Pattadakal

At a distance of 439 Kms from Bangalore, 122 Kms from Hubli, 45 Kms from Bagalkot, 21 Kms from Badami & 13.5 Kms from Aihole, Pattadakal is a famous heritage site in Bagalkot District of Karnataka situated on the banks of Malaprabha River. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with Badami & Aihole known as Chalukyan Group of Monuments. Pattadakal is the place where coronation of Chalukyan kings took place. Pattadakal is among the popular Tourist places in Karnataka.

Pattadakal, along with Aihole, is considered as the cradle for South Indian Temple architecture. The main complex has about 10 temples and there are few more temples around the village of Pattadakal. The monuments were constructed between 6th and 9th centuries. The temples at Pattadakal are larger and grandeur with extensive art work compared to the early stage temples of Aihole.

It seems the Chalukyas enhanced their temple construction skills with the experiments they performed at Aihole and built larger temples at Pattadakal. The temples are built in different architectural styles representing Dravidian, Nagara, Phamsana and Gajaprastha models. The best structures are located inside a secured complex with large compound and open area adjacent to Pattadakal village.

The main monuments in Pattadakal are Virupaksha Temple, Sangameshwara Temple, Mallikarjuna Temple, Kashivisvanatha Temple & Galganatha Temple.

It usually takes around 2-3 hours to visit all the monuments in Aihole. The road between Aihole-Pattadakal-Badami was worse (as of Oct 2014) and the 34 Kms stretch took almost 1.5 hours.