The temples in Somnathpur are not as famous as the ones in Belur and Halebid, though they all are from the same period. Somnathpur is more representative of the age, since it did not suffer destruction as much as Belur and Halebid did and hence offers a more unbroken view of period's architecture.

Somnathpur's temples adhere to the typical Hoysala style architecture where the temple is designed as a mini cosmos with scenes carved on the walls including Gods, Goddesses, dancing girls, musicians, gurus and all kinds of animals including elephants, lions, cows and monkeys.

At the temple, the outer walls are decorated with a series of star-shaped folds and the entire surface is covered with carved stone plaques. The walls above the plinth are also carved with exquisite figures of gods and goddesses, taken from the Hindu puranas, and meticulously arranged in vertical panels.

The most famous temple is the one dedicated to Keshava, built around 1268 AD by which time the Hoysalas had completed 260 years in power. However, the temples of Somnathpur were not built by the king, but by popular army commander Somnath. He founded a village on the banks of the Cauvery and then embarked on constructing temples in a bid to further his immortality.

The temple itself, stellar in shape, has three profusely carved pinnacles with a common Navranga and stands on a raised platform.

The three sanctum sanctorums once housed beautifully carved idols of Kesava, Janardhana and Venugopala. Today, the idol of Lord Kesava is missing but the other two still adorn the sactum sanctorums in their original form.

Getting Here:

• By Air: Bangalore airport is the nearest to Somnathpur.

• By Train: Mysore is the nearest train station.

• By Road: Buses from Mysore (60 km), Bangalore (130 km) and Srirangapatna