Talkad , For the enthusiastic, there is the trip by bus to Talkad, the ancient capital of the Ganga and Cholakings, 30 km south-east of Somnathpur, on the way to Sivasamudram. The legend surrounded Talkad located on the left bank of the Cauvery, houses 6 temples built in the Dravidian style. The Vaidyeswar Shiva temple built of granite in 1360 contains Siva in various postures. In front of the temple stand the gate keepers, the brothers Tala and Kadu, who were said to have been granted the boon of immortal­ity by the deity. The city has been named after the brothers twin who are credited with having cleared the forest and unearthed the image. Another spectacular sight is the phallic Lingeswar which keeps on changing its colour. It appears deep red in the morn­ing, pale yellow in the evening and white at night. There are several other temples buried under the sand which are dug out every 12 years in the month of Kartik (Oct-Nov) during the Panchalinga Darshana festivities.

Best Time :
The ideal time to visit Talkad is almost all the months in the year.

How to Get there:
Air : The nearest airport is at Bangalore which is 100 km from Talkad.
Rail : Mysore is nearest railhead, at a distance of 65-kms.
Road : Around 100km from Bangalore; 65 km from Mysore.