Chalukya Trail: Travelling back in time across North Karnataka

  

Overview: Having done a part of Hoysala trail around Hassan district, I decided to do a longer and even older Chalukya dynasty. My estimate said a total of 1400 kms to be covered across North Karnataka. But I was pretty sure that I won't be able to cover all the places in 3 full days. So I chalked out an itinerary and set off for an ambitious drive to the Chalukyan area of North Karnataka across districts of Haveri, Dharwad, Belgaum, Bagalkote, Gadag and Koppal.
Day 0: Drive from Bangalore to Davangere (around 280 kms) and stay there overnight.


We set off on Friday night by car at around 7:45pm from Bangalore and reached Davangere at 11:30 pm and stayed overnight in Davangere. As per the above map, our plan was to cover the following places:
Day 1:

1) Degaon – Kamalanarayana temple
2) Halasi - Bhuvaraha Narasimha temple
3) Hooli - Panchalingeshwara temple
4) Badami - Bhutanatha temple, Mallikarjuna temples, Yellamma temple, cave temples
Overnight halt at Badami
Day 3:
1) Sri Mahakoota – Mahakutesvara temple, Sangameshwara temple
2) Pattadakal – Group of temples (UNESCO World heritage site)
3) Aihole – Group of temples
4) Sudi – Mallikarjuna temple
5) Itagi, Kukunur – Mahadeva temple
6) Gadag – Trikuteshwara temple
7) Lakkundi - Group of temples
8) Annigeri – Amruteshvara temple
9) Lakshmeshwar – Someshwara temple
10) Kuruvatti – Mallikarjuna temple

Suggested Itinerary: Though we felt 3 days would be enough to cover all the planned places, it was not so. It is suggested to keep 4-5 days for the entire trip. Keeping this in mind, devising the following itinerary:
Place Distance Day Arrival Departure
Bangalore 267 km – about 4 hours 9 mins 0 08:00:00 PM
Davangere 63.2 km – about 1 hour 8 mins 1 12:00:00 AM 06:00:00 AM
Rattihalli, Karnataka 59.9 km – about 1 hour 4 mins 1 07:30:00 AM 08:00:00 AM
Haveri, Karnataka 35.6 km – about 45 mins 1 09:15:00 AM 10:30:00 AM
Tilvalli, Karnataka 23.9 km – about 26 mins 1 11:00:00 AM 11:30:00 AM
Hangal, Karnataka 23.6 km – about 23 mins 1 12:00:00 PM 01:30:00 PM
Bankapur, Karnataka 49.4 km – about 46 mins 1 02:45:00 PM 03:30:00 PM
Kundgol, Karnataka 24.8 km – about 31 mins 1 04:15:00 PM 05:00:00 PM
Unkal Lake, Karnataka 70.5 km – about 1 hour 23 mins 2 06:00:00 PM 06:00:00 AM
Halasi, Karnataka 24.0 km – about 31 mins 2 08:30:00 AM 09:30:00 AM
Degoan, Karnataka 55.5 km – about 1 hour 2 mins 2 10:15:00 AM 11:00:00 AM
Saundatti, Karnataka 11.2 km – about 14 mins 2 12:30:00 PM 02:30:00 PM
Hooli, Karnataka 57.5 km – about 1 hour 5 mins 2 03:00:00 PM 03:30:00 PM
Banashankari, Badami 5 km - About 10 mins 2 05:00:00 PM 05:45:00 PM
Badami, Karnataka 14 km – about 15 mins 3 06:15:00 PM 10:00:00 AM
Mahakuta Group of Temples, Karnataka 14.9 km – about 18 mins 3 10:30:00 AM 11:30:00 AM
Pattadakal, Karnataka 13.3 km – about 15 mins 3 12:15:00 PM 02:00:00 PM
Aihole Archeological Park 49.8 km – about 57 mins 3 02:45:00 PM 05:00:00 PM
Gajendragarh, Karnataka 52.6 km – about 55 mins 4 07:00:00 PM 08:00:00 AM
Itagi, Karnataka 36.0 km – about 38 mins 4 09:00:00 AM 09:45:00 AM
Lakkundi, Karnataka 12.6 km – about 15 mins 4 10:30:00 AM 11:30:00 AM
Gadag, Karnataka 22.7 km – about 23 mins 4 12:00:00 PM 01:30:00 PM
Annigeri, Karnataka 44.4 km – about 44 mins 4 02:30:00 PM 03:15:00 PM
Lakshmeshwar, Karnataka 54.7 km – about 1 hour 7 mins 4 04:15:00 PM 04:45:00 PM
Kuruvatti Village, Karnataka 338 km – about 5 hours 24 mins 4 06:00:00 PM 06:30:00 PM
Bangalore 4 12:00:00 AM
The detailed info on each temple will follow in the forthcoming posts.

Comments

  1. Amazing Arun! Keep going...
    You are showing the way to many travelers around Bangalore.Hats off to your spirit!

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  2. Interesting & Informative post.

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  3. oh! great trip. Travel plan itinerary is a new idea. Impressive.

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  4. @Arnab, Siddeshwar & Rajesh: Thanks a lot for the encouragement and support..

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  5. Cool trip , waiting for detailed post .

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  6. Wow, this is quite an expedition. Waiting to hear stories about all.

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  7. Nice info. Thanks for sharing.

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.com

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  8. Thanks everyone for the comments..

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  9. Wonderful Arun and love the information provided. I was where all all these located!
    How could you locate so many hidden treasures, any source or guide?

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    Replies
    1. @Santosh, I used the below wikipedia link as a guide -
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Chalukya_temples
      I then traced the location of these temples in google maps and chalked out an itinerary.

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  10. Good info. It is now very easy for readers to plan their trip!

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  11. near kuruvatti another 2-3 places are there called Galaganath and Coudayyadanapura,Haralahalli... these also a chalukya bulit temple al r in 10 km radias from kuruvatti

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  12. He who has seen one cathedral ten times has seen something; he who has seen ten cathedrals once has seen but little; and he who has spent half an hour in each of a hundred cathedrals has seen nothing at all.
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  13. Looking forward to the complete Chalukya Trail. It will be of mighty help to me and my friends. Thanks a lot.

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  17. Bow you master!!.. You expedition and articulating a trip is a masterpiece! I have learnt a many things, how to travel, what to learn.. Such an inspiring article. Thank you so much for exploring a treasure and presenting to us.

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