Karnataka has many less visited architectural marvels. While Hampi has been the most famous one, you will be amazed by better preserved temples of Halebidu, Belur, Halebidu, Aihole, Pattadakal and Badami. Hampi, Pattadakal, Belur, Halebidu and monuments on Deccan Sultanate are UNESCO World Heritage sites, collectively the architectural jewels of Karnataka
We covered most of these places on government tourism department KSTDC package from the capital Bengaluru. These are fit for purpose tours- do not expect luxury or service, but they are good enough to help you visit these places at ease without worrying about local transport
While temples of Belur, Halebidu can be covered on a day tour from Bengaluru, you will need 4-5 days to cover the North Karnataka circuit. You will spend 2 nights on the bus, 2 nights in Vijayanagara TB Dam and one night in Bijapur
If you are interested in luxury experience, you can try Golden Chariot train that covers some of these places. It is intended for foreign tourists who want to get a glimpse of what Karnataka and South Indian states can offer
Here’s a quick overview of what each of the places have to offer
Hampi
About 4 hours from Badami, 7 hours/ 350 km from Bengaluru or Goa
The capital of erstwhile Vijayanagara empire. Anegundi, towards north of Tungabhadra river is the place where the Vanaras of Kishkinda supposed to have lived during the times of Ramayana
Spread across 4000 acres, you can see ruins in all directions. If you are a architecture buff, you can spend days if not weeks exploring the area
The famous temples include Virupaksha Temple, Kadale Kalu Ganesha, Sasive Kalu Ganesha, Krishna Temple, Lakshmi Narasimha, Lotus Mahal, Elephant Stables, Hazara Rama Temple, Palace Area, Mahanavami Dibba, Queen’s Bath
Vijaya Vittala Temple stands out with the famous Stone Chariot, also appearing on INR 50 note. The entire chariot has been built from single block of stone. You can see alleys of pillars/ columns outside the area
In the evening, you can visit Tungabhadra dam which is an hour away for a musical fountain show, beside the vast gardens
Badami
About 100 km / 2-3 hours from Hubli and 500 km from Bengaluru
You can see red sandstone cave temples on a cliff close to the large Agastya lake. Chalukya kings built these marvelous temples in the 6th century. There are 4 main caves with carvings of Nataraja, Shiva, Mahishasura Mardhini, Vishnu, Bahubali
You can find many more smaller caves in the area around. Some of the scenes from web series “Secrets of the Shiledars“ were shot here
Pattadakal
About 30 minutes away from Badami cave temples, Pattadakal is a UNESCO World Heritage site
Built by Chalukya kings near Bagalkot, you can see both the Dravidian and Aryan styles of architecture here. There are many temples dedicated to gods like Mallikarjuna, Virupaksha, Sangameshwara here
Aihole
About 30 minutes away from Pattadakal temples, this place was supposed to house a school for architecture. You can see experiments ranging from simple to complex temples, reflecting how the learning process happened
Lakkundi
About 90 minutes away from Hubli, 2 hours from Badami, these temples are not covered by KSTDC tours. We visited them separately while staying at Hubli. The closes town in Gadag
You can see a huge step well Musukina Bhavi, in addition to more than 50 temples and 100 other stepwells.
Gol Gumbaz
About 120 km/ 4 hours from Badami, you will see an entirely different world of Islamic architecture
Gol Gumbuz is the resting place of ruler Adil Shahi, it is th elargest unsupported dome in the world. You can hear echoes very clearly, even for whispers on opposite site of the dome in the whispering gallery
Jamia Masjid, Ibrahim Roza mausoleum, Big Cannon, Upari Burj, Bara Kaman are other prominent sites in the area
Belur
About 160 km/ 4 hours from Mangalore airport and 220 km/ 5 hours from Bengaluru. The road from Mangalore is quite scenic through hills, falls in the monsoon and tea estates
Chennakeshava temple is the main centre of attraction. You can see carvings that are icons of Karnataka state like the lady with a mirror. There are other smaller temples and ponds nearby
Halebidu
Halebidu is 30 minutes away from Belur. Hassan is the nearest city
You can see Hoysaleshwara temple with rich, ornate carvings in black stone. You can see the nice reflections even today. The carvings depict scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharatha in one of the 4-5 layers, in addition to elephants, lions, flowers
There are some Jain Basadis closeby if you have spare time to visit
Shravanabelagola
Hosts the largest monolithic statue in the word of Lord Gommateshwara, built by Chavundaraya and funded by Ganga king in the first century. You have to climb 600+ steps to reach the top of Vindhyagiri mountain to reach the statue
Chandragupta, the famous Mauryan ruler gave up his throne and became an ascetic here. Vindhyagiri and Chandragiri mountains have many temples, basadis
Mahamasthakabhisheka is held once in 12 years where 1008 offerings of milk, butter, water, coconut water, turmeric, sandal, banana, jaggery, rice, nuts are offered