. Where does all the rubbish go? Straight out the window or the front door as the case may be ................

Very nice trip report, synonymous. I pass through mysore at least twice a year, but I havent had a chance to be there for a couple of days and explore the place.

As for littering, it is very frustrating . As you drive from Mysore towards Wayanad, you pass by the Bandipur reserve forest and then the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary, and you can spot empty mineral water bottles and chips packets along the sides of the road throughout....

Thanks Bigzero.

We walked quite a good bit along the Gundlupet - Sultan Battery forest road and what we saw virtually every 2m along the roadside were cigarette packets, the yellow and red ones, I dont remember the brand. I was thinking, they must be flung out of cars as I didnt see anyone else walking around there, and Im sure those smokers also threw their butts out the window, such a dangerously irresponsible habit that could well lead to forest fires in the dry season. Disgusting.