Amba Vilas, popularly known as Mysore Palace and reckoned to be the most recognizable of all the palaces in the country, draws more tourists than Taj Mahal.

The number of tourists to the Mysore palace in 2006 was 25,25,687 as per the Archeological Survey of India figures while the number of tourists who had visited Taj Mahal in Agra was 25,39,471.

Although the Taj Mahal was narrowly ahead of Mysore Palace in terms of number of tourists visiting it, sources in Mysore Palace Board said that the number could be higher than the official figures.

The official figure pertaining to the number of tourists given by the Palace Board here only takes into account those who buy tickets to gain entry inside the Durbar Hall and the ‘’Kalyana Mantapam’’. The sources said if the combined figures of the ticketed tourists and those who enter the main gate, but not the Durbar Hall, are counted, the inflow of tourists to the Palace would outnumber those visiting the Taj Mahal.

It became evident since 2003-2004 when tourism in the region picked up, the travelling domestic tourists had a spill over effect. The tourists inflow to spots like Chamundi Hills, the 100-year-old Mysore Zoo, besides the Bridavan Gardens at Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir, near here.

The sources said the upward trend in the number of visitors to Mysore Palace could be gauged by the comparative figures for previous years. While 18,04,488 tourists visited the Palace in 1999, the number decreased to 14,19,466 in 2002 when the region was badly hit by drought.

But since 2003, the tourist inflow has increased from 16.45 lakh to 18.31 lakh in 2004 and jumped to 20.62 lakh in 2005. It crossed the 2.5 million mark last year.

The figures available for the first six months indicated that  last year’s record of 2.5 million would be easily surpassed by a big margin this year as approximately 13 lakh tourists visited the Palace till July end this year. The peak tourism season for Mysore commencing from next month when the world famous Dasara festivities would begin from October 12 to 21 will also add to the number.

The figures released for other popular monuments from across the country by the Union Ministry of Tourism and Culture, include Qutub Minar (21.95 lakh), Red Fort at New Delhi (21.01 lakh) Agra Fort (12.74 lakh) and Fatehpur Sikri (3.92 lakh) and the figures for Mysore Palace outnumbered all of them.

The tourists would double next month as the priceless golden throne in Mysore Palace would be kept for public viewing for one month and even the domestic tourists would be eager to have a glimpse of it, the source added.