Mysore can be well understood from its nickname, “City of Palaces”. Statistics say that there are at least 7 huge palaces in the city. Out of these, the most famous is the Amba Vilas Palace, commonly known as the Mysore Palace. This is located within the Old Fort.  In India, this is the second most-visited place after Taj Mahal and witnesses around 3 million tourists every year.

This palace is the place where the Mysore Maharajas reside, known as the Wodeyars. This was one of the first royal families of Mysore, who ruled over the city for a long period of time – from 1399 to 1950. The courtyards, buildings and gardens of the palace are huge and spectacular. There are a couple of durbar halls here, where royal meetings were conducted. Located in the central area of Mysore, this palace overlooks the scenic Chamundi hills in the east. This palace is known for its amazing architecture.

History

It was during the 14th century that the first effort for constructing this place inside the Old Fort was started by King Yaduraya. This was then destroyed and rebuilt many times. Mysore Regent, Her Majesty, Maharani Vani Vilas Sannidhna, along with her son, Mysore Maharaja, His Highness Rajashri Shri Krishnaraja Wodeyar was mainly responsible for constructing this new palace that is seen today. When a huge fire destroyed the old palace, the queen and her son appointed Lord Henry Irwin, a famous architect from Britain to construct a new palace. Construction work started in 1897 and ended in 1912. Even after the completion of the place, renovation and expansion work was done on the fort and palace in 1940. During this time, this place was ruled over by the last king of the Mysore Maharaja dynasty, His Highness Maharaja Shri Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar. All the residents of the older portions of the palace were slowly relocated to the areas that were newly built.

There are quite a few palaces in Mysore other than the Amba Vilas Palace. The Jaganmohan Palace is one of them. This was later converted into an art gallery by His Highness Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, and is still functioning as one.  Some of the other palaces that are replete with grandeur and elegance are:

• Jayalakshmi Vilas (currently the office of the District Commissioner)
• Rajendra Vilas Mansion (currently a luxurious private hotel on top of the scenic Chamundi Hills)
• Lalitha Mahal Palace (currently a five star hotel in Mysore)
• Lakshmi Vilas Mansion
• Cheluvamba Vilas Palace (The Mysore Government received this palace in the form of donation from His Highness Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar and is currently the head office of the national level research institution, Central Food Technological Research Institute)
• Krishnarajendra Vilas Palace (currently functioning as Krishna Rajendra Hotel)

Other than these, some buildings that are over hundred years old are also prime attractions of Mysore. Some of these are the Crawford Hall (currently Mysore University’s headquarters), Mysore City’s Corporation Complex and Oriental Research Institute Building. These buildings had exclusive blocks controlled by the royal family in the yesteryears. Only the Bangalore and Amba Vilas Palaces are under the full control of the royal family. The tourism section of Amba Vilas is the State Government’s responsibility; however the Bangalore Palace has no government intervention at all.

Architecture

Indo-Saracenic is the style in which the domes of the palace are construction. The overall architecture is a fusion of Gothic, Hindu, Muslim and Rajput styles. The palace has five stories and is of 145ft height. Three kinds of stones are used for construction of this and domes are made of marble. A magnificent and sprawling garden encircles the palace. The Mysore kingdom’s emblem and coat of arms is etched on the entrance gate and arch. Here the Kingdom’s motto (never terrified) is inscribed in Sanskrit language.
There are there entry gates to this palace. They are:

• East Gate – Located at the front, only VVIPs can pass through this gate that is open only during Dussehra.
• South Gate – Open for the general public.
• West Gate - Opens normally only during Dussherra.

From the palace cellar, hundreds of secrete passages are found, connecting other palaces, confidential places and the city of Srirangapatna.

This building that is made from gray granite and pink marble (on its domes) is surrounded by quite a few sprawling arches. Around the main central arch, there are two small arches that are given ample support from the tall and sturdy pillars. A beautiful sculpture of Gajalakshmi (Goddess of wealth, good luck and prosperity) is found on top of the central arch. The Goddess’s statue is nicely adorned with a series of elephant statues as well. Three huge temple complexes inside the Old Fort and about 18 temples inside the palace are found here. It was a known fact that the royal clans of Mysore Maharajas were ardent devotees of Goddess Chamundi. This is why their palace overlooked the Chamundi Hills. The spiritual teacher for the kings, also known as the Raja Guru stayed in the Parakala Mutt, which is why the palace was built quite close to the mutt.

Unique Buildings

A trip to Mysore is incomplete without visiting the Mysore Palace. During the evening hours, when the place is lit up fully, it is indeed a sight to behold. If tourists have an eye for luxury, they must visit the inside of the palace that is replete with sprawling halls, beautiful paintings and royal ambience everywhere. Indo-Saracenic style of architecture is found here.

Amba Vilasa

This luxuriously designed room was the place where the place where the king wanted to meet his subjects in private. The doorway that leads to this room has intricate rosewood carvings and ivory inlay. There is also a temple dedicated to Lord Ganesh near this doorway. The central hall is heavily decorated with steel grills, ceilings made from stained glass, finely-carved columns, chandeliers that have floral motifs and mosaic floors into which semi -precious stones are embedded.

Gombe Thotti

This is also known as the Pavilion of the Dolls. This is the place that houses rare, exquisite and traditional dolls of the 19th and 20th centuries. Sculpture lovers must come here as they can spot European and Indian pieces here. Decorative items like an elephant made from wood and decorated with about 84kg of gold and the like are found here.

