Chamundi Hills - Mysore

Chamundi Hills is a beautiful serene location in the city of Mysore, Karnataka, India. Mysore is home to a variety of tourist attractions and one of the main destinations is the temple dedicated to the Goddess Chamundeswari located atop the Chamundi hills.

the view of the Chamundeswari Temple from the Mahabaleswara Temple

the front face of the Rajagopuram

How to reach:
Mysore is reachable through buses and trains. Once you reach Mysore railway station, take an auto the Mysore Central Bus Stand and there you have route no 210 that takes you to the Chamundi hills temple. It is a nice 25 minute journey that takes you through a beautiful road through the hills.

Atop the hills is situated a very beautiful temple dedicated to the Goddess Chamundeswari, who brought peace to the land of Mahisha, namely, Mahishur, that became Mysore in later days. Mahisha was a demon who wreaked havoc in the land and hence the Goddess came down and destroyed Mahisha. The temple is a classic example of the kannada architecture of temples. It had some never before seen aspects in the main tower or the Rajagopuram. The faces of two bhootha ganas at the top of the rajagopuram just beneath the kalasas was something I'd not noticed in a temple so far.

the beautiful Rajagopuram of the Chamundeswari temple

In the sanctum sanctorum is the shrine of the Goddess Chamundeswari. In the entrance, there is a shrine to Lord Ganesha in the temple pillar. And there is also a shrine to Veera Anjaneya Swamy. The main temple doors are very beautifully carved with different forms of Shakthi.
The mysore rulers, the Wodeyars are staunch worshippers of the Goddess and are one of the main patrons of the temple.

the intricately carved facade of the Rajagopuram with the yazhi

After the Chamundeswari temple, there is a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, called the Mahabaleshwara temple. This is supposed to be older than the Chamundeswari temple. Once the darshan atop the hills is over, when one climbs down the hills a 300 steps, is the shrine to a huge monolith, a magnificent Nandi, the vahana of Lord Shiva. The sight was one of a kind and is one of the largest nandis in India. The murthy of Nandi is exquisitely and intricately carved with so many bells and necklaces and a huge belt that runs across the back of Nandi.

the majestic Nandi located 300 steps downhill from the top

From the shrine of the Nandi, you can either climb back 300 steps to board a bus downhill or climb down a further 700 steps to the foothills where you can take an auto.