Mysuru - Karnataka

Mysuru

Formerly known as Mysore, it is the third largest city in Karnataka and served as the capital city of the Mysore Princely Kingdom (aka Kingdom of Mysore) for nearly 6 centuries. The kingdom of Mysore was ruled by the Wodeyar Dynasty, except for a brief period in 18th century when Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan were in power. It is known as the Culture Capital of Karnataka.Mysore is noted for its palaces, including the Mysore Palace, and for the festivities that take place during the Dasara festival when the city receives a large number of tourists. It lends its name to the Mysore style of painting, the sweet dish Mysore Pak, the Mysore Peta (a traditional silk turban) and the garment known as the Mysore silk saree.

Hill Range:

Chamundeshwari Temple

• Chamundi Hills – These hills are located close to the palace city of Mysore, about 13km east of the city. Their average elevation is 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). Patronized for centuries by the rulers of Mysore, the Chamundeshwari Temple is located atop the Chamundi Hills and was renovated during the time of Krishnaraja Wodeyar III (1827).

Vindhyagiri Hill

• Vindhyagiri – It is one of the two hills in Shravanabelagol in Karnataka. The Large Hill was first referred to as "Per kavappu" in 8th Century, but its history begins with that of Gommateshwara in the Late 10th century. A century and half later the town was named Gommatapura, after the colossus, but the hill itself is not identified with a distinctive name. The present name "Vindhyagiri" is said to be derived from vim, spirit and dhya, meditation, as being the spot consecrated by saints observed in the meditation on the supreme spirit.

  
• Chandragiri - is the other of the two hills in Shravanabelagola in Karnataka. The recorded history surrounding the hill started in 300 BC when Shruthakevali, Bhadrabahu and Chandragupta Maurya visited the place in order to attain religious peace. The Small Hill derives its name of Chandra from the fact that Chandragupta was the first of the saints who lived and performed penance there.

River:

Kaveri river basin

• Kaveri - Also written Cauvery in English, is a large Indian river. The origin of the river is traditionally placed at Talakaveri, Kodagu in the Western Ghats in Karnataka. It flows generally south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and across the southern Deccan plateau through the southeastern lowlands, emptying into the Bay of Bengal through two principal mouths.

Birds:

• Grebes
• Shearwaters and petrels
• Storm petrels
• Tropicbirds
• Pelicans
• Boobies and gannets
• Cormorants 
• Darters
• Frigatebirds
• Bitterns, herons and egrets 
• Storks 
• Ibises and spoonbills 
• Flamingos
• Ducks, geese and swans 
• Osprey
• Hawks, kites and eagles 
• Falcons 
• Pheasants and partridges 
• Buttonquails
• Cranes
• Rails, crakes, gallinules and coots 
• Bustards 
• Jacanas
• Painted snipe
• Oystercatchers
• Avocets and stilts 
• Thick-knees
• Pratincoles and coursers 
• Plovers and lapwings 
• Sandpipers and allies 
• Skuas
• Gulls