At the turn of the decade, Chirag, a Bangalorean, had a tough time finding lodging in Mysore. It could only get worse for tourists this year, considering the City of Palaces has been named the fourth-best destination in the list of '31 Places To Go In 2010' by the New York Times, which cited its booming yoga centres which cater to everybody's needs.

The only other destination in India in the list is Mumbai, ranked 13th. Sri Lanka tops the list, followed by Patagonia wine country in Argentina and Seoul.

Recognizing Mysore's excellence in the field of yoga, the NYT report said: "You've completed 200 hours of teacher training, mastered flying crow pose and even spent a week at yoga surf camp. What's next? Yogis seeking transcontinental bliss head these days to Mysore, the City of Palaces, in southern India."

The high praise continues: "Mysore's yoga boom now has shalas catering to every need. Off the mat, the yoga tribe hobnobs at Anu's Bamboo Hut or the Regaalis hotel pool, studies Sanskrit, gets an ayurveda treatment, or tours the Maharaja's Palace."

Mysore is logging visitors like never before, with the ornate Mysore Palace getting 25 lakh visitors annually. This is next only to Madame Tussauds, the wax museum in London. The Mysore zoo, too, recorded a new high in visitors last year. About 23 lakh visitors came to the conservation centre, with 3.65 lakh visiting in December alone when tourist arrivals reaches its zenith, starting from Dasara season in September-October. The zoo, which earned Rs 2 crore in 2003-04, collected Rs 6 crore till December this fiscal.

The Heritage City has been seeing a steady rise in visitors. Yoga gurus, including the legendary Pattabi Jois, have always attracted students from abroad.

Mumbai's grit earns praise
India's financial capital, Mumbai, has been appreciated for its love of art and the zeal with which its residents marked the first anniversary of terror attacks. Now, the megapolis has been marked out for a must visit by The New York Times, which has compiled a list of '31 Places To Go In 2010'. Mysore figures in No. 4 slot.

"On the first anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, citizens painted a one-kilometre stretch of wall in south Mumbai with murals to show their love and hope for the city. The initiative, by a group of organisations that included the Mumbai Arts Project (MAP), which is dedicated to creating public art projects, is just one sign that Mumbai's art scene is on the rebound," the NYT report said.
The daily also hailed the Colaba art district and two contemporary galleries - Gallery BMB and Volte - that were opened in the second half of 2009 and drew big names from around the globe.

The US destinations on the list are Los Angeles (No. 11), Las Vegas (17) and Breckenridge (23).
Besides Mysore and Mumbai, the other must-visit Asian destinations are Koh Kood in Thailand (6), Shanghai (12) and Shenzhen (20) in China, Istanbul in Turkey (19), Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia (30) and Nepal (31).

Source: TNN