16 km from Mysore on the Bangalore road stands the ruins of Hyder AH and Tipu Sultan's capital from which they ruled much of southern India during the 18th century before being finally defeated by the British, allied with local disgruntled leaders and with the help of a traitor, in 1799. Tipu's defeat marked the real beginning of British territorial expansion in southern India. There isn't a great deal left of Srirangapatnam as the British did a good job of demolishing the place but the extensive ramparts and battlements and some of the gates still stand and the dungeon where Tipu held prisoner a number of British officers has been preserved. Inside the walls there's also a mosque and the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple, a popular place of pilgrimage with Hindus.

Across the other side of the road from Srirangapatnam stands the Daria Daulat Bagh, Tipu's summer palace, and the Gumbaz, Tipu's mausoleum. These are perhaps the most interesting part of a visit to Srirangapatnam. The Daria Daulat Bagh stands in well-maintained ornamental gardens and is now a museum which houses some of Tipu’s belongings as well as many ink drawings of him and his family and artists impressions of the last battle , executed by employees of the British East India Company. All around the internal walls of the ground floor are paintings depicting Tipu’s campaign against the British with French mercenary assistance. Ten years ago this summer palace was graced with ornamented leather awnings to keep out the sun but this has now disappeared and its obvious that maintenance of the building has been seriously neglected a pity when they see fit to look after the garden so well.