[procrj]

Pattadakal > Sangameshvara Temple

Started by king Vijayaditya, this temple was unfinished during his reign and was probably completed by a later chalukya king. The large proportions of this temple along with its beautiful windows and wall panels makes it a very good example of dravidian style architecture.







Vicotry tower with inscriptions about Vikramaditya II

[procrj]

Pattadakal > Virupaksha Temple

Built to commemorate Vikramaditya II's victory over Pallavas, this temple is the highlight of Pattadakal and depicts the best of early chalukyan art & architecture. Here is what captured my attention both inside and outside the temple



Virupaksha Temple on the Left & Mallikarjuna Temple


Trivikrama - Do note the intricate panel above the image


Surya on his chariot


Shiva emerging from the Linga


Ravana killing Jatayu


Intricately carved Pillars inside the temple




Mahishasuramardini


Ramayana panel on a Pillar


Mahabharatha panel on a Pillar


Dwarapalaka

[procrj]

Pattadakal > Mallikarjuna temple

Built by Trilokamahadevi to honor her husband's victory over Pallavas, this temple is a smaller version of the Virupaksha temple - similar in design and art work.







Wall panel depicting events from Krishna's life


Ceiling panel


Dancing Shiva


Churning of the Ocean - 2 Versions

[procrj]

Pattadakal > Papanatha Temple

Walk towards the river bank in front of Virupaksha temple and to your right, you will see a well maintained complex, which is the Papanatha temple.









Shiva - Ceiling Panel


Dancing Shiva


Nagaraja

[procrj]

Banashankari Temple

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/BTdodBuJ2Ev

Located 5 kms from Badami on the road to Rona, this Maratha style temple dedicated to Banashankari devi is a popular pilgrimage. While the temple is quiet small, what stands out is the lamp tower on the outer walls of the temple tank and the structure encircling the tank. Do watch out for the protruding stones while driving through the entrance gateway before the parking lot.

Lamp tower


Temple Tank]

[procrj]

Mahakuta Temples

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/8mb2gQDy1h82

Located 14 kms from Badami, this temple complex is also know as Dakshina Kashi (mentioned on the entrance arch when you turn off from Badami - Pattadakal Road). This early chalukyan temple (probably built during the rule of Pulakeshin I) is fed by a natural spring, which is usually used as a swimming pool by visiting youngsters.

Temples in the Complex




You dont see a lot of green in and around Badami but this temple complex is like an oasis of green.

Bhairava Idol


Standing Bramha


Ardhanarisvara


Urdhwareteshvara


Beautiful Shiva Idol next to the tank


Hindu Trinity with a twist

Bramha, Shiva & then Vishnu. Breaks the organized logic of creator, protector & destroyer

The tank known as Vishnu Pushkarni has a small mantapa with a 4 faced shiva linga





The temples themselves are in a dilapidated state with locals using various parts of the temple for cooking & consuming food.

[procrj]

Badami - Stay & Food Options

Stay - Heritage Resort Badami

• Comes with car parking
• Rooms are spacious, clean and comfortable. Paid 3.6K per night for 3 adults + 1 Kid
• Food is good but Breakfast is a problem. They dont serve breakfast till 8 am – not even tea/coffee before that. Made the mistake of waiting for breakfast and then heading out on day 1 and the heat sapped us out by 11 am.
• Lunch is a fixed thali with roti, rice etc. But dinner is A la carte with a decent spred of dishes
• Also has guide books on Badami, Pattadakal & Aihole, which you can borrow and read
• Good view of Sunrise and sunset as its away from the main town and quiet peaceful
• Overall a decent place to spend a night or few nigths to explore the area as long as you can manage breakfast elsewhere

Food Options

• Clarks Inn – We had breakfast here and it was overpriced and not great. Not sure about lunch/dinner but would not reccomend Clarks for breakfast
• Udupi Ananda Bhavan – We had breakfast here and Idli, Upma and Coffee was really good. Stayed away from the oily stuff as this was a small hotel right next to the bus stand.

[procrj]

Itagi > Mahadeva Temple

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/MTixaDh9Rcu

Know as the "Emperor Among Temples", this sprawling Shiva temple is a brilliant example of later chalukyan art. You just cant compare the intricate detailing on the walls and ceiling with any early chalukyan temple. An inscription in medieval Kannada present inside the temple premises states that the temple was built by Mahadeva, a Dandanayaka (army general) of the Chalukyan king Vikramaditya VI in 1112 A.D.

