Around Mysore

One of the principal sights of Mysore is the City Palace, which is not only impressively large, but also a fantasy of eclectic styles. The palace was built during the last years of the 19th century, and is one of the largest in India, with displays of barely imaginable wealth commonplace throughout its cavernous halls. It is worth seeing from the outside in the evening, as it is magnificently illuminated at night.

Chamundi Hill, just beyond the palace hotel of Lalitha Mahal, is the site of the local royal family's temple to Sri Chamundeswari, with some interesting sculptures nearby. The hilltop temple is a popular destination for pilgrims from Karnataka and beyond and from its location 1,200 m above sea level offers commanding views over the surrounding area.

Part way down the hill (approximately 300 steps) is a massive monolithic granite sculpture of Nandi, the bull upon which Lord Shiva travels the universe. This black bull, anointed over centuries by gallons of ghee and marigold, sits impassively alongside the 1,000 steps which lead up the hill to the temple from the surrounding lowland.