During my stay in Manipal in Karnataka I had always wanted to visit Mysuru. Mysore is well known for its celebration of Dussehra. But leaves being a problem I had to opt to visit the city in Diwali. The city was totally new to me. But thanks to internet and various travel sites I found a very nice, comfortable hotel and a list of places to visit.
Starting with the stay, on a friend's suggestion I decided to look up for Aishwarya residency, compared it with other hotels and finally booked it on finding it affordable and suitable. The hotel is located at walkable distance from Mysore palace and St. Philomena's Church. In fact one can see the church from the terrace of the hotel. The staff and service is pretty good. The hotel staff helped us with planning our sight-seeing.
Since we reached the hotel in afternoon, on Day 1 we opted to visit only the church.
We had a train journey of 24 hrs to reach from Nagpur to Mysore. So when we reached by mid noon we decided that it's better to give ourselves some rest. Day 1 was reserved for the church since it was hardly 2-3 kms from the hotel.
From there we went to a nearby restaurant Gufha which is a jungle themed restaurant. The sound of crickets and owl play in soft volume in the background and servers come dressed as forest guards to serve. It was a good experience. The restaurant didn't have much to offer.
Post dinner we retired to our room.
Day 2 we started early as we had decided to go to Chamudeshwari Temple and Shivanasamudra falls. Both the places are a bit far from the city. Also the temple starts getting crowded as the day progresses. Hence it is advisable to start early and visit the temple first.
The temple being located on a hill has a very pleasant weather. The architecture of the temple is very well done. One feels a sense of calmness here when the cold wind is blowing around. It was really refreshing to begin the day on a spiritual note.
Next stop was Shivanasamudra falls. It is basically a fall where 2 streams of river Kaveri merge. The fall is big and widespread. The land splits the river Kaveri into two falls - GaganaChukki and Barachukki. On your return journey from the falls you can take a small detour to a Sand museum.
To keep the last day light and non tiring we reserved visit to Mysore palace for the last. The palace is extravagant and beautifully built over a big area. The areas of the darbars are very well maintained. The path is pre-decided and tourists are shown only some parts of the palace. You will have to buy 2 tickets - first for the palace that you normally see in pictures and second for the private sections (rooms) of the Royal family. It is advisable not to bother purchasing tickets for the second part of the palace as it is totally in shambles.
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