Temple Exterior






Vimana



Entrance and Hall




Intricate detailing
Door jambs, ceiling panels, pillars and just about every structural element in the temple is covered with details of mythology, mythical beasts, lifestyle indicators or lesser hindu gods.








Pillar detailing



Sanctum Sacntorum



Bramha Idol

[procrj]

Lakshmeswar > Someshvara Temple

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/tjrTg28MvKn

Recently renovated & maintained by Infosys foundation, this temple is unique because of the idol that is placed in the sacnctum sanctorum. Also called as Dakshina Somnath, its constructions is heavily influenced by the Somnath temple in Gujarat, the idol portrays lord shiva riding on nandi.





Temple Exterior







Temple Entrance gate





Temple well




Art work

Lakshmeswar is also famous for Pampa or Adi Pampa, the first Kannada writer. He was born in 902 CE. His father abandoned Brahmanism to adopt Jainism. Pampa became the court-poet and a minister under a prince named Ari-kesari whose court was situated at Lakshmeswar. Ari-kesari claimed to be a descendant from the early Chalukyas but was then a feudatory under the Rashtrakutas.

It is here in Lakshmeswar that Pampa composed his two poems which made him eternal in the history of the Kannada literature. These two compositions were Adi Purana and Vikramarjuna Vijaya or Pampa Bharata.

Source: http://puratattva.in/2014/06/25/laks...somanatha-3224

[procrj]

Other Temples - Planned

Below is a list of other temples that I had planned to visit as a part of this journey but was unable to because of various reasons.

• Kuknoor > Navalinga Temples - https://goo.gl/maps/m3y4J5ppyNJ2
• Sudi > Twin Temples - https://goo.gl/maps/31vqX4mRiLw
• Lakkundi > Various Temples - https://goo.gl/maps/RHbNHDYkyGu
• Gadag > Trikuteshvara Temple - https://goo.gl/maps/3ckyam8fGJ12
• Kundagol > Shambulingesvara Temple - https://goo.gl/maps/FvFsL4P2tNU2

All of the above are chalukyan temples which can be combined with the malaprabha circuit if you have the time & inclination

[procrj]

Route & Road Conditions

Onward

• Bangalore - Hubli: usual 4L roads
• Hubli - Nargund - Kulgeri: Good 2 lane roads
• Kulgeri - Badami: 4L in progress and hence the road is in shambles. Takes almost 40 min to cover 22 odd KMs

https://youtu.be/WftKT20mcqo

Around Badami

• Badami - Pattadakal: Good 2L road almost all the way
• Pattadakal - Aihole: 4L in progress in some sections but in general the road is nothing great and you need to drive with utmost care
• Badami - Mahakuta: You need to take the Pattadakl road and then take a right at the archway to get to Mahakuta. Good roads all the way trough but do watch-out for unmarked speed breakers once you take the right at the arch
• Mahakuta - Banashankari: Good 2L road with stretches of green fields on either side. Was a treat to drive on!

https://youtu.be/9-yxO_7_7KQ

Inside Badami

• North fort trek & Bhuthanatha Temples: Extremely narrow road which passes through vegetable market. I made the mistake of driving though this on the first day to get to Bhuthanatha temple and decided not to do the same again. Please hire a rickshaw or walk up from the main road.
• Malegitti Shivalaya: Did not take the road to get here but it again looks like a small town road on maps and from the upper reaches of the fort. Best bet would be to hire a rick or walk up the road.
• South Fort & Caves: You can easily drive up to the parking lot in front of the caves but you will have monkeys playing, scratching, crapping & dancing on your car in the parking lot.

Return

• Badami - Jalihal - Sudi - Yelburga - Itagi: NH 367 is a good single/double lane road but you need to watch-out for unmarked speed-breakers. Took me 1 hr 15 min to cover this distance of 80 odd kms with a 7.45 am start from Badami.
• Note: If you are approaching Itagi from Kuknoor side, Google maps will take you onto a small lane within Kuknoor. You need to head straight and take the right at the circle to stay on the right road. Also note that there are 2 routes from Kuknoor to Itagi - Follow the buses and take the wider road as the surface is good. Not sure about the conditions of the narrower lane.
• Itagi - Bannikoppa - Gadag: Very good & fast 2L highway once you hit Bannikoppa
• Gadag - Lakshmeswar: The first few kms are narrow and painful but after that you drive through wind farms and the road conditions are good all the way
  
  

  https://youtu.be/JU4gFoQOSeo

• Lakshmeswar - Savanur - Shiggaon: Good to very good 2L roads. Managed to cover 44kms in 35 odd minutes.

