Brindavan Gardens

The gardens were laid out from 1927 below the Krishnarajasagara dam on the Kaveri, built to a Mughal-influenced terraced plan with symmetrical parterres, water channels, fountains and cypresses running down the slope, covering around sixty acres in three terraces. A musical fountain, among the earliest in India, plays in the evening with the water lit and choreographed to recorded music, and the gardens are illuminated after dark, which is when nearly all visitors come. The dam above was engineered by M Visvesvaraya and was one of the largest reservoirs in Asia when completed.

Background

The gardens lie 12 km from Mysore in Mandya District, and the work of laying them out, begun in 1927, was completed in 1932. Sir Mirza Ismail, a keen lover of gardens, founded them, and Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel, a German botanist who also designed landscapes, drew up the plan. Next to the 60 acres of garden are a fruit orchard of 75 acres and 2 horticultural farms, Nagavana at 30 acres and Chandravana at 5 acres. Planting includes Ficus trees, Duranta plumaria, Euphorbia, Celosia, marigold and bougainvillea. Close to 2 million tourists come each year. The garden was renovated in 2005, and in 1964 a train named the Brindavan Express was introduced.

Source: Wikipedia, "Brindavan Gardens"

The main sights

• The terraced parterres - symmetrical beds and channels down three levels.
• The musical fountain - an evening show of lit and choreographed water.
• The dam - the KRS reservoir wall above the gardens.
• The night lighting - the whole garden illuminated after dusk.

When to go

October to March; the fountain show runs in the evening and the gardens are busiest then. Water levels in the reservoir vary with the monsoon and affect the display.

Good to know

Evening crowds are heavy and the fountain show is short and dated. Maintenance of the planting has been inconsistent. The dam itself cannot be walked on for security reasons.

Nearby

Mysore lies southeast; Srirangapatna is between.

Key facts