The Heritage of Karnataka

Well, last time around, we travelled through the fun and exotic beaches and along the coastline, covering coveted temples and water falls on the way. Moving on from the humid, cool and perspiring climate to the dry, hot and arid climate, we now cover some legacy and architectural beauty in North Karnataka.

Situated in the district of Bagalkot, are some of the most famous, globally recognized structures that can make anyone awestruck. The best season to visit them would be from September to January. Its very hot once the summer starts and it becomes tough to wander around.

Now let’s see through each one of them.

BADAMI:

About 500kms from Bangalore, 100 kms from Hubbali is this beautiful place called Badami.

This is a hilly region, with the hills formed of sandstone. Previously known as Vatapi, the caves through these hills once served as the capital of the Chalukyas.

(View of one of the caves at Badami)

Badami sculptures are a sight to watch and one can find many inscriptions inside the cave temples.

A whole day is required to explore the entire caves. A lake, Agasthya tirtha, is found surrounded by the hills. This is a treat to watch from far off land. In rainy season, one should be lucky enough to get a glimpse of a few waterfalls formed from the hills.

(View of Agasthya Thirtha)

Badami is well connected via road from Hubballi, Bagalkot and Bijapur. The nearest airport is Hubbali. A lot of trains ply from Bangalore.

Around 5 kms from Badami town, is another small village Banashankari. The temple here is famous, with the deity Shakambari or Banashankari. She is known to be the incarnation of goddess Parvati. Myth says that this goddess once came in a merchant’s dream, who was her worshipper, and provoked him to instill another temple of the same goddess in Bangalore. This led to the temple in the famous Banashankari area in Bangalore.

(Banashankari Temple)

(View of Badami hills)

(Carvings at Badami)

PATTADAKAL:

Around 35kms from Badami is Pattadakal. This was one of the significant centers of the Chalukya dynasty. The place is located on the banks of Malaprabha river and is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Pattadakal, although not commercially famous as Badami, is known for the Dravidian style temples built during the Chalukya era. There is Hindu temple complex, with multiple temples in a single location and a Jain temple, about a km from this complex.

(Pattadakal Temple complex)

The temple and the deity are not worshipped as the temple complex has been subjected to raids multiple times since the 13^th century. However, the remains still are a reminiscent of the culture, architecture.

(Jain Temple at Pattadakal)

A lot of commute is available from Badami. One can hire a cab or can catch a bus that ply to this place.

(Carvings at Pattadakal)

AIHOLE:

Another monumental place, along with Badami and Pattadakal, that took up importance as a heritage spot is Aihole. About 10kms from Pattadakal and 35kms from Badami, is this small village with a temple complex spread across acres.

(Temple at Aihole)

Aihole, again, was constructed during the Chalukya era. This follows the same Pattadakal type having temples in Dravidian style. There is a Hindu temple complex, a Jain temple complex and a Buddhist temple. Later, the place was maintained by the Rashtrakuta dynasty.

Like Pattadakal, Aihole too was subjected to multiple raids, which resulted in many important statues and monuments going missing.

Once a cab is hired, Aihole can be reached easily. Again, several buses ply from Badami.

The monuments as Badami-Aihole-Pattadakal are a beauty to watch and worth a visit. Archeologists still work here and try to excavate remains which may lead to history being unfolded. These monuments also showcase the existence of dynasties, their rule and the interaction between northern and southern style of architectures.

Other places to visit:

Some of the other nearby places that can be visited include Almatti dam and Koodala Sangama.

Almatti dam is the hydro-electric power station built across the Krishna river. There is a garden called a rock hill garden which makes it a picnic spot.

(Almatti Dam)

Koodala Sangama is a place where the Malaprabha river joins the Krishna river. The place is located on the banks of the river where these two rivers meet. This is one of the tourist attractions and an important religious place for the Lingayats, one of the faiths followed in the state. Also, this place includes the holy Samadhi or the Aikya mantapa of the great reformer Basavanna, the founder of the Lingayat faith.

The place is around 40kms from the city of Bagalkot and 40Kms from Badami. This has good road connectivity with Bijapur, Raichur and Bagalkot.

(Aikya Mantapa of Basavanna)

(Koodala Sangameshwara temple)