Brindavan Gardens

Brindavan Gardens lie beside the Krishnarajasagara Dam on the Kaveri, about 12 kilometres from Mysuru in Mandya district. The Dewan of Mysore, Sir Mirza Ismail, a keen gardener, created them, and the German landscape designer Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel drew up the plan. Laid out between 1927 and 1932, they now draw close to two million visitors a year.

The 60-acre gardens descend in three terraces of fountains, ficus trees, foliage plants and beds of celosia, marigold and bougainvillea, with topiary animals, pergolas and gazebos. A fruit orchard and two horticultural farms, Nagavana and Chandravana, adjoin them. The best-known feature is the musical fountain, whose jets move in time to songs; it was rebuilt with a digital system during a 2005 renovation. There is also a lake with boating. The gardens are run by the Cauvery Niravari Nigama.