Red-necked Ibis at Talkad

We came across many birds during our visit to Talkad. We spotted many birds around the temple in this small village. One of them is Red-necked Ibis.

It is a medium sized bird, measuring 60-70 cm in length. It has bright reddish warts on the crown and the nape. It is a black bird with a patch of white near the shoulder. 

These birds inhabit grasslands, meadows, marshes, riverbeds and irrigated farmland. They build nest in trees.

Coot at Talkad

We came across many birds during our visit to Talkad. We spotted many water birds in a pond in this small village. One of them is Coot.

Coots are small water birds. They have predominantly black plumage with red to dark red eyes and coloured bills.

Vaidyanatheshwara Temple, Talkad

Vaidyanatheshwara Temple at Talkad is one of the oldest temple here. Recent excavations have unearthed this temple and some other prominent temples. This temple built in the 14th century by the kings of Chola Dynasty. 





This magnificent granite temple built in Dravidian style showcases wonderful craftsmanship by the artisans of the period. Later, the Hoysalas, Vijayanagar and Mysore Maharajas made valuable additions to this temple.

The east facing temple has doorways that is intricately carved and has two huge guards  approximately 10ft standing on either side of the entrance. The outer walls are covered by depictions of various forms of Shiva and Vishnu. 

A beautiful chain of granite rings is sculpted at one end of the outer roof. Interesting feature of this chain is that they hang down from the roof, with no joints. 

Interesting carvings are done on the pillars and walls of the temple. Each of these carving outdo each other.

Sri Maruleshwara Temple, Talkad

Maruleshwara Temple at Talkad is one of the oldest temple here. Recent excavations have unearthed this temple and some other prominent temples. This temple built sometime between 11th and 12th century by the kings of Ganga Dynasty. 

The sanctum of the  temple has Shivalinga.  The temple is amidst the sand dunes and down in side the protective walls built to save the temples from sand movements. To reach this temple one has to climb down series of steps. 

This is a small and simple temple without any sculptural decorations on the exterior walls of the temple like any other temples of that period.

Kingfisher at Talakad

We had visited historic site of Talkad to see visit numerous temples. Being country side we could see various birds.

One of such bird is Kingfisher near the temple pond.

Sri Pathaleshwara Swamy Temple, Talkad

Pathaleshwara Swamy Temple at Talkad is one of the oldest temple built in 11th century by the kings of Ganga Dynasty. Recent excavations have unearthed this temple and some other prominent temples. 

This is one of the 5 Shiva temples in the area. The temple is amidst the sand dunes and down in side the protective walls built to save the temples from sand movements. To reach this temple one has to climb down series of steps. 

This is a small and simple temple with minimal carvings on the exterior walls of the temple like any other temples of that period.

Talkad

Talkad is an ancient town located 33 kms from Mysore. This city on the banks of Cauvery river in the ancient days had been the capital city of Chola and Ganga kingdoms. 

It was ruled by the Gangas before the 11th century and then Cholas from the 11th through the 12th centuries. It came under the control of Hoysala in the 12th century. It was then patronized by the Vijayanagar rulers and the Maharajas of Mysore. 

Apart from the temples, this place is known for its sand dunes. The sand dunes here have buried large number of monuments. The excavation work is in progress here to unearth these precious treasures. 

Some of such monuments are:

• Vaidyeshwara Temple
• Arkeshwara Temple
• Pataleshwara Temple
• Maruleshwara Temple 
• Mallikarjuna Temple
• Kirthinarayan Temple

Being the countryside you can get to see many birds here. On the way to this place there are several water ponds with birds in them.

A Short Trip

It is hot summer here and for kids schools are closed for vacation. As I had not planned for any holiday in advance no bookings were done either by flight or train. So only option left for us was to drive down by car to where ever we wanted to go. 

As it is summer here we decided on a trip to hill station. It is a short trip of 5 days covering temples, palace and cool locales of hill station. We stated from Bangalore on 1st of May and headed to Mysore. On the way we visited temples at Somnathpur and Talakad. We were in Mysore by the afternoon and visited the palace after a brief rest. We visited this palace again for kids even though we were here earlier.

On 2nd May we left early morning for Najangud to visit an old temple. We were in Ooty, the "Queen of Hills" by 11 a.m via Bandipur, Madumalai and Masangudi enjoying our drive through the forest. It was delight watching the birds and animals in the forest. This road is through the 36 hair-pin curves up the hill.

After Checking into the hotel we drove to Coonoor another hill station nearby. We were back in Ooty in the evening after visiting gardens and couple view points. Next day 3rd May was dedicated to Ooty for tour of gardens and viewpoints. In the afternoon we had the company of rain.

Next day morning on 4th May we visited some more places in Ooty including boating in the lake. We left this place by 11 a.m for Mysore after seeing some of places on the way. This time we took a different route to Mysore via Gudalur, Madumalai and Bandipur. On 5th May we visited Karanji lake and zoo before starting on our way back to Bangalore.