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Introduction
 A small town located at about 15 kms from Mysore in Karnataka, Srirangapatna served as the capital of the Mysore state under the reign of Tipu Sultan. Flaunting several historical places associated with the life of Tipu Sultan, Srirangapatna is a major tourist attraction of Karnataka. The Daria Daulat Bagh – more famous as the Summer Palace of Tipu Sultan - is one of the must-visit sites on a tour to Srirangapatna.
Built in 1784, The Summer Palace of Tipu Sultan is an Indo-Islamic structure evocative of Tipu's immense passion for greenery and open space. The palace situated amid beautiful gardens called Daria Daulat Bagh, is built on a raised platform and the building material used is mainly teakwood. There are open corridors along all four sides of the platform with wooden pillars supporting the edges. The western and eastern wings are furnished with walls, while the other two wings have recessed bays with pillars to support the roof. The audience hall is partitioned into four rooms at the four corners, with the central hall connecting the eastern and western corridors.
The most exquisite feature of this Summer Palace of Tipu Sultan is that all the walls, pillars, canopies and arches are adorned with colorful frescoes. While the outer walls sport paintings of battle-scenes and portraits, the inner walls bear scrolls of thin foliage and floral patterns. The wooden ceilings are decorated with canvas paintings of floral patterns. Among the numerous paintings at the palace, there are the five rows of paintings on the eastern wall depicting the scenes of Darbars of various contemporaries of Tipu Sultan like the Rani of Chitor, the Raja of Tanjore, the Raja of Benares, Balaji Rao II Peshwa, Magadi Kepegowda and Madakari Nayaka of Chitradurga and Krishnaraja Wodeyar II.
The top floor of Daria Daulat Bagh houses the Tipu Sultan Museum. The museum exhibits a choice selection of memoirs related to Tipu, some European paintings and Persian manuscripts. One of the main attractions here is the "Storming of Srirangapattanam" - an oil painting by Sir Robert Ker Porter, dating back 1800. The painting depicts the decline of Srirangapatna in 1799. It shows Tipu's warriors fighting the British army and many British officers are easily visible in the painting.
Some of the nearby tourist attractions of Summer Palace of Tipu Sultan include the Srirangapatna Fort, the venue where Tipu died while fighting the British, the Jama Masjid and the Ranganathaswamy Temple. Outside the fort is the Gumbaz containing Tipu's tomb.
How To Reach
By Air - The nearest airport is at Mysore, about 15 kms away.
By Rail - The nearest railhead is also at Mysore, which in turn is well-connected by trains to Bangalore.
By Bus - Located on the Mysore-Banglore National highway, Srirangapatna has all buses plying on this route stopping at the place.
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