• Two-hour journey to cover 35 places; tickets priced at Rs. 250 per person
• Tickets can be bought at KSTDC Office on JLB Road or booked online

Mysore/Mysuru: The Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) is making preparations to launch the Ambaari specially-built open-roof bus tours in Mysuru from Aug. 1. 

The much-hyped and the much-delayed project will be launched now as the COVID-19 cases have come down and   also as tourists are flocking places of interest. The KSTDC wants to cash-in on the tourist footfall to Mysuru and surrounding areas to boost revenue.

Tourists can buy tickets at the KSTDC Office (Hotel Mayura Hoysala) on JLB Road and there is an online facility too to book tickets. The ticket has been priced at Rs. 250 per person. The project has been  delayed inordinately and the KSTDC had plans to launch it last Dasara but could not do so due to the pandemic.

Route inspections held

To identify potential obstacles for the movement of Ambaari open roof top double-decker bus, like dangling electricity and cable wires, tree branches and arches, two route inspections have been conducted — first on Jan. 5, 2021 and 2nd on Jan. 16.

The Ambaari is a Hop-on and Hop-off initiative based on the model of London’s ‘Big Bus Tours’ taking tourists around the city in open-roof buses. The project worth Rs. 5 crore was announced for tourism destinations of  Mysuru and Hampi in the 2019-2020 Budget. 

Accordingly six buses have been refurbished, painted and readied. Mysuru presently has four and remaining two are in Hampi where the tours have not yet been scheduled. The four buses are at present parked in KSRTC Depot at Bannimantap. 

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, KSTDC Regional Manager Uday Kumar said the service will begin in Mysuru from Aug. 1, at 8.30 am with the first trip. An online meeting was held in this regard yesterday where KSTDC Managing Director Vijay Sharma asked Mysuru KSTDC staff to launch the service. 

Audio guide

“There are plans to launch all four buses in four routes covering 35 destinations. We will take a call depending on the public response. All the trips will be planned as per COVID guidelines. We are gradually resuming tours and packages as per public response. The Ambaari tour will have a duration of two hours and to start with, we will run two buses,” Uday Kumar said. 

Tourists will get an audio guide the moment the bus reaches the particular tourist spot. The audio is currently available in two languages — Kannada and English. The 40-seater buses with lower and upper-decks were built in Bengaluru, he added. 

The double-decker buses have a height of 15 feet and it has been attractively painted. The body wrapping of the buses has been done based on Karnataka’s forms and has motifs representing the rich culture, diversity, wildlife and tourist attractions. 

35 places in 2 hours

Mayura Hoysala, DC Office, Crawford Hall, Manasagangothri Entrance Gate, Oriental Research Institute (ORI), Ramaswamy Circle, Sanskrit Patashaala, Mysuru City Corporation, Jaganmohan Palace, K.R. Circle, Town Hall, Gandhi Square, Silver Jubilee Clock Tower, K.R. Circle, Palace South Gate, Jayamarthanda Gate, Hardinge Circle, Glass House, Mysuru Zoo, Karanji Lake, Jockey Quarters/Chamundi Hill Circle, Lalitha Mahal, Snow City, Chamundi Vihar Stadium, Five Light Circle, St. Philomena’s Church, Fountain Circle, LIC Circle/Bannimantap, Highway Circle, Bamboo Bazaar Road, Government Ayurveda College Circle, Railway Station Circle and back to Mayura Hoysala.