North Karnataka Tourism Places
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Aihole:
This place is situated in Bagalkot district in north Karnataka. Aihole is one of
the prominent places in the history of art in Karnataka. As per inscriptions Aihole was known as Ayyavole and Aryapura. Aihole has been described as one of the cradles of temple architecture.
Aihole possess some very significant temples such as The Ravanaphadi temple, Lad Khan temple, Huchiappayyagudi temple, Galaganatha temple, the Meguti Jain temple and the Durga temple.
Badami:
Badami is situated in the Bagalkot district of North Karnataka. The place is surrounded by stunning chasms flanked by beautiful sandstone hills on either side.
The Cave temples in Badami depict evolving South Indian architecture. There are four cave temples in Badami carved out of sand stone on the cliff of a hill.
The first cave temple depicts Lord Shiva as Nataraja posing in eighty one different dancing poses. The second and third cave temples depict Lord Vishnu in various avatars such as Vamana, Trivikrama, Narasimha and many others. The fourth cave temple depicts Lord Mahavira and it is the latest of four dedicated to Jainism.
The Badami fort is one other attraction with the gigantic granary and an underground chamber. The Agasthya Tirtha is a lake situated at the bottom of the hill and the water in it is considered sacred and it is deemed to possess immense healing powers.
Belur:
Belur is a small historical town situated on the banks of River Yagachi in Hassan district. The Belur town is considered as the Banaras of South India and is hence also identified as Dakshina Varnasi.
The main attraction in Belur is the Chennakeshava temple where Lord Chennakeshava is worshipped. The temple is about one hundred feet high and has a splendid gateway tower and many subsidiary shrines around the main temple. They envisaged the shrines as star-shaped structures.
Bijapur:
The stunning historical city of Bijapur is situated in northern Karnataka. The city is famous for the many remarkable wonders such as Gol Gumbaz, Ibrahim Rauza and Jumma Masjid. Earlier the city was referred as Vijayapura or Vijapur.
Jumma Masjid is the largest mosque and covers a region of 10,810 sq m and rises up to 120 ft. This architecture marvel has a big hall and a huge dome with 33 domes adjoining it. There are 12 arches built with 12 interleaving arches.
This mosque is one of the first mosques in India. The mosque has a copy of the holy Quran adorned in gold.
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Halebidu:
The historical town of Halebidu is situated in Hassan district. Halebidu has some spectacular sculptures depicting ancient India. The Hoysaleshwara temple is constructed from Monolithic soapstone and the walls are enclosed with endless depictions from Hindu mythology, animals, and birds.
The Shantaleswara temple is constructed on a platform like a treasure chest in unblemished black soft stone.
It is believed that the temple took close to 190 years to build completely with more than 20k skilled laborers working. The walls of Shantaleshwara temple depict various Gods and Goddesses and other mythological scenes.
The historical town of Hampi is one of the prominent historical places of South India and is a UNESCO World Heritage place. Hampi was the royal capital of the Vijayanagara Empire.Hampi is renowned for holy temples, massive forts, big pavilions, stables of royal elephants and legendary stone chariot.
The town of Hampi is bounded by the river Tungabhadra in north and other three sides by uneven pebbly granite stones.
Hampi has numerous festivals throughout the year - both cultural and religious. The most celebrated festival is the Hampi Utsava celebrated for three days during the month of November. This is a cultural celebration magnetize many tourists, showcasing cultural programs such as puppetry show, music and dance followed by fireworks and a procession concluding the festival.
Melukote:
The town of Melukote is a religious and historical centre is situated in Mandya district. This historical place is well recognized for diverse temples and a renowned festival called Vairamudi that takes place in this town and devotees come in big numbers from all parts of India.The town of Melukote is surrounded by many temples and ponds. The significant ones are Yoganarasimha Swamy temple and Cheluvanarayana swamy temple. The Yoganarasimha swamy temple is situated on top of the hill.
There are steps from the ground level to climb the hill and there is road way as well so that light motor vehicles can go up the hill.
The Cheluvanarayana swamy temple is situated at the centre of the Melukote town. Before visiting Sri Cheluvanarayana Swamy temple, there is this ritual to visit the Pancha Kalyani pond. The other attractions in Melukote are Roya Gopuram, Ponds, Yadugiri Ammanavara Sannidhi and Dhanushkoti.
Pattadakal is situated in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka. It is also been recognized as the UNESCO World Heritage place. There are several historical temples exist in Pattdakal with some temples depicting Nagara style and some Dravidian style of architecture.The two most important temples in Pattadakal are Virupaksha temple and Mallikarjuna temple. Virupaksha Temple is designed based on Kailasanathar temple in Kanchi with stunning statues of diverse forms of Lord Shiva and Ugranarasimha. The eighteen pillars in the temple have carvings portray scenes from the Puranas.
There are several other significant temples contributing to the beauty of Pattadakal are Sangameshwara temple, Kashivishvarayya temple, Papanatha temple, a Jain temple and twin temples - The Kadasiddheswara and Jambulingeswara temples built in very similar styles i.e. Nagara style of architecture.
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