Gokak

Gokak lies near the Ghataprabha River on the northern Deccan plateau. Not far from the town the river plunges over a sandstone cliff into a rocky gorge, forming the Gokak Falls. Temples stand on both sides of the gorge, among them the north-facing Mahalingeshwara shrine on the southern bank. Built in the later Chalukya style, it is also known as Tarakeshwara in an inscription of 1153. The river and its falls give this old temple landscape its distinctive setting.