Somnathpura

Day-trip to Somnathpura

We started at 8.00 am in the morning from Bannerghatta road. Reached Mysore road via Kanakapura road and NICE's amazing(I can say that again & again!!!) Peripheral road (Too bad its stuck in controversy).  Reached channapatna around 9.30 passing Bidadi, Ramanagara on the way. 

 Immediately after crossing Channapatna town, there are a host of eateries to the right - Cafe coffee day, Indradanush & Shivalli MTR.

Breakfast at Shivalli MTR

Breakfast here is delicious and inexpensive.  Cup idly & Masala Dosa seem to be hot favourites. Khara bath, Bisibele bath & Pongal come a close second. You could also get lunch packed from here since it is very unlikely to find a good restaurant anywhere close to Somnathpura or other tourist attractions that are close-by.

On to Shivanasamudra

We wanted to club another place with Somnathpura.  The day was a little on the warmer side and hence we thought not ideal to visit Talkad.

 So we decided to go to Shivanasamudra i

nstead.  We took a left after crossing Maddur and continued towards Shivanasamudra. The road here is not very good and we got bumped about quite a bit. But the scenery around more than made up for it (Pics attached: Left & Top). We came across a village on the way (can't quite recollect the name) where beneath the name of the village was written "New York". It was quite hilarious to see that. Unfortunately couldn't get a picture of that. We reached Shivanasamudra around 12 noon.  Shivanasamudra comprises of both Gaganachukki and Barachukki falls. We went to the Gaganachukki and were able to see it in all splendour. (Pic. on top)

Somnathpura

The journey from Shivanasamudra to Somnathpura was a bit arduous due to the bad roads and seemed never ending. But a visit to Somnathpura is worth all that. The Somnathpura temple builtby the Hoysalas in the 13th Century (1268 AD) is rich in architecture.  It is learnt that it took 500 workers 40 years to construct this.  A tourist guide would give lots of insight into the architecture and history.

  

Our guide Kumar gave us wonderful information regarding:

* The stone used to build the temple and where it was brought from

*  How Somnathpura temple is different from the Belur and Halebidu temples

*  What the carvings on the roof of the temple signify

*  Why there is a pillar in the front of the temple

Do find out the answers when you get there!

The return journey 

We took the Somnathpura-Bannur-Malavalli-Kanakapura-Bengalooru route which was a shade better than the T.Narsipura route but not ideal. This route has work going on in nearly 40% of the stretch and is very poorly lit. So, avoid it if you are returning after dark.

The Best route (in my opinion) would be:

Bengalooru-Mandya-Bannur-Somnathpura

Bengalooru-Maddur-Malavalli-Bannur-Somnathpura (You would need to go into Malavalli town towards the bus stand)