Shree Samsthan Mahabaleshwar Dev Temple

According to Indian mythology, when Ravana realized that the young monk (Lord Ganesha's avatar) had deceived him in to keeping the Atmalinga on the ground (as explained here), he grew restless and tried to move and uproot it to complete his epic journey to Lanka. Alas, when with all his strength he was unsuccessful; he christened the Atmalinga as Mahabalalingam (or the most powerful lingam).
The shape of the Atmalinga is different from Lord Shiva lingams worshipped elsewhere in the country. Legend has it that a mystic and beautiful golden deer carried the essence of the universe in its three horns. The three horns represented the trinity in Hinduism. While the towns of Pushkar and Saligrama host the Atmalingas for Brahma and Vishnu respectively, the middle one representing Shiva's Atmalinga was installed by Lord Ganesha in Gokarna, completing the trinity. Thus, in this town Shiva is the prime deity and his temple remains the biggest and the most important place of worship. Mondays are special with hundreds of devotees paying a visit to the temple and you are likely to see Gokarna relatively busy. Hence, depending on the day of the week and time of the day you visit this temple, it may take you anywhere between 20 minutes to an hour to complete the darshanam.

In the months of February or March (dates vary as per Hindu calendar), Gokarna celebrates the festival of Mahashivratri like no other. Thousands of people throng this small town from all over the world. A huge chariot—usually parked next to Maha Ganpati Temple—is drawn through the streets and people throw bananas and flowers at it. If that offering lands inside one of Chariot's windows, it is considered auspicious.
The premises of Mahabaleshwar temple has two entrances. The south entrance—that is on the same street as Maha Ganapati Temple—has a string of administrative offices to the left, before you reach a serpentine queue of devotees at the west entrance, facing Gokarna beach and the Indian Ocean.