17 and 18-Jul-2010

Badami, Patttadakal(Group of Monuments – World Heritage Site), Aihole – Karnatka, India

Photo: http://picasaweb.google.com/udhaya.v/BadamiPattadakalAiholeKarnatkaIndia

Ride duration/date: Two days ride, 17 and 18-Jul-2010

Rider : Udhaya Kumar.V in Thunder Bird(RE)

Road map:

Bangalore -> NH4 -> Chitradurga -> NH4(total 403 km in NH4) -> Hubli -> Go in Hubli Bypass & Take Right & will reach NH218 -> Navalgund –NH218(total 82km in NH218)-> Nargund –NH218-> Kulgeri(Take Right at this place & reach SH14) -SH14(total 20Km in SH14)-> Badami(553 Km)

Other short rout to reach badami as follows.  But we need to travel in single road from Chitradurga & even there is lot of truck traffic in this route because of mining. Only we can see 70km different between this two route. If you want ride slow with lorry, you can go through Hospet route.

Banglaore  -NH4-> Chitradurga –NH13-> Hospet -> Badami.

Road status:

Bangalore –NH4-> Hubli – Golden Quadrilateral, Excellent Road

Hubli –NH218-> Kulgeri – Very good single road, No traffic other then villager’s traffic. Road is yours, You can ride as you like.

Kulgeri-SH14-> Badami – Small Local road. Go slow.

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=101409459041033004085.00048be6274c5b4778600&ll=14.85985,77.387695&spn=7.428389,9.360352&z=6&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

My expense: Rs.3,832 (Rs.2800 – Petrol + Rs.1032 – Stay, Food)

Where to stay(Hotel Detail):

1. I stayed at “Hotel Mayura Chalukya – Unit of KSTDC”, Badami. There is karnatka Tourisam desk(Mr.Arun – Assit Manager) in this hotel and they provided detail about local sight seeing(they are really helpful). Room rent will be Rs.600 & Very Decent/Big room. You can very well go with your family and stay in this hotel.

2. I seen one more hotel “ Hotel Badami Court” at Badami – But I don’t have any rate detail, but looks next level.

3. You can find two more hotels in the town itself, But I am not sure how comfortable/decent to stay. You have to check.

Pattadakal & Aihole – Nothing to stay, You should stay at Badami and visit to other places.

Time required for local sight seeing:

All this three place will be covered in one day. You can start from Badami spend 3+ hrs. After reach Pattadakal, Spend 2+ hrs. After you can reach Aihole, Spend 3+ hrs.

Archaeological Museum, Badami – 10.am to 5.pm only – Friday Holiday (Even if you plan it on Friday, no worry, you can skip this)

Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole – Opened from 6.00 AM to 6.00 PM.

Any other near place to explore:

1. Go through hospet route & reach Hampi(World Heritage Site)

2. Koodalasangama, Almatti Dam – Near Bagalkot

Ride log:

Karnatka having two world Heritage monuments, One at Hampi and second in Pattadakal. I have visited to humpi some time back and keep thinking about Badami, Patttadakal and Aihole for very long & finally happened in this week end. Even one my friend Sameer Biswal insisting to visit this heritage place for long.

Day 1:

17-Jul-2010 04.30 AM: started my ride from Marathalli, Bangalore and realized raining in this time. Good thing in Bangalore – it will rain in one street and not in next street. Any way started riding with rain and realized till crossing tumkur rain not stopped. Riding slow with rain.

17-Jul-2010 09.00 AM: stopped for breakfast, its idly time

17-Jul-2010 11.30 AM: I reached Hubli and took bypass. After checking local people & navigated towards NH218. Its very small city with some traffic, it took 30 mins to cross the city and riding in Single NH218. Its very good road with no traffic no people , yes off course I can see more hump(Karnatka standard) & cn’t avoid. Again start raining this place, all I need keep riding so that I can cross the rain.

17-Jul-2010 01.30 PM: I reached Badami town, before entering the town in the left side I seen “Hotel Mayura Chalukya – Karnatka Tourisam”. Good !! I booked one room and dumped all the luggage, There is a restaurant with Karnatka Tourism desk. I took lunch in the place and collected sight seeing detail from Mr.arun, Ass Manager Karnatka Tourisam. He is nice guy and provided all the detail with local road map, temple detail, etc with some tourist pamphlet. Good to start now.

17-Jul-2010 02.30 PM: My plan to navigate Badami, Mahakuta, Pattadakal & Aihole to complete the sight seeing. Nothing more. All we can see old temples and some newly constructed temples. First I went to CAVE TEMPLE at BADAMI, Its continue four cave temple in same mountain.

BADAMI: The one time capital of the Chalukyas is an outstanding centre of early Chalukyan art. King pulakeshin I made it his capital in 540 AD. Situated at the mouth of a ravine, between two rocy red sandstone hills, the town of badami has both, rock cut and structural temples.

Cave Temple, Badami

Cave Temple: there are four rock cut cave temples on a very tall rock, one situated above the other.

Cave One: The lowest cave temple is dedicated to Nataraja(Lord Shiva).

Cave Two: Cave of the Vishnu Avataars.

Cave Three: Paravasudeva Cave. The third cave temple is he finest and the largest of the group.

Cave Three: Paravasudeva Cave

Cave Four: Jain Tirthankara Cave. The fourth temple is dedicate to the jain faith. Its is very small and full of jain Tirthankar images.

