Forts & Palaces

	The Mysore Palace, once the residence of the Wodeyars, is one of the largest palaces of its kind in India, and one of the most splendid. Designed in the Indo-Saracenic style by Henry Irwin, the British consultant architect of Madras state, it was built in 1912 for the twenty fourth Wodeyar Raja on the site of the old wooden palace that had been destroyed by fire in the year 1897. Twelve temples surround the palace, some of which are from earlier periods.
The palace provides a magnificent view on Sunday evenings, and during festivals, when the whole palace is illuminated by thousands of lightbulbs. The entry to the palace is through the Gombe Thotti or the Doll's Pavilion, a gallery of Indian and European sculpture and ceremonial objects. Halfway along is the elephant gate, which is the main entrance to the centre of the palace. The gate is decorated with floriate designs, and bears the Mysore royal symbol of a double headed eagle. To the north of the gate are dolls, dating from the earlier nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and a ceremonial wooden elephant howdah (frame to carry passengers) decorated with 84 kilogram of 24 carat gold.
Walls which lead to the Kalyan Mandapa or the royal wedding hall, are lined with elaborately detailed oil paintings, illustrating the great Mysore Dussehra Festival of 1930. The hall itself is magnificent, featuring chandeliers, and multicoloured stain glass arranged in peacock designs. On climbing up the stairs, is the Public Darbar Hall, or the hall for public audience, which has paintings of some celebrated artists, and offers wonderful views of the parade grounds and the Chamundi Hills. Chamundi Hills has a temple dedicated to Goddess Chamundi or Durga. The smaller Private Durbar hall or the hall for private audience, features some splendid work of beautiful stained glass and gold leaf paintings.
When to visit The weather of Mysore remains pleasant throughout the year. Mysore should preferably be visited at the time of Dussehra, a festival which comes in the month of September or October. Mysore is beautifully decorated during this time. How to get there The best way to reach Mysore is from Bangalore (130 km from Mysore ) by train or bus. Trains 6210 Express, 6222 Kaveri Express and the Shatabdi Express run between Mysore and Bangalore regularly. Bangalore is connected to all the major cites of the country by air. Bangalore is also connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Hyderabad, Madras and Mangalore by Express trains. Bangalore is well connected to Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Kanyakumari, Managalore and Madras by bus. Where to stay The good hotels to stay in Mysore are Dasaprakash Paradise (Tel: +91-821-515655, 514272, 515877), Metropole (Tel: 520681, 520871), Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel (Tel: 27721, 27650, Fax: 33398) and Quality Inn Southern Star (Tel: 27217-9, Fax: 521689)

Built in 1799, the Hawa Mahal, or Palace of the Winds, is one of the major landmarks of Jaipur. This five storey building, which looks out over the main street of the old city, is a stunning example of Rajput artistry, with its pink semioctagonal and delicately honeycombed sandstone windows. It was originally built to enable ladies of the royal household, to watch the everyday life and processions of the city. The palace was built by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, and is part of the City Palace complex. There is, also, a small archaeological museum on the same site.

The best season to visit Jaipur is during winters, from October to February.

For detailed information on where to stay and how to reach there, see Jaipur.