Chalukyan Heritage
History
The Chalukya empire was established by Pulakeshin, The
name "Chalukya" has no definite meaning. According to legend the
brave man who was born out of god Brahma's Cheluka (a type of vessel) was named
Chalukya. Their contribution to architecture includes cave temples of Badami,
Aihole, Pattadakal, Mahakoota, etc.
Badami, formerly
known as Vatapi, is a town and headquarters of a taluk by the same name, in the
Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami
Chalukyas from 540 to 757 AD. It is famous for its rock cut structural temples.
Pattadakal, is
an UNESCO inscribed World Heritage site located on the left bank of the
Malaprabha River in Bagalkot district. It is 22 km from Badami and about 10 km
from Aihole, both of which are well known for Chalukya monuments.
Aihole, Temple
complex is on the pending list of UNESCO World heritage sites, having a
historic temple complex in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka and 10 kms from
Pattadakal.
(Source Wikipedia)
Getting There:
By Road: Shortest Route to drive from Bangalore to
Badami as per Google is provided below.
By Bus: There are no KSRTC Services available
directly from Bangalore to Badami however you can find some private transport
which offers the same services.
(Screenshot Below)
By Train: Badami can be reached from Bangalore by
Train – The GolGumbaz Express from MYSORE to SOLAPUR arrive Bangalore at 6.40
PM and reaches Badami at 7.00 AM. A sleeper price cost you just around 350 kms
which is highly economical for a comfortable journey. This GolGumbaz Express
Train No (16535) is quite slow and has multiple stops takes 12 hours to reach
600 kms.
Same train will depart Badami by 7:15 PM
on the same day evening.
Where to Stay:
Ideal place to stay preferably would be Badami and we
booked our stay at Hotel Mayura Chalukya Badami. This is just 1km away from
Badami bus stand and 2kms away from Badami Cave temple.
We booked 2 rooms (consisted 2 people each) price of per
room is Rs 1000. However you could book through online sites like Goibibo which
offers some discounts. This was an ideal stay with TV and Hot water facilities
including restaurant inside.
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| Overview of Hotel Mayura Chalukya Badami |
Note: There are no proper rooms
found at Pattadakal/Aihole and Badami would be the ideal place to stay.
Initial Plan:
After Glorious Hampi visit this year, my heart was
pounding to explore rich Chalukyan Empire. It was further supported by my office
colleagues this time Paramesh, Manjunath and Shiva Kumar. Finally a date was fixed
as on August 5th Friday, Evening to start.
How we reached Badami?
We all gathered at KSR railway station (Bangalore) by
6:00 PM to board Golgumbaz Express Train No (16535) which was scheduled to
departure by 7:00 PM from KSR. Had some evening snacks at station and thus the
train arrived by 6:45PM on time? Travel consisted of 595KM train journey around
12 hours of time and we reached Badami station by morning 7:00 AM. Plenty of
Auto services are available from one place to another in Badami; we took a
shared Auto to our hotel room and paid just 20Rs per person for nearly 5kms of
travel.
Internal Transport
There
are plenty of options available to roam around Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole and
its surroundings.
Car/Taxi - There
is a private car stand very next to Badami bus stand and we found it really
expensive to hire a Car.
BUS – Bus transit
is very poor and they are very limited, I believe to travel towards
Badami-Pattadakal-Aihole there is one bus for every 2 hours. If you get on time
you are lucky. This would be preferable for solo travelers.
Auto – Rickshaw is
a common transit and very cheap one too, we hired an auto for a round trip to
visit all the places on Day 1 for almost a day and cost us 600rs-700rs.
Note: If you are looking for
budgeted trip do not relay on Bus instead speak with an auto driver and hire if
you are more than 4-5 in numbers.
Destinations Covered:
Our Initial Package included visiting Badami, Pattadakal
& Aihole – Rest of the places came as a bunch of surprises.
Day
1
1) Badami Cave Temples
2) Banashankari Temple
3) Naganatha Temple
4) Shiva yogi Mandira
5) Mahakoota Group of Temples
Day 1: Saturday, August 06th – Time
9:00AM
Day 1: Saturday, August 06th – Time 9:00AM
After a
long 12 hour journey we reached our room by 7:30 AM and got freshen up to
explore Badami.
We had
breakfast at nearby restaurant where quality of food was poor. We decided to
visit Badami Cave temples during evening since it was nearby for us.
I. Banashankari
Temple – A Hindu Shrine located 5kms from Cave temples of
Badami. The temple deity is also called the Shakambhari, an incarnation of the
goddess Parvati. The
original temple was built by the 7th century Kalyani Chalukya kings, who
worshipped goddess Banashankari as their tutelary deity. From Badami to Banashankari we paid 20rs per
person for a Share Auto.
 |
| Banashankari Temple Entrance |
 |
| Front view of Banashankari Temple |
Since we found that there is lack of Public Transit in the
locality, we hired an Auto to cover up all the places except Aihole.
I.
