Aihole-Badami- Pattadakal

Most people coming here to exactly this tour starting from Badami, the only real overnight lodging. After a long ride from Hubli one of the guests asks the reception what time the cave temples open. 6am!? You can get this journey started before breakfast! I didn't visit all caves, I wasn't sure if I had to pay entrance for each one honestly but having seen many cave temples in my trip this didn't seem necessary. I know that they are different but I have to say walking around the area is not a delight, where everyone washes clothes and pigs run into you, so after Cave 1 I felt accomplished already.

After breakfast I checked out and took an auto (tuktuk) ride to Pattadakal. It was full of school kids and a few foreign tourists who actually all stayed at my hotel... incidentally they also took autos because I guess the hotel's high quote for a car ride put them off as well (it was 4,000+) and the distances are really not far to manage. The road, as pointed out already, is in excellent condition with only a few speed bumps. Pattadakal doesn't take too long either unless you have a guide babble on forever which is why I never hire them. Buy a cheap guide book off the touts if you don't have access to online info explaining it better alright. Pattadakal is already a WHS. If not I would recommend inscription immediately but seeing that this is …

In November 2016, before visiting the WHS of Pattadakal, I stopped in Aihole to visit the Chalukya temples of Meguti Jaina, Durga, Ravanaphadi, Huchimalli and Lad Khan. Then after visiting Pattadakal I stopped in Badami where I visited the Badami Caves and the Bhuthanatha group of temples.

I sincerely hope that some of these sites get inscribed as a value added extension of Pattadakal, clearly showing the evolution of temple architecture.

In Aihole, the highlight the Durga Temple (open 10 to 5pm, closed on Fridays) which has different examples of experiments in temple design and wonderful sculptures (picture). In Badami, the Badami Caves are a worthwhile stop and some of the carvings are on par (if not better) than the already inscribed Elephanta Caves.

The terrible Aihole-Pattadakal-Badami road is being widened and resurfaced and as of November 2016 the road from Pattadakal to Badami is in perfect condition.