Towards Chitradurga and Tumkur, historical monuments like Mt. Shivagange and Fort of Madakari. Hospet for Hampi and Hassan for Belur Halebid. Mangalore and Chikmagalur for temples, treks and beaches.
On the other side, Hubli, Belgaum and Bijapur are special for cave architectures, beautiful carvings and Mosques. Pattadakal is one of the popular spots close to Hubli and Bijapur.
History of Pattadakal:
Patta in Kannada means Coronation and this place was sacred for the Chalukyan kings to organise a ceremony in the presence of their deity, Shiva.
There are many temples of Shiva in Pattadakal or rather it is a temple quarters that speaks the faith of the Chalukyan rulers. Shiva is seen in many forms and the temple architecture is marvelous.
We find beautiful carvings of women during those times. Some carvings make us realise that fashion and styling was present during those times too. There are women carved with shorter hair, short dresses, they hold hand bags and are also seen bathing in pools.
What Shouldn't Be Missed?
The Chalukyan ruler, according to the guide, was married to twin sisters and that is why there are twin temples. This is a major attraction in Pattadakal. It is too hard to build an architectural marvel for another time and its nowhere in the world. The royal architect should have been a divine soul to recreate exactly like the previous one.
Every piece of temple matches with its sister temple. From measure to carvings to material, everything is equal. Ain't it a masterpiece? Well, India has much more any traveller could imagine.
The beauty of Pattadakal is not easy to put in words as it is that beautiful. From Bagalkot, you can rent a car to Pattadakal and Aihole.
Aihole is also another marvel of the Chalukya dynasty. The carvings of Ravana Phadi (550 AD), Durg Temple, Mallikarjuna Temple Complex, Jain Basadis are worth a mention. The ancient kannada inscriptions suggest that they are the oldest rock architectures. The Lok Sabha of India was built on the basis of the Aihole temple.
Aihole, Pattadakal and Badami caves are UNESCO World Heritage sites.
