About

Brindavan Garden Located in the Krishnaraja Sagar dam site in Srirangapatna taluk of Mandya district, the Brindavan Gardens is at a distance of 24 Km. from the famous cultural heritage center of Karnataka the city of Mysore, and 143 Km. from Bangalore, the capital city of Karnataka. The Krishnaraja Sagar dam is built across the river Cauvery, one of the principal rivers in South India. The Cauvery rises in the hills of Brahmagiri – in Talacauvery, Kodagu District in the Western Ghats and traverses Eastwards in Karnataka for about 320 Km. before entering Tamil Nadu and finally joining the Bay of Bengal. The dam is named after Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV during whose rule the Chief Engineer, Sir M. Vishveswaraya engineered the construction of the dam.

The Brindavan Gardens, primarily a terrace garden is laid out immediately behind the Krishnaraja Sagar dam site. The Department of Horticulture in 1927 started the work of laying out this garden, then called the Krishnarajendra Terrace Garden. Today, the garden extends over an area of 60 acres and it is laid out in the three terraces, which ends in a horseshoe shape. The slopes are planted with colorful Bougainvilleas and ornamental plants. This garden is a public park and it is one of the important tourist spots of India. The garden is enriched with innumerable fountains decorated with colored lighting. The illuminated running waters and fountains with changing colors of lights is an event that the tourists can look forward to in the evenings. The garden has many open spaces, lawns, illuminated flower beds, and ornamental plants. It also has well laid out roads and pathways. The Brindavan Gardens is the best-illuminated terrace garden in India. The boating pond in the midst of the garden is a location where the visitors can enjoy a boat ride. The whole garden when illuminated is an enchanting site to see.

The Brindavan Gardens, a celebrated beauty spot in this part of India is world famous for its symmetric design. It is one of the most beautifully laid out terrace gardens in the world. The creation of this garden in the Krishnaraja Sagar Dam site has been the achievement of Sir Mirza Ismail, the then Dewan of the princely State of Mysore. The beautification of the whole dam complex was conceived by Sir Mirza Ismail. Modeled on the design of the Shalimar Gardens of Kashmir in the Mughal style, the garden is enriched with a number of terraces, parterres, fountains, running and cascading water channels, water chutes, lush green lawns, flower beds, shrubs, and trees. Today, the Brindavan Gardens is world famous for its ethereal beauty, grandeur, and illumination/ musical fountain.Musical FountainThe Musical and dancing fountain is the main attraction of the visitors. The water, colored light, and music are harmonized in the fountain to create a water ballet controlled by an aquatic organ operated through a controller. Water is pumped to the fountain and the operation is computerized. All the other fountains run due to the water pressure from the dam. A laser vision has also been developed for visitors’ attraction The illumination timing is the same as that for the garden. The musical and dancing fountain is located in the North Brindavan Garden. A gallery and rain shelter are provided for the viewers.

Other gardens

The Brindavan Gardens is under the aegis of the Department of Horticulture, Government of Karnataka. The Senior Assistant Director of Horticulture, K.R.S. is responsible for the maintenance of the garden. The garden is divided into four areas. Brindavan garden 60 acres, Government fruit orchard 75 acres,  Naguvana 30 acres,  Chandravana 5 acres, Brindavan Gardens. The garden is divided into -The main gate area South Brindavan North Brindavan Childrens’ Garden

South Brindavan

The main gate is designed on the model of the India Gate, New Delhi. Rose gardens on either side of the gate are worth seeing. Attractive lawns, annual flowerbeds, perennial flowering plants, ornamental hedges are maintained. South Brindavan is the area near the Cauvery Statue. The area in front of the statue is the Kaveramma circle which has big sized water fountains. Distinct styles of terrace gardens can be seen here. Bougainvillea and allamanda plants are grown on the slopes of the terraces. A lawn is maintained in the terrace garden with annual and perennial flower beds and ornamental hedges in the periphery. Cypress plants are found in the center. Dwarf statutes are found aplenty in the terraces and many fountains are also located. The fountain always sprinkles water and this is maintained by the water pressure when the dam in its full capacity. The garden is made more attractive with different colored lights for illumination. This garden is most spectacular in the evenings when the area is illuminated with the fountains on. A glass house in the South Brindavan is used for propagating and maintaining different types of ornamental plants that are required for beautifying the Brindavan Gardens so also for sale at scheduled rates.

North Brindavan

North Brindavan consists of an area encompassing four extensive terraces. In each of the four terraces, extensive lawns, many ornamental annual and perennial flowerbeds and rows of ornamental trees are found. The terrace gardens are beautified with small fountains decorated with different colored lights. Tree avenues of Sago Palm, copper pod, polyether are found in the road that runs parallel to the main dam road. Arches of Bougainvilleas and Bignonia venusta are found over the pathways on either side of the garden. Shrubs of Bougainvillea, Allamanda, Bignonia magnifica, Homskloidia sanguine are found on the slopes of the terraces. Many ornamental trees are also found in the North Brindavan gardens. An ornamental plant nursery is maintained for multiplication and maintenance of plants for sales.

A glass house with a collection of cacti and succulents is maintained to cater to the needs of planting material for the garden and for sales. In between the North and South, Brindavan is the river Cauvery. Visitors can enjoy a boat ride in the river. Boating facilities are also provided for tourists. These facilities are maintained by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation.

ILLUMINATION AT BRINDAVAN GARDENS

The illumination timings are from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM from Monday to Friday and from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM on Saturdays and Sundays. Entry to the tourists will be restricted half an hour before the closing of illumination.

Places of Interest

• North Brindavan
  
• South Brindavan Gardens
  
• Arch Fountains
  
• Cross-fountain
  
• End fountains
  
• Cross-Channel fountain
  
• Radhakrishna Falls
  
• Umbrella fountain
  
• Childrens’ park
  
• Pyramid Fountain
  
• Inverted Basket fountain
  
• Fountain in front of the Kaveramma statue
  
• Goddess Cauvery Statue.
  

Garden Timings:

All Week Days: 6.00am to 8.00pm

Music Fountain Show:

All Week Days: 6.30pm to 7.30pm

Saturdays and Sundays: 6.30pm to 8.30pm

Admission Fee: Adult Rs. 15, Children (5 to 10 yrs.) Rs.5

Phone : 08236 - 257224  / 257223 / 257227

Tips

• Take the boat to get to the musical fountains instead of walking up to them.
• Try to visit the place in the evening around 4:00 PM to enjoy the garden.
• avoid going on a holiday. Prefer a working day to enjoy the beauty of the place as the crowds are maddening on holidays.
• There are frequent buses from Mysore city Bus station (Route no 303, many Volvo buses are available) to Brindavan Garden if you want to enjoy a Bus ride in Mysore. 
• Transport: Many Government and private buses ply often from Mysore City to Brindavan Garden buses also ply from Bangalore to K.R.S. and Mysore.
  
• Nominal Admission Fee of INR 15 and No Camera Fee.
  
• Plenty of Snack bars inside the Garden.
• The light show starts around 7:30 pm, however, the Gallery to view the fountain show is open from 6:00 pm so start early if you want to see the show from the gallery.
• Garden becomes crowded as the evening progresses.

beware You will find some individuals in the parking area and around offering to get you the entrance tickets on priority. They lie that the queue would take half an hour while there is absolutely no queue. And these cheats charge Rs 50 for a Rs 15 entrance ticket. 

Timings