The Many Marvels of the Mysore Palace

To the outsider, Mysore is almost synonymous with the Mysore palace. The erstwhile seat of the Kingdom of Mysore, this palace is a grand architectural wonder, built with a mix of Indo-European styles. The palace houses a plethora of majestic and exquisitely designed halls, passages, corridors, and courtyards - each revealing one layer of grandeur after another. The typical day trip takes you through 24 places within the palace premises. Even a very cursory roundabout through it will at least take three hours, and if you are particularly interested in history or architecture, way more than that.

Here is an overview of this grandeur from a trip to Mysore a few months back.

The stately entrance to the Mysore gate is the first sign of what lies inside.

Part of the impressive fort wall.

Entering the palace through curated lawns and tracks.

One of the courtyards within the palace with two sculpted predators guarding its entrance. Up-these look extraordinarily life-like.

The courtyard from another side.

Part of an equally grand passage and staircase that circumvents this courtyard.

Part of the Durbar hall. Intricately designed and beautifully lit, this hall looks mesmerizing.

Another part of the Durbar hall.

One of the many exquisitely designed, European styled passage ways and ceilings.

The grand audience hall. This is where the royals apparently used to attend to the masses.

Yet another exquisitely designed passage within the grand scope of the Mysore palace.

And finally, when you move outside the main palace premise, the grandeur gives away to the stark contrasts of a what the place is all about.

Time.

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The ideal time to visit Mysore will be winter. However, if you are inside the Mysore palace, it won't matter much as the sprawling spaces, long ceilings, and windy interiors are built to withstand heat and cold.

The entry fee to the Mysore Palace is INR 100, rest depends on how you go there, what you eat, and where you stay.