Travel in India - Trip to Mysore

Mysore is the second largest city in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the headquarters of the Mysore district and the Mysore division and lies about 146 km (91 mi) southwest of Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka. The name Mysore is an anglicised version of Mahishūru, which means the abode of Mahisha. Mahisha stands for Mahishasura, a demon from the Hindu mythology. The city is spread across an area of 128.42 km2 (50 sq mi) and is situated at the base of the Chamundi Hills.
Known as the cultural capital of Karnataka, Mysore is well known for the festivities that take place during the period of Dasara, the state festival of Karnataka. The Dasara festivities, which are celebrated over a ten-day period, were first introduced by King Raja Wodeyar I in 1610. On the ninth day of Dasara, called Mahanavami, the royal sword is worshipped and is taken on a procession comprising decorated elephants, camels and horses. On the tenth day, called Vijayadashami, the traditional Dasara procession (locally known as Jumboo Savari) is held on the streets of Mysore city. An image of the Goddess Chamundeshwari is placed on a golden mantapa on the back of a decorated elephant and taken on a procession, accompanied by tableaux, dance groups, music bands, decorated elephants, horses and camels. The procession starts from the Mysore Palace and culminates at a place called Bannimantapa where the banni tree (Prosopis spicigera) is worshipped. The Dasara festivities culminate on the night of Vijayadashami with a torchlight parade (locally known as Panjina Kavayatthu).

Bypass Rider wrote (link) about a trip to Mysore:

One thing to note in Mysore is that, during weekends the palace is lit with lights in the evening from 7PM to 8PM. It’s a magnificent sight to see. Since it was a Saturday when we went there, we decided to view the lit palace. A short ride in an auto-rickshaw brought us to the entrance of the palace. We spent an hour in the lit-palace posing for photographs. At 8PM sharp, the lights went out and it was total darkness all around. It took a minute t re-adjust to the darkness around and then we headed out to of the palace.

Debasish wrote about a trip to Mysore:

Mysore ,the name now changed to Mysuru,is 130 KM away from Bangalore.
We started early in the morning from Bangalore. We hired a taxi for the trip and headed towards Mysore on NH-17, the Bangalore-Mysore Highway. The scenic beauty on both sides of NH-17 was awesome. On the way to Mysore, we stopped at Srirangapatana for about 1 hour. Sringapatana or Sringapattanam as locally called, was the summer capital of Tipu sultan.
The Mysore palace is a architectural master piece of Mysore city.The palace houses a treasure of superb carvings and artistic works from all over the world. The palace is a three storeyed building with a series of square arched towers crowned by domes. A gold-plated dome 145 from the ground covers the open courtyard in the center. The dramatic entrance way of the place takes you through the the 'Gombe Thotti' (the Doll's Pavilion) that exhibits classic European and Indian sculpture and ceremonial articles. The main entrance to the center of the palace is through the Elephant Gate, ornamented with floral designs and sporting a double-headed eagle as the royal symbol of Mysore.

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