Kabini (Nagarhole)

The Srikanteshwara (Nanjundeshwara) Temple at Nanjangud, about 23 km south of Mysuru on the Kapila (Kabini) river, is one of the largest and most important Shaiva pilgrimage temples in Karnataka — the "Dakshina Kashi" — with a tall gopuram and the big Dodda Jatre chariot festival.

An 18th-century tank about 7 km south-west of the centre, now a bird-rich nature park with a walking trail and a butterfly garden, quieter than the city-centre lakes.

A hill about 13 km from the city topped by the Chamundeshwari Temple and a giant Nandi carved from a single boulder, with panoramic views over Mysuru and a stepped pilgrim path of ~1,000 steps.

A historic lake of 1864 in the heart of Mysuru beside the University and CFTRI, ringed by a shaded walking path and home to over ninety species of resident and migratory birds — a favourite morning walk for the city.

A grand 1905 mansion built for the Maharaja’s eldest daughter, on the University of Mysore’s Manasagangothri campus, now the Folklore Museum with around 6,500 folk artefacts — puppets, masks, tools and everyday objects — from across Karnataka.

An 1861 Wodeyar palace now housing the Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery, with one of South India’s finest collections of paintings, including works by Raja Ravi Varma, and royal artefacts and instruments.

The Amba Vilas Palace, seat of the Wodeyar maharajas, rebuilt in 1912 in an Indo-Saracenic style; famous for its Durbar Hall, stained glass and its Sunday and Dasara-evening illumination of nearly 100,000 bulbs.

An open-air railway museum with vintage steam locomotives, the Maharani’s saloon carriage and a small toy train, near the city railway station.

The Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, established in 1892, one of India’s oldest and best-run zoos, with spacious enclosures for elephants, big cats, gorillas and a wide range of birds.

A bustling colonial-era market of flower, fruit, spice and kumkum stalls in the old city, a photogenic slice of everyday Mysuru near the palace.

A restored lake below Chamundi Hills with a large walk-through aviary, a butterfly park and a nature-park boardwalk, backed by the zoo — an easy birding and boating stop.

India’s first sand-sculpture museum, opened in 2014 at the foot of Chamundi Hill, where more than 100 tonnes of sand are shaped into themed tableaux — mythology, wildlife, cartoon characters and Mysore Dasara scenes.