Naganatha
Temple - located in between Banashankari and 2kms before
Shivayogamandira. A hidden temple is situated around 1 km from the main road. This
temple is simple, but a beautiful one with its columns, capitals, ceiling and
walls having very impressive sculptures. Its frontal mantapa has beautiful
relief sculptures.
 |
| Naganatha Temple |
II. Shiva yogi Mandira – This is one of the religious place could be covered up on the way, located just 2kms after Naganatha Temple. A chariot and which is said that tallest chariot in ASIA and you can also enter vibhuthi Kendra which is inside the Shivayogi mandira.
 |
| Front View of Shivayogi Mandira |
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| Chariot |
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| Vibhuti Kendra |
 |
| Sun Flower Gardens |
I.
Pattadakal – It was
a long 13 kms journey to Pattadakal it took us nearly 1.30 hours to reach from
shivayogimandira to pattadakl, on the way we came across sunflower gardens and
beautiful village life of people, once we entered pattadakal we paid an entry
fee Rs.30 per head. Pattadakal can be termed as cradle of Temples; this
symbolizes the chalukyan heritage for art and culture. There are group of
monuments in pattadakal, few are listed below.
This is an ideal place to spend time for nearly 3-4 hours, taking a local guide will help you to understand more about the pattadakal, there are some local restaurants which serve breakfast and lunch here. We spent nearly 2-3 hours at Pattadakal and headed towards Badami
 |
| PATTADAKAL GROUP MONUMENTS |
Ø Virupaksha Temple - Virupaksha Temple was built by Queen Lokamahadevi to celebrate her husband's victory (Vikramaditya II) over the Pallavas of Kanchi
Ø Jain Temple - Sited on Pattadakal-Badami Road, Jain Temple was constructed by the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta. Built in the Dravidian style, the temple comprises really beautiful sculptures
 |
| Virupaksha Temple |
Ø Jain Temple - Sited on Pattadakal-Badami Road, Jain Temple was constructed by the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta. Built in the Dravidian style, the temple comprises really beautiful sculptures
 |
| Jain Temple |
Ø Sangameshwara Temple - The oldest temple at Pattadakal is Sangameshwara built by Vijayaditya Satyasraya (AD 697-733)
 |
| Backside View of Sangameshwara Temple |
Ø Galaganatha Group of Temples
Ø Papanatha Temple
 |
| @Pattadakal |
 |
| From Right Manjunath, Chethan, Shivakumar, Paramesh |
 |
| Monolithic Bull |
I.
Mahakoota Group
of Temples: It took 45
minutes to arrive Mahakoota Group of Temples, Journey consisted of 12Kms, and
there is a short Enroute Mahakoota from Pattadakal. This is a must visit place if you are planning
for Badami. Location
of a well-known Shaiva monastery, Temple tank in Mahakoota is allowed for pilgrimages
to take bath. Since it was a sunny day we didn't missed out the opportunity to
swim. Food was being served in Mahakoota Temple, We finished our lunch her.
Please
note that there are restaurants available if you visit Mahakoota before 2:30
PM.
 |
| POND at Mahakoota |
 |
| Fun Time |
 |
| Backside view of Mahakuteshwara Temple |
I.
Badami Cave
Temples - As planned we reached Badami by evening, Time
was around 3:30 PM we know that we reached an hour late. Without any further
delays we started exploring Badami. We decided to skip Open Air Museum and
Badami Fort and we decided to cover up rest of the places mentioned below.
There is also a waterfall falls from the rocky caves of Badami only during
monsoon unfortunately we missed it since we headed post monsoon.
There
is a nominal entry fee of Rs.20 per person to be paid to visit Caves.
It took nearly 3 hours to cover up rest of the
places.
1.
Badami Fort
2.
Open Air Museum
3.
Badami Cave Temple – There are 4 different Caves
Ø
Cave 1 : The first cave made of red sandstone
Ø
Cave 2 : Dedicated to lord Vishnu depicted here
as a dwarf or 'Trivikrama'
Ø
Cave 3 :
cave is nearly 70 feet wide,
on the plinth one can see the carvings of ganas.
Ø
Cave 4 : The only Jain cave, the construction of Cave four started in the 6th
century
4.
Agastya Lake
5.
Bhootanatha Temple
 |
| Panorama Capture of Badami Caves |
 |
| Badami Cave 1 |
 |
| Mosque in front of Cave 1 |
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| Behind Bhootanatha Temple |
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| Agastya Lake |
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| Bhootanantha Temple |
 |
| Carvings on the Wall |
We winded up your day with cherishing memories, Enroute to our hotel
room we must walk through the local slums of Badami. We headed towards Badami
bus stand to understand our tomorrow's Plan.
Day 2: Sunday, August 07th – Time
7:30AM
Initially we booked our Return train ticket from Badami which departs
by evening 7:15PM, since we covered up most of the places in Badami and
surroundings in one day we headed towards Kudalasangama and Alamatti. Guys were
highly tired of a complete one day journey and covered up most of the places in
one day. Had a great sleep at hotel room, we got freshen up in the same hotel
and checked out by morning 7:30 AM.
