Pictures from Belur and Halebidu

Karnataka has many places that tourists visit. Some of these places are just a few hours drive from Bangalore (well, now officially called Bengaluru).

I am posting here a few pictures from Beluru and Halebidu which are in Hassan district about 200+ kilometers from Bangalore. The temples are based on Hoysala Architecture and have some of the most exquisite carvings. The 12th and 13th century temples were built by Hoysalas.

It takes about 4 hours to reach Belur from Bangalore. If you are leaving early in the morning, say by 6:00am, you can reach Belur around 10:00am with a break for some breakfast on the way. Belur has the beautiful Chennakeshava temple and to do justice you need to spend few hours and if you are an avid fan of Hoysala architecture, you can spend the whole day. Anyway, after you spend couple of hours enjoying the beautiful architecture, it is time for lunch and then to Halebidu which is about 15KM from Belur. Spend a few hours in Halebidu and if you are willing, more so, if your body is willing, you can then go to Shravanabelagola to see the giant monolithic statue of Bahubali (another 50-60KM on the way to Bangalore) and then back to Bangalore.

These images were captured using a 2.0MP mobile phone!

Well, enough said! See it to believe it. Here are the pictures. Enjoy.