A day trip to the heritage site of Somanathapura. It is famous for an artistic temple with intricate carvings symbolic of Hoysala dynasty architecture which once ruled this region. The stone work is very fine and treat to watch built by General Somanatha of the hoysala.

Starting at around 7 am we reached the temple by 11:00 am taking approximately 4 hours to reach the place with 2 stops on way for fuel and breakfast. The breakfast was at Kamath yatri niwas which has become quite famous amongst travelers from Bangalore to Mysore. A traditional south Indian cuisine on offer, it was the first time I was visiting this place and found nothing extraordinary.

After continuing further on Mysore highway, a state highway 33 starts and we took that road to reach Malavalli police station on a round about. A right turn from that place sent us closer to Somanathapura. The road condition deteriorates within the last 7 km. the sign boards are present throughout and you will not miss them as they have a stone pole with a yellow sign board signifying tourist location distance information.

Once we reached the heritage site, we started filling up our memory cards to our hearts content. We were 5 of us and would have taken many gigs of photos. I nearly filled up my 8GB card which was surprising to me as well.We did not realize how much shooting was going on. The entry ticket is INR 5 which seemed more like a formality to collect tickets. Non Indian origin people are charged INR 25. There is no fee for still camera but video camera attract a fee of INR 100. The ticket issued was yellow colored which has the Incredible India slogan by Archeological Survey ot India in collaboration with Ministry of Tourism.

The temple is situated on the left bank of river Cauvery but we could not feel a water body close by. The temple has 3 sanctums with beautifully carved ceiling, walls and pillar. The idols within the temples were marvelously cut out. On the entrance at left side is a engraved huge stone wall, with inscriptions of people who helped build this temple.

We spent nearly 2 hours photographing all possible views and landscape with temple as focal point. Inside the temple is no light or very dim focus light which makes photography difficult under lo lighting conditions. There are trained certified guides available for hire which will explain the history and multiple stories behind the carving depiction on temple walls. The exterior of temple is equally well carved out.

The time we reached, there was some sort of repairing work going on and some areas were no entry places. We could not go around the temple but could walk on the elevated platform on which the entire temple is built. The sun was right on our head and we shielded ourselves with some shade for a while.

As we were done quite early, we decided to head to Talakad which is around 15 km from this temple site. After going for 2 km we had to take a right for 9 km to reach talakad. We were very disappointed with the location of this place and without any stay, headed straight back. The place is not worth a visit as the roads are in very bad shape and the destination has nothing in it to attract people. A quick bit of ice cream cooled all of us down as sun was flaming it rays on us continuously.

We had packed some stuff from Kamath for lunch and everybody was carrying some with them so we did not feel hungry and also hunt for a place to eat at some place. It was around 2 and we still had a lot of time left in the day to explore some nearby places. We decided to head to Gaganachukki and Barachukki waterfalls also known as Shivanasaudram.. This was my second outing to this destination. Earlier i had been to this place in monsoon time.

The place of Barachukki is reached after climbing down steeply and reaching the base of waterfalls. At road level, the panoramic view of waterfalls are easily visible. At the base is provision for boating in the coracle boats.All 5 of us hired a boat for INR 150 and enjoyed the ride for around 20 minutes. The boat goes right next to water falling from a height and one can get quite wet. We spent some time there basking in the sun as our backs were totally wet after sitting in coracle boats.

The next stop of Gaganachukki is around 1 km from this place and was totally deserted. The last time we had come to this location ws just after rains and the water was gushing around making it difficult even to stand near water. At this time of the year, there was hardly any flowing water in these falls and were mostly dry. We we done seeing all these places by 4:30 pm on that day and decided to call it end and head back home. We were approximately 120km from home and had good long time to rest before getting back to routine the next day.

We stopped at Cafe Coffee day which is around 45 km from Shivanasamudram spending almost an hour for some sandwiches and shakes. We saw Robin Uthappa at this coffee day outlet who plays for Indian cricket team and Karnataka state team. They had just lost the final match earlier day to Mumbai.

We reached home well in time and got a good night’s sleep before resuming office the next day.

The state of Karnataka is known as the focal point of stone carved architecture. The ruins of Hampi or the remains of Hoysala dynasty are 2 world class citing and now declared as world heritage sites.

A gem of architecture which is still not possible today with the availability of all precision based equipment and tools. The archeological site of Somanathapur is another example of expertize of Hoysala dynasty in stone carvings.

The temple is present in a large compound which has been there for many centuries. It was built by a General of Hoysala dynasty centuries ago.

The carvings can be seen on temple walls, ceilings, exteriors and the idols. Follow the below link to get mesmerized in the beautiful architecture of hoysala era.

SOMANATHAPURA PHOTO GALLERY