The Palace of Mysore is a palace situated in the city of Mysore, southern India. It was the official residence of the former royal family of Mysore, and also housed the durbar (ceremonial meeting hall of the royal court).

Mysore has a number of historic palaces, and is commonly described as the City of Palaces. However, the term "Palace of Mysore" specifically refers to one of these palaces, Amba Vilas. The palace was commissioned in 1897, and its construction was completed in 1912. It is now one of the most famous tourist attractions in Mysore.

Every autumn, the Palace is the venue for the famous Mysore Dasara festival, during which leading artists perform on a stage set up in the palace grounds. On the tenth day of the festival Vijaya Dashami, a parade with caparisoned elephants and other floats originate from the palace grounds.

Dasara is the most extravagant festival of Mysore. The Dasara festival is celebrated in the months of September and October of each year.

The festival celebrates and commemorates the victory of the great goddess Durga, after she slew the demon, Mahishasura, and thereby, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil according to Hindu mythology. Some call her Chamundeshwari.

This festival has been celebrated in Mysore with great pomp for many centuries and the tradition still is carried on although the scale of the celebrations has diminished. The Dasara festivities have become an integral part of the culture and life in Mysore.

To celebrate this festival the Palace of Mysore is illuminated with more than 10,000 lights during that two month period.

Jog Falls, created by the Sharavathi River falling from a height of 253 meters (829 ft) is the highest plunge waterfall in India and the 7th deepest in the world. Located in Shimoga District of Karnataka state, these segmented falls are a major tourist attraction. It is also called by alternative names of Gerusoppe falls, Gersoppa Falls and Jogada Gundi.


Associated with the waterfall is the nearby Linganmakki Dam across river Sharavathi, and the hydro-electric power station that it serves. The power station has been operational since 1949, and is, at 1200 MW capacity, one of the largest hydro-electric stations in India and a significant source of electric power for Karnataka. The power station was previously named Krishna Rajendra hydro-electric project, after the King of Mysore at that time. The name was later changed to Mahatma Gandhi hydro-electric Project. It was served by Hirebhaskara dam until 1960. After 1960, thanks to visions of Sir M. Visvesvarayya, Linganmakki Dam, built across river Sharavathi is being used for power generation.


Before the onset of monsoon, when there is not much water in the Linganmakki dam, the "mighty" Jog Falls are nearly unrecognizable. Instead of the roar and the spray and the massive flow of water, there are only a pair of thin streams of water trickling down the cliff. If you happen to ask any of the local people what happened to the falls, they would tell you that the authorities open the dam only during weekends, when there are a lot of tourists to view it.
During the monsoon of 2007, due to heavy rains the authorities at the falls had to open the dam. Due to this the water falls was seen at its best. Unfortunately this also resulted in the flooding of many villages down the river, destroying crops and the fishing indsutry for weeks. Many of the pictures in the gallery and the picture displayed alongside show the falls during that time.


August-December is the season of best flow and best time to visit. Jog is situated at 30 kilometres (19 mi) away from Sagara, and 379 kilometres (235 mi) away from Bangalore.


* Nearest Bus Stations - Jog, Sagara. One can reach Jog from direct buses to Jog from Bangalore. Alternative way is to take direct bus to Sagara from Bangalore and local bus from Sagara to Jog. Distance - 409 kilometres (254 mi) from Bangalore, 104 kilometres (65 mi) from Shivamoga and 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Sagara.

* Nearest Train Station - Shimoga. One can take train to Shimoga from Bangalore and can travel to Jog in buses from Shimoga.

* Airport - Bangalore airport is the nearest operational airport. Another convenient airport is Mangalore.