Badami Chalukya Empire, 636 CE, 740 CE

We will have very good view from this place. We can Bhutanatha Group of temple with pond. Next I planned to reach Archaeological Museum & Bhutanatha Group of temples. We can able to see this place from Cave temple itself. Its very near and walkable. But I decided to go in my bike (we have to go back to Badami market and reach this place). I reached museum and spend some time.

View from Cave Temple, Badami

ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, BADAMI: Museum of the Plains and the Sculpture Gallery that is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India on the Bhutanatha temple road.

Keep walking and reach Bhutanatha group of temples.

BHUTANATHA GROUP OF TEMPLES: at the east end of the large reservoir called Agastyateertha, is the Bhutanatha group of temples, which has a temple built in Dravidian style with two or three smaller shrines attached. Near this group of temples is place called Aralitheertha, with a natural cave.

Bhutanatha group of temples facing the Agasythya Tank, Badami

I decided move toward Banshankari Temple, its 5 km away from Badami. Good !! again its raining and reached Banshankari Temple.

BANSHANKARI TEMPLE: Its old and new construction temple. Some of the construction still going on. If you have time constrain, you can skip this temple. I spend some time in this place & stuck in rain.

After I decided to reach Mahakuta, but on the way I seen SHIVAYOGI MANDIR.

SHIVAYOGI MANDIR: Its newly constructed temple with modern architecture. Nothing much time to spend this place. So moving towards Mahakuta temple.

Shivayogi Madir

I reached Mahakuta temple, its very old and small temple. Its not maintained well, but its active temple.

So I decided to ride towards Pattadakal, before reaching this place I seen one more old JAIN TEMPLE in Chalukyan Architecture & looking great, but not maintained properly. This temple build it in 9th century AD and locally called the JAIN NARAYANANA.

Great Finally I reached Pattadakal, One of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and rich in Chalukyan architecture. It’s maintained excellent way with beautiful garden.

PATTADAKAL: Situated at a distance of 22 km from badami. Pattadakal was a progressive city even prior to the rule of the Badami Chalukyas and called Pattada Kisuvolal. It was the headquarters of the administrative unit of Kisukadu. This temple complex is on the banks of the Ghataprabha River. All you can see collection of temple in the single campus at Pattadakal. Some temple name as follows.

Pattadakal, UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Chalukyan architecture

VIRUPAKSHA TEMPLE: Three are four large and six small temples here in a space of four acres. The large temples are all pure examples of the Dravidian style of architecture. The Virupaksha temple was built by Lokamahadevi, wife of Vikramaditya II(733-745 AD) to commemorate the kings conquest of Kanci.

MALLIKARJUNA TEMPLE: This temple was originally called Sri Trailokeshwara Maha Saila Prasada and built around 740 AD by Trailokadevi, the younger queen of Vikramaditya II, to commemorate his victory over the Pallavas of Kanchipuram.

SANGAMESHWARA TEMPLE: The most ancient of the temples here is the Sangameshwara Temple.

GALAGANATHA TEMPLE: Dilapidated temple of the 8th Century AD, but has a Northern style curvilinear Shikara.

PAPANATHA TEMPLE: The papanatha temple, mentioned as ‘Mukteshwara’, seems to have been completed around 740 AD.

JAMBULINGA TEMPLE: This temple is assigned to the 8th century AD by scholars.

Pattadakal

17-Jul-2010 7.15 PM: its wonderful day and reached hotel room. Had very good dinner and went to sleep early.

Day 2:

18-Jul-2010 6.15 AM: I started from room to visit AIHOLE temples, today my plan will be to visit all Aihole temples and go back to Bangalore. Nothing much to Do. Generally its very hot district, but because of rain its looks very good weather.

Aihole will be 34 km from Badami town. We can take village road and reach this place soon. I reached Aihole and realized lot of temples in this place, compare with Badami and Pattadakal. But most of the temples not maintained and local people using this temples. After visiting three continues temples Ramingeswari Temple, Galaganatha Temple, Ladkhan temple, etc. After I am checking the local people and they said, Main temple called “Durga temple”. I decided to reach this temple.

Aihole, Inside Durga Temple.

DURGA Temple: ITS Excellent place to see. Its maintained my Karnatka Tourisam with garden, etc. You can spend more time in Aihole compare with other two places.

AIHOLE: In all there are about 125 temples at this place, big and small, most of them in dilapidated condition. Its one of the Cradles of Temple Architecture, because of the variety found in these excellent monuments. It was commercial center bubbling with trade activities during the badami Chalukyan times and rich merchants here built a large number and variety of temple. Aihole had been their erliest capital before Pulikesh II shifted it to Badami. May inscription here are from the 6th and 9th Century AD.

Aihole, Durga Temple

18-Jul-2010 10.00 AM: Reached hotel and started riding towards Bangalore in same route. I don’t want go through hospet. I just said bye to Karnatka Tourism manager.

18-Jul-2010 12.00 AM: its rains on the way, nothing to stop just keep riding and reached hubli. All I can see raining at small places, so decided to ride.

18-Jul-2010 07.30 AM: stuck in rain, traffic in Tumkur road and finally reached home at 7.30PM. It was wonderful ride. Good thing !! My bull reached 50,000 km in the ride. I took 3 years to reach this KM. Not bad !!

!! My bull reached 50,000 km in the ride. I took 3 years to reach this KM. Not bad !!