My 2 Cents

• Don't try and cover Badami, Pattadakal & Aihole in a day. You will never get to see all that is interesting and different
• Do some light reading before you visit, you will be able to relate to what your guide is telling you (if you hire a guide)
• Don't hire small kids as guides in Aihole. Their knowledge is very limited and they are out to make a fast buck
• Dont drive around in Badami. Apart from the main road, most roads are narrow and even small cars can get stuck as you will have vehicles coming from the other end. My rick was driven by Khajii and he was quiet reasonable with cost and was flexible with time as well. He can be reached at 90080 58145
• Start early to avoid the heat - especially if you plan to go to Pattadakal & Aihole as both these location have zero cover from the sun while in Badami, you can still use the boulders and caves to get away from the sun
• Watch out for monkeys in Badami as they seem to be everywhere are are very bold
• Do eat the butti oota - lunch from the basket, which local ladies carry around at Pattadakal. I did not try it and I regret it as a lot of online reviews mention that they are delicious
• If you like shopping for antique nick nacks, there are a lot of shops on the road to banashankari temple which sell vessels. Try them and you will surely find something that interests you
• Dont miss the sunset at Bhuthnatha temple. Officially the temple closes at 6 PM and the security will start driving out people. All you need to do is wait for a bunch of foreigners to walk in and you can just talk to them and discuss mythology and wait for the sun to go down
• The museum closes at 6 pm, it doesn't mean that the trek path is closed. I would suggest that you catch sunset from the lower shivalaya or the twin towers and then quickly make your way down before it becomes completely dark
• Women can shop for Ilkal sarees, which are supposedly famous in Bagalkot. Shri Siddalingeswar Javali & Cloth stores in the main bazaar is quiet famous even with local folks. When we went there, there were 20 odd women from bride & bridegrooms side shopping for a wedding!
• Mahakuta - walk up all the way to the top of the entrance and check out the sentries.They supposedly are very unique and I missed this.
• Dont miss the view from top of Megutti hill in Aihole. If you can get there for sunrise or sunset, even better.
• Badami is a very small town and hence not sure what kind of medication and aid is available. Do ensure that you carry all medicine that you might need
• None of the petrol pumps in badami had a working air pump. Not sure how or where locals manage to fill air as I visited 3 of them and none of them had working air pump.
• Aug - October is supposedly the best time to visit as surroundings are greener and the heat is lot lesser
• Dont expect the architecture and stone work to be similar to various hoysala temples. This is where stone work probably started. Badami & Aihole were probably the testing labs for future mastery.
• The night sky is beautiful, especially when you move out of town and all the light pollution drops
• Check out the 2 Rs water dispenser in town - 20 ltrs of filtered water for 2 Rs

A couple of pics of my car from the first day adventure drive through the very narrow streets of Badami.




Thanks for reading!

[Eddy]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing.

[SmartCat]

This is perhaps the most comprehensive and logically presented Badami/ Aihole/ Pattadakal guide there is on the internet.

Originally Posted by procrj

Caution: The fort is patrolled by a large band of aggressive monkeys which are not easily scared. A monkey managed to grab the digicam bag that my son was carrying and I literally had to stomp on its tail before it let go. Hence do make sure you have a stick with you or travel in groups to ensure that you negate this risk. Do not at any cost take any kind of eatables in open covers.

Best solution is to carry an umbrella - just open/close/open/close the umbrella while pointing it towards the simian. The monkeys get confused (and you feel safe because you are protected by the umbrella) and back off.

Worked well against Nandi Hill and BR Hill monkeys.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by procrj

After my visit to Hampi last year and multiple trips exploring Hoysala architecture, the desire to explore Chalukyan architecture only got stronger. Decided to visit Badami and thus started the research on early Chalukyas of Badami. The more I read, I realized that a weekend trip will just not suffice and hence decided to spend 3 nights at Badami to ensure that I do full justice to the place.

Wonderful compilation there Ravinder, the pictures are just awesome . This I feel just by having a glimpse of the travelogue from start to end. Donno how would I feel after going through each and every line of it, good treat for me over the week end.

The trio of Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal is on my wishlist since a long time. I want to see all these places at a leisurely pace and won't go for a vacation less than a week. Not sure though when that lucky week would come in my life

[dhanushmenon]

What a wonderful and informative travelogue this was. Stupendous effort procrj. Having written a few travelogues myself, I know how humongous an effort it would've been to pull out a travelogue of this quality. Wonderful snaps and cannot miss to mention the knowledge base in the thread.

Great work. Rated the well deserved five stars.