Day 13: Marvelous Mysore

Dearest readers, welcome back to the SWIndia blog! Today was our last full day in India, and we enjoyed it by exploring the beautiful city of Mysore. We began our day at our hotel with a delicious breakfast before heading out on our tour bus. Our first stop was the Chamundi Hill Temple, which is a very old Hindu temple which was built by the Maharaja (king) of Mysore in the 12th century. We walked around the temple and then walked down a flight of 1000 stairs to reach the bottom of the temple complex. The walk was a little challenging but it was beautiful as we were surrounded by trees and nature.

Walking down 1000 steps!

After the temple visit, we headed to Mysore Palace, which was once the home of the royal family of Mysore. The palace was absolutely beautiful, with beautiful murals on the walls and intricate hand-carved ceilings. We took so many pictures and learned about the history of the beautiful building! When we finished at the palace, we headed to a local restaurant for lunch. Many of us ate vegetarian thali, while others got tandoori platters and other fun dishes. After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to get some rest and relaxation.

At Mysore Palace!

In the late afternoon, we headed to St. Philomena’s Cathedral, which is a historically significant Catholic church in Mysore. The church was beautiful to look at and we really enjoyed seeing a newly married couple there! We also walked through the catacomb under the church which was very interesting. As we emerged from the catacombs, it began to rain super hard and we were all drenched. As we dried off, we headed to a shopping district in Mysore. Some of us bought small items and clothing before we met for dinner at a rooftop rotating restaurant. The food and drinks were delicious; I specifically enjoyed my chicken biryani!

After dinner we returned to our hotel to relax and pack for tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll be traveling to Bangalore and saying goodbye to India. I hope you’ll tune back in for one last SWIndia blog post!

Sincerely,

Sanjana (and the rest of SWIndia!)