Mysore Tour Packages

A 45-minute show telling some 400 years of Mysuru's history, held every evening except Sundays and government holidays, when the palace is lit instead. The Palace Board lists Kannada narration from Monday to Wednesday at 7 pm and on Saturday at 8.15 pm, and English from Thursday to Saturday at 7 pm. Tickets are sold only at the Varaha Gate counter, from 6.30 pm, and the show ends with about 15 minutes of the palace lit up.

On weekday mornings, just after it opens at 10 am, Karnataka Tourism advises. Sunday and holiday evenings draw crowds for the illumination, and Dasara, ten days in September or October, brings the largest crowds of the year. The palace stays open until 5.30 pm, with last entry at 5 pm by Karnataka Tourism's count. We time the tour for you: early on a weekday for the quietest rooms, or on a Sunday or holiday if you want the lights as well.

You can buy them at the palace, where the Palace Board issues entrance tickets from 10 am to 5.30 pm, and Karnataka Tourism also links to online booking. Help booking entry tickets ahead is part of our Mysore Palace tour, and the ticket's cost is set out in your quote. Dasara is different: the Palace Board's notices have limited entry to Dasara pass holders on the main festival day and closed the palace for rituals, so we check that year's notice first.

The great procession of Mysuru Dasara. Karnataka Tourism describes the Golden Howdah, about 750 kg with 80 kg of gold over a carved wooden frame, carrying the idol of the goddess Chamundeshwari through the city's streets. The district administration lists the procession, a torchlight parade and fireworks at Banni Mantap among the festival's chief events, with the palace lit and an exhibition at the Doddakere grounds. Expect very large crowds; tell us early if you want to plan around it.

The Palace Board lends wheelchairs free of charge, along with umbrellas against sun or rain, and offers a Braille guide for visitors with impaired sight. Part of the visit is upstairs, where the Public Durbar Hall opens onto a colonnade, so tell your specialist about any mobility needs before you travel, and we will plan the visit, the car and the timing around them. Our accessible travel guide has wider advice for India.

In the city, Karnataka Tourism suggests the Jaganmohan Palace, built in 1861 and now an art gallery, and the Devaraja Market for flowers, incense, sandalwood and spices; St Philomena's Cathedral, modelled on Cologne's, is close by. Above the city, the Chamundeshwari temple crowns the Chamundi Hills: drive up, or climb the 1,008 steps. Further out, the district administration lists the Brindavan Gardens at the KRS dam, the Ranganathittu bird sanctuary and the Shivanasamudra falls. A specialist can add any of these to your stay.