Mysore Sand Sculpture Museum

Opened in 2014 at the base of Chamundi Hills, it was the first sand sculpture museum built in India. Sand artist M.N. Gowri, a fine arts graduate, spent roughly four months sculpting some 150 works from 115 truckloads of construction-grade sand, organized around 16 themes covering Mysore's royal heritage, wildlife, and the region's religious traditions of Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. The sculptures are housed under a translucent, weatherproof canopy and are periodically restored, since sand art is inherently fragile and requires ongoing maintenance.