Kalyana Mantapa

This is one of the grandest places of the palace. Kalyana Mantapa means marriage hall. The pavilion is huge and in the shape of an octagon. The ceiling is decorated with stained glass of various exciting colors. Motifs of peacocks in geometrical designs are found on the ceiling. The peacock mosaic floors were adorned with tiles brought all the way from England. On the walls, are brilliant oil paintings that reflect the royal ceremonies and festivities. The structure of the palace resembles structures found in Glasgow.

Temples

There are twelve Hindu temples located within the palace complex. The oldest one dates back to the 14th century while the latest one dates back to 1953. The most reputed temples in this complex are Someshwara temple (with Lord Shiva as the presiding deity), Lakshminaryana temple (with Lord Vishnu as the presiding deity) and Swetha Varahaswamy temple (with Lord Varaha, one of the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu, as the presiding deity).

Other Attractions in the Palace

There are various significant rooms in this palace. They are:

• Audience Chamber – This was the place where the king held private meetings and would discuss with his ministers on matters of importance. This was also the place where the king met with people who deserved to be met privately.
• Diwan-e-aam - This was the general hall, where the common public could meet the king at the designated times.
• The Royal Hall where weddings take place
• Armory – A place where weapons used by the royal people were stored. Lances, cut lasses and weapons belonging to the 14th century and other weapons including pistols belonging to the early 20th century are stored here safely.

Facilities inside the Palace

• Excellent ambience
• Braille empowered tutorials for visually impaired tourists
• Indian tourists can ask for audio kits if they need it and foreigners get it as per their  entrance fee package
• Vehicles operated by batteries
• Programs enabled with light and sound, explaining history of the palace and importance of the Wodeyar dynasty
• Counters for keeping cameras at no cost
• Cycles available for free for tourists who love cycling around the gardens of the palace
• Free umbrellas for tourists for safeguarding themselves against rain or sun
• Wheel chairs available for free
• Drinking water available for free at various places
• Neat and clean toilet facilities available for free
• Stands available for free for keeping footwear
• Tourists coming to Mysore Palace can take the services of government approved guides to know more about the history of the place
• Ample parking space for vehicles
• Post card photos of Mysore Palace for sale
• Hand books explaining the history of Mysore Palace, for sale

Visitor Information

The Mysore Palace is located at just about ten minutes distance from the central railway station and the main bus stand. One can reach this palace easily which is at about twenty minutes distant from the domestic airport of Mysore. The connectivity of Mysore domestic airport with all other international airports at Bangalore, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad (Rajiv Gandhi International Airport) and Mumbai (Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport) is excellent and frequent. The State Highway No.17 connects the Mysore city with other places.

• The palace is fully lit on all Sundays and on public holidays between 7PM and 7.45PM in the evening.
• Sound and light enabled programs between 7 and 7.45 in the evening on all days through the week except Sundays and national holidays.

The palace is extremely beautiful and tourists are sure to get blown away by the beauty of the place. However they are not allowed to take pictures once they enter the main palace complex.

The Old Fort, within which the palace is situated, is open for public from 10 AM to 8 PM. The palace is open from 11 AM to 3 PM, only under strict vigilance from the authorities. Police and paramilitary squads constantly keep vigil all through day and night at the entrance of the palace. Entry for kids below 7 years is free, for kids aged between 7 and 12, is 2 5INR and for adults, the entry fee is 40 INR. Foreign tourists need to pay 200INR as entry fee. All tourists need to remove their footwear outside before entering the palace premises.

Special Events

The Dussehra festival celebrated during every autumn is the biggest event here. A big stage is erected here, where performances of hundreds of artisans take place. During the last and tenth day of the festival, Vijaya Dashmi, processions of elephants and floats start from the palace.

Dussehra is the biggest and most significant festival in Mysore. This was the day when Goddess Durga, also known as Goddess Chamundeshwari, destroyed the demon known as Mahishasura, denoting the victory of good over evil.

In Srirangapatna, the festival has been celebrated by the Wodeyars right from the 16th century. In Mysore, the festival is being celebrated from the late 17th century. Over the years, the celebrations have come down considerably, but the traditions are being followed in the same way. Today, this festival is an important representation of Mysore’s culture. During this festival, the palace is decorated with about 96000lights for two months.

Timings & Tickets

Timings of Mysore Palace – 10 in the morning to 5.30 in the evening

Entry Charges:

• For Adults – 40 INR
• Kids between 10 and 18 years – 20 INR
• Kids less than 10 years – Free
• Foreign nationals – 200 INR (includes facility of audio kit)
• All tickets can be collected from the South Gate of the Palace

Illumination timings of Mysore Palace

Days of State and National Holidays and Sundays – 7 PM to 8 PM
Days of the Dussherra Festival – 7 PM – 9 PM

Entry for Sound and Light Show

• For adults – 40 INR
• For Kids between 7 and 12 years – 25 INR
• For foreign nationals – 200 INR
• All tickets can be collected from the South Gate of the Palace

Best Time to Visit

During the summer seasons, just like all other South Indian cities, Mysore too gets uncomfortably hot and humid. This is the period between April and August. Tourists should never visit Mysore during this time. The best time to visit this palace is during the winter months of October and November.