Aihole – Cradle of South Indian Temple Architecture

Aihole is a small village in northern parts of Karnataka, India. It is home to multitude of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain temples and other important Archaeological monuments from 4th Century and later up to 12th Century. The visitors to Aihole can witness the diversity in the Indian Temple Architecture and understand how it has evolved over a period of time.

For people coming from different parts of India, it is not uncommon to feel that the temples found in Aihole bear resemblance to prominent historical temples in their respective areas. This is because sometime between the 4th and 6th Centuries, Aihole combined with Badami and Pattadakal were hotbeds of experimentation in temple architecture. Many sculptors and architects experimented over a period of time with many different temple architectures, and these were subsequently carried over to different parts of India and other South-East Asian countries that have Hindu temples.

Apart from the temples dedicated to Hindu Gods – Shiva, Vishnu and Goddess Durga, Aihole is also home to Buddhist & Jain Temples and medieval burial sites, temples carved in caves and neolithic inscriptions.

The monuments at Aihole are grouped into clusters or complexes. The first and the most prominent cluster is the Durga Temple cluster. This cluster houses the iconic Durga Temple and, among other monuments – the Shiva Temple, the Suryanaraya Temple, the Gaudaragudi Temple and the Aihole Archaeological Museum. Entry to this cluster is ticketed by the Archaeological Survey of India that is entrusted with maintenance of all the monuments within the premises.

Other clusters include Jyotirlinga Temple Group, the Mallikarjuna Temple Group, the Ravana Phadi Cave Temples and the ancient Digambar Jain Temple. In close proximity to the Digambar Jain Temple, one can also find the Megalithic Dolmens that pre-date the Chalukyan period.

While Durga Temple and the surrounding temples get the maximum visitors, worth checking out are the other temple clusters further away and isolated with very little navigation markings – the Galaganatha Temple cluster and the Ramalinga Temple cluster.

Aihole can be reached by road from Bagalkot (37km, District Headquarters) or Badami (35km, Badami to Aihole by Road) or from Hungund (22km,  Hungund to Aihole by Road) from three different directions. However, if you are arriving from a far-off place like Bangalore, Goa, Hyderabad or Pune, you should make it a point to visit not just Aihole but other places in the vicinity including Badami, Pattadakal, Almatti Dam and Kudala Sangama.

If you are not driving, there are Government and private buses plying to Aihole from Bagalkot and Badami several times in the day thus making it convenient to reach Aihole.

To arrive by train, Badami and Bagalkot are well connected by railway network and have trains from different parts of the country including Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Telangana and several trains from Bangalore.

Aihole enjoys the warm climate throughout the year with temperature in summer months (March, April, May, June) ranging between 30C and 38C.The monsoon season that follows (July, August, September and early October) would be cloudy with heavy rainfall, but the temperature would still hover around 25C to 30C.

The winter months (November, December, January and February) are the best suited for outdoor sightseeing in Aihole. During this period, the sun won’t be as sharp as the summer and the moderately scattered clouds with little to no chance of rain will give a pleasant climate to explore the monuments. It is still strongly advised to carry your sun protection gear (caps, sunglasses and sunscreen) and hydrate yourself as frequently as possible (water, coconut water, fruit juices – all available locally) to avoid dehydration.

If you are including Kudala Sangama and Almatti Dam in your trip itinerary, note that the Almatti Dam will have relatively less water towards the endof Winter months. Hence it is better to plan your trip accordingly.

Badami, Banashankari, Pattadakal, Mahakoota, Kudala Sangama, Almatti Dam, Seetimani, Yalagura, Huligemmana Kolla, Gajendragad