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General Information of Mysore

Mysore

Mysore city is one of the most beautiful, calm and quiet cities attracting a lot of visitors. It is a city of gardens and palaces having respectable antiquity. It has an area of 37.4 sq km and a population of 1 million. Summer temperature is from 35 to 20 Celcius. Winter, it is 35 to 14 Celcius. It has an annual rainfall of 86 cm. Mysore is at an altitude of 770 m ASL.

History

The Mahabharata refers to this city as 'Mahisamati' in connection with an expedition of the Pandava Prince Sahadeva. The Emperor Ashoka sent a missionary to Mahisha Mandala (Mysore) in the 3rd century BC to proclaim the religion of Budha. Raja Raja Deva, a Chola prince, ruled over Mysore, a large part of Madras Presidency and Ceylon in the 9th Century AD.

Gangas were ruling over this teritory in between 1003 and 1022 AD. The Cholas, Hoysalas, Vijayanagara and Mysore kings ruled over the country in succession.

Language

Kannada, English & Hindi

Shopping

Mysore is famous for its Sandalwood and ivory inlay handicrafts, Agarbathis, Sandalwood essence and perfumes, sandal soap and silk. These can be purchased at Kaveri Emporium on Sayyaji Rao road and also shops on Dhanwantri road adjacent to Devaraja market. Devaraja market is the best place to shop for fruits and vegetables. Morning time is busy and best for taking colorful photographs. KR Circle, Devraj Urs road, Sayyaji Rao road, Ashoka road, Janatha Bazar on Irwin road are other places for shopping.

City Transport

Tongas : This horse driven cart is the cheapest transport for short distance travel.

Autorickshaws : Are the best mode of fast transport within the city. City Bus : They are the best mode of transport. The City Bus Depot is located near the Palace complex.

Taxi car : One can hire taxi directly or through Hotels or tour operators. The fare is Rs 7/km. For A/c, plus 10% of the fare charges. Ask the rate before starting the journey.

Tour operators

KSTDC (Karnataka State) conducts tours - Mysore local, Somnathpur, Srirangapatna, Ranganathittu (June to Sept), Belur, Halebid & Shravanabelagola, Ooty.

Siddartha tours & Travels, Hotel Siddhartha
Dasaprakash Travels, Hotel Dasaprakash
Mysore International Travel Agency, Chamaraja road, Mysore - 4
Bharat Travels Karnataka Pvt Ltd, Chamaraja road, Mysore - 4.

How to Reach

Mysore city is situated 139 km south west of Bangaluru and 160 km from Ooty. It is 121 km from Hassan. There is frequent non stop buses to Bangaluru (4 hour).
The nearest Airport is Bangaluru.

Mysore is well connected by rail to Bangaluru (10 Express and 9 Passenger trains daily) and other major cites of the neighbouring states.

Where to Stay

Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel, Mysore - 11
Hotel Dasaprakash Paradide, Vivekanada road, Yadavagiri, Mysore - 20
Kings Kourt Hotel, JL Bai road, Mysore - 1
Lokaranjan Mahal Palace, LRM road, Mysore - 10
Hotel Highway Ltd, New Bannimantap Extn, Mysore - 15
Hotel Metropole, 5, J.L. Bai road, Mysore - 5
Hotel Mayura Hoysala (KSTDC), 2, J.L. Bai road, Mysore - 5
Hotel Brindavan, Opp. St Philomena's church, Mysore - 1
Hotel Sandesh, 3, Nethra Nivas, Nazarbad road, Mysore - 5
Hotel Siddharta, Near Govy Guest house, Nazarbad, Mysore - 10
Hotel Callinga, KR Circle, Mysore - 1
Hotel Govardhan, Sourabha chambers, Sri Harsha road, Mysore - 1
Hotel Sujatha, Near Shalimar theatre, Tilak Nagar, Mysore - 15
Hotel Dasharath, Opp. Mysore zoo, Mysore - 10
Mysore Hotels complex, Bangalore-Nilgiri road, Mysore - 1
Hotel Dasaprakash, Gandhi square, Mysore - 1
New Vishnu Bhavan, Dhanwantri road, Mysore - 1
New Gayathri Bhavan, Dhanwantri road, Mysore - 1
Hotel Indra Bhavan, Dhanwantri road, Mysore - 1
Hotel Srikanth, Gandhi square, Mysore - 1
Aashraya, Dhanwantri road, Mysore - 1
Hotel Chalikya, Dhanwantri road, Mysore - 1
Hotel Ganga Cauvery, Behind Punjab National Bank, Devraj Urs road, Mysore - 1
Rajendra vilas Imperial, Chamundi hills, Mysore - 18
Hotel Krishnarajasagar, Near Brindavan gardens, Mysore.

Distance Chart(km)

Distances are from Interstate bus stand.

Mysore Palace (1 km), Chamarajendra Zoological gardens (2 km), JM Art Gallery (2 km),
Railway station (2 km), Chamundi hills (10 km), Srirangapatna (19 km), Ranganathittu (19 km),
Brindavan gardens (19 km), Nanjangud (22 km), Somnathpur (32 km).

Bangaluru - 138
Ooty - 158
Coimbatore - 200
Mangalore - 216
Kozhikode - 216
Madurai - 428
Rameshwaram - 595
Trichy - 409
Tanjore - 464
Chennai - 470
Tirupati - 386
Hyderabad - 570
Panaji - 643
Kochi - 440
Thiruvananthapuram - 660