The Somnathpur and Talakadu tour from Bangalore begins with hotel pickup at 7:30 am in a private air conditioned vehicle.

The first stop is Somnathpur, home of the Chennakesava temple, built in 1268 by Somanatha, a general of King Narasimha III of the Hoysala dynasty, and one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture in existence. The temple sits on a star shaped platform and has three shrines, each crowned with its own intricately carved tower. The exterior walls are covered in horizontal bands of sculpture running all the way around the building — elephants, horses, scrolling foliage, scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and rows of deities wearing jewellery, crowns, bangles and anklets so finely carved you can see the individual links in their chains. The 16 different ceilings inside each depict a different stage of a blooming banana flower, a feat of stone carving that has never been replicated. Your guide will also draw your attention to a strange detail — the dancers carved on the walls all have their noses cut. Your guide will explain the mystery behind this extraordinary anomaly.

Talakadu, thirty kilometres further along the Cauvery river, is one of the most unusual places in Karnataka. This was once a flourishing pilgrimage town with more than 30 temples. According to legend, a queen of the Mysore royal family cursed the town in the 17th century after the death of the Viceroy, decreeing that Talakadu would become sand, that the nearby pool at Malangi would become a whirlpool, and that the Mysore royal family would have no heirs. The geological and dynastic facts that followed the curse are extraordinary, and your guide tells the full story at the site.

Today five temples have been excavated from the sand dunes and are accessible to visitors. The Vaidyanatheswara temple, built in the 14th century by the Chola kings and dedicated to Lord Shiva, is the most impressive. The Pataleshwara Shiva temple is the most mysterious, its lingam said to change colour through the day from red to black to white. A bullock cart ride through the sand dunes between the temples is one of the most memorable experiences on the tour.

Hotel drop in Bangalore by 5:30 pm.

This private Somnathpur and Talakadu tour from Bangalore is fully inclusive. We take care of hotel pickup and drop in a private air conditioned vehicle, your English speaking cultural guide throughout the day, all entry fees and a South Indian vegetarian lunch.