What to expect
Highlights
- Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna — The great island temple to Ranganatha (the reclining Vishnu) — the first (Adi Ranga) of the three Sri Ranganatha temples down the Kaveri and a Divya Desam, a large Hoysala–Vijayanagara complex with a tall gopuram at the heart of the fortified island town.
- Brindavan Gardens — The famous terraced ornamental gardens laid out below the Krishnarajasagara (KRS) dam on the Kaveri, with symmetrical parterres, water channels and fountains and an evening musical-fountain show.
- Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary — Karnataka's largest bird sanctuary — a cluster of Kaveri river islets near Srirangapatna where thousands of storks, herons, egrets, ibises and cormorants nest; boat rides pass the nesting colonies and basking marsh crocodiles.
- Daria Daulat Bagh — Tipu Sultan's ornate teak summer palace of 1784, set in a formal garden at Srirangapatna, its walls covered in murals — including the Battle of Pollilur — and floral frescoes; now an ASI museum.
- Gumbaz, Srirangapatna — The domed mausoleum built by Tipu Sultan holding the tombs of his father Hyder Ali, his mother, and Tipu himself, set in a garden and known for its ivory-inlaid doors and tiger-stripe painted walls.
- Jama Masjid, Srirangapatna — The Masjid-e-Ala (Jama Masjid) built by Tipu Sultan in 1784 within the fort, a two-storey mosque with tall twin minarets that give views over the island town.
