The pride of India - Mysore Palace

I have visited a lot of palaces across India. But, I have never seen such an impressive and magnificent palace as the one located in Mysore city of South India. This Palace can be arguably considered the most beautiful Palace in India. This monument is not only the pride of Wodeyar kings; it is the entire nation's pride.

Mysore Palace is the best tourist attraction of Mysore, the heritage city of India. The Palace is situated in the city center. It has an exciting history. It was built by the royal family of Mysore, Wodeyars, during the 14th century CE. In 1638 CE, the Palace was destroyed by lightning and was reconstructed by King Kantirava Narasa Raja Wodeyar (1638 - 1659 CE). Tipu Sultan destroyed the Palace in 1793 CE. After Tipu's death, the Wodeyar dynasty came to power again. The Palace was rebuilt in 1803 CE. It seems the Mysore palace always had an evil fate. It got destroyed again in the fire in 1897 CE. The current structure of the Mysore Palace, which was designed by the British architect Henry Irwin was constructed in 1912 CE. This Palace is a masterpiece in Indo-Saracenic architecture, which can be considered equivalent to the grand Mughal residences of the North and the stately colonial public buildings of the South.


The Palace is located amid well-laid gardens and parks with beautiful arches and pillars. The massive complex houses various buildings and twelve temples. The new  main structure is an impressive five-floor building with a gilded dome by a single golden flag. 

The interior of the Palace is also too beautiful with a lot of halls and rooms. Amba Vilasa, the space used by the king for the private audience, is one of the most spectacular rooms. The Doll's Pavilion houses a lot of old dolls, gifts, and prize materials. Kalyana Mandap hall is full of beautiful oil paintings depicting the epics of India. The hall is a grand octagonal-shaped pavilion with a glass ceiling with peacock motifs arranged in geometrical patterns. The public Durbar Hall looks majestic, and it also houses various paintings.

The Palace has many rooms and halls apart from what I mentioned above. It even houses some rare original paintings of Raja Ravi Varma. You can also find old photographs and pictures of various royal family members. The durbar halls and some rooms in the Palace have attractive and decorative pillars and colorful ceilings. The vast silver doors located in a room are stunning.

There is a wrestling ground below the new Palace. At a short distance, the old Palace is located, which houses weapons, paintings, and royal dress materials. The old Palace is simple and clean compared to the new Palace.

The complex houses twelve temples, and some of them are ancient such as the Balkrishna temple, Shweta Varaha temple, and Lakshmi Ramana temple. You can also take camel rides or elephant rides in the palace complex.

The evenings are the best time to spend in the palace complex, as the main palace building is illuminated with thousands of bulbs which is extremely attractive and unbelievable. It is indeed a spectacular view to find the entire Palace lit up with dark background in the evening.

The Mysore Palace is open every day, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It is illuminated on Sundays, national holidays, and state festivals from 7:00 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Palace is illuminated for an additional one hour till 9 p.m. during the Dussera period.

One main disadvantage of this place is it is highly crowded. If the Government can organize adequately and control the crowd, it would be conducive.

Happy travelling.

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