Explore Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal from Hospet

You will be picked up from your hotel in the morning for the 3-hour drive to the town of Badami, situated at a distance of 80 miles from Hospet. Upon arrival in Badami, take brunch (own expense) at a local restaurant. After brunch start your tour of the Cave Temples. The caves are situated on sandstone hills that surround Lake Agastya. There are four cave temples that are inter-connected through flights of stairs. The first cave temple is dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva, the second and third temples are of the Hindu God Vishnu and the fourth cave temple is dedicated to Lord Mahavira, the founder of Jainism. After the cave temples, visit the nearby Banashankari temple that dates back to the 7th century A.D.

Next drive to the historic site of Aihole. Situated at a distance of 20 miles from Badami, the drive to Aihole takes around an hour. Aihole has over 120 stone and cave temples that range from the 4th to the 12th century A.D. Of these, around 100 temples are dedicated to Hindu Gods and the remaining are Jain or Buddhist temples. Climb up the Meguti Hill and visit the ancient Jain temple there. Next visit the 6th century rock-cut Hindu temple of Ravana Phadi. You can see the remains of stunning paintings on the ceiling and some great sculptures as you explore this cave temple. After Ravana Phadi cave temple, visit a few other ancient temples of the area before continuing your drive to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Pattadakal.

The drive from Aihole to Pattadakal takes around half an hour. The temples of Pattadakal represent the peak of Chalukyan architecture and are a fusion of the North Indian Nagara and the South Indian Dravidian styles. There are a series of nine Hindu temples. The most prominent amongst them is the Temple of Virupaksha. This temple was built in the 8th century A.D. by Queen Lokamahadevi to commemorate her husband’s victory over the Pallava Kings of South India. The temple has intricate carvings and inscriptions and contains several beautiful sculptures of Hindu Gods. A Jain sanctuary is also present in Pattadakal. At the end of the tour you will be driven back to Hospet and dropped off at your hotel