We had breakfast at
Badami and headed towards our next destination, the bus stand is located in the
center of the town 1km from hotel room. There are buses runs for Gadag,
Bijapur, Bangalore and Hospet but you need to wait for long hours to catch
these buses. It is preferable to check in enquiry on the bus schedule and to
plan your next destination.
Please note: Kindly Carry enof Cash for Bus
fare and food since there are limited ATM's after Badami
Please note that there are no direct bus runs b/w Badami to
Kudalasangama. There is an exchange required from Hungund which is 60kms from
Badami and need to catch another bus towards Kudalasangama. We waited nearly for 30mins at bus stand and
finally got our Hungund Bus by 8:50 AM, Ticket price was 48rs per person, and
on the way after Gulegudda and just before Amingad we also saw a signboard towards Aihole which is just 8kms from Main
Road. Since we knew that there are limited buses run in the city we didn't take
chances and headed towards Hungund. Since guys were highly tired of yesterday's
journey they were half slept and it was is a 1 hour journey with exquisite
locations of landscapes, Sunflower Gardens, Fresh Air, Village Life Style and
Local Markets. Finally by 10:00 AM we reached Hanagunda Bus station and we were
waiting for Buses that runs to Vijayapura which would travel on the way to
Sangama Cross.
Time 10:25 AM - Our Bus finally Arrived, It was a further
distance of 24kms and a ticket price of RS 25 for Sangama Cross. With 20
minutes of Journey time we reached in Sangama Cross which is 8kms before Kudalasangama
then we took a Shared Auto to reach Kudalasangama and we paid Rs. 20 per person
for sharing auto.
Kudalasangama -
This is most historical place. Famous rivers Krishna and Ghataprabha merge here
and flow towards Srisailam, 15 km from Almatti Dam. The Krishna River and
Ghataprabha River merge at this place and flows towards Sri Sailam, an
important pilgrim center. The Aikya Mantapa of Holy Saint Basavanna is located
here.
We reached KUDALASANGMA by 11:00 AM: Ideal time spent here was 2:00 hours with
Temple visit and Basavanna Aikya mantapa we also took boat ride (Recommended)
to explore the force of Krishna and Ghattaprabha River, It was Fun ride.
Finding ATM is a real challenge over here, on the way we an ATM which
was 2kms away, we went for a walk and also we came across Dasoha Kendra (Served
breakfast and Lunch here) which is 1Kms away from Sangama Temple. We waited for
some time and had Lunch here and took the auto to head back to Sangama Cross.
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| Kudalasangama Temple |
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| Basavanna Aikya |
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| A Capture took during Boat Ride |
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| Basavanna |
Almatti
Dam - Almatti is a small village in Bijapur
district. It is now one of the famous tourist spot because of Almatti dam (Lal
Bahadur Shastri dam) this is a hydroelectric project on the Krishna River, Seven
terrace gardens have been developed as a picnic spot in the dam area. Boating,
musical fountains, and stagnant fountains have been set up in the area. On one
side of the dam, a garden named "Rock hill" has an artificial forest
with ceramic wild animals and birds and many idols representing village life in
India.
It was hot afternoon around 1:30PM after reaching Sangama Cross, There
was hard to find a shelter since it was a highway. We waited nearly 30mins to
catch a bus on a national highway and again it was 30kms journey with a ticket
price of Rs. 40 per person. We reached Almatti by 2:15PM and decided to cover
up the place early as possible since there was Golgumbaz train starts from
Almatti Station by 5:45PM.
ATM's are available at this place and we carried water and some snacks
form the local shops at the entrance. There were few autos available in front
of Almatti Gate, Which directly drops you till entrance back gate of Alamatti
Dam for just 20rs per person. Without any hesitation we took an auto and saved
nearly 30-40mins of time.
This is a pleasant place for evening outing. It is a combination of 3
different gardens and it takes almost 3 hrs for seeing all the gardens. One can
enjoy this place in the evening. Lot of fountains is a treat for your eyes,
Lucky we were that water was released from the Dam it was a great sight from
this place. There is a musical fountain in this park. Show Timing is 7:30 PM
and is for 30 Min. Please note there are respective entry fee for each park.
Since we had to catch our return train, we only visited backwaters of the
Alamatti dam and only one garden.
Around 4:00 PM we headed back from Alamatti and had a short trek to
reach Alamatti Railway station which was just 2kms away and reached station by
4:45PM and waited for our train to arrive.
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| Alamatti Backwaters |
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| Alamatti Dam |
 |
| Captured During Train |
"Every Journey has ample of
Memories" It is necessary
that one should enjoy these beautiful moments to understand our history and
culture and it is our responsibility to re-visit and relive our memories at the
fullest. - Chethan Sagar P
Few Useful Links
STAY : Hotel Mayura Chalukya, Badami : https://goo.gl/maps/QX2RAvkyacm
ATM: AXIS : https://goo.gl/maps/qgwMbApvY5Q2
Bus-Station Badami: 08357-220055
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