The tiny village of Pattadakal is situated on the banks of the Malaprabha river. Referred to as Petrigal by Ptolemy, Pattadakal was later known variously as Raktapura (Red Town) & Pattadakal Kisuvolal . This place reached its pinnacle of glory under the Chalukyas from the seventh to the ninth centuries functioning as a royal commemorative site. The group of about ten temples, surrounded by numerous minor shrines & plinths, represents the climax of early Western Chalukyan Architecture. King Vikramaditya II (734 - 745 AD) and his art loving queens Lokmahadevi & Trailkyamahadevi, brought sculptors from Kanchipuram to create fantasies in stone in Pattadakal. 

Aihole
46 Kms. There is a remarkable group of temples here built during the reign of Chalukyan rulers, dating from the sixth to the eighth centuries. 

Lakkundi 
82 Kms, about 12 Kms south-east of gadag, Lakkundi is a place of antiquarian interest with as many as 50 temples & 29 inscriptions, spread over the period of the later Chalukyas, Kalachuris, Seunas & the Hoysalas. A great center of Chalukyan art, there are several temples of note here. Among them Kasi Vishwanatha is the most ornate & elaborately furnished. There is also a Jain Temple dedicated to Mahavira, the largest & oldest shrines at Lakkundi. Lakkundi is also noted for its step wells, artistically built with small canopied niches inside the walls of the wells enshrining lingas. There is sculpture gallery maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Jambulinga Temple 
Another small temple with a fine figure of the Dancing Shiva with Nandi & Parvathi by his side. Built with a northern style tower, there is a horse-shoe arched projection on its facade. 

Virupaksha Temple 
The Mallikarjuna & the Virupaksha temples were built by two queens of Vikaramaditya II to commemorate the victory of the Chalukyas over the Pallavas. As the Virupaksha temple was built by Queen Lokamahadevi, it was originally called Lokeshwara. The temple is rich in sculpture like those of Lingodbhava, Nataraja, Ravananugraha & Ugranarasimha. Built in the southern Dravida style, it is the largest temple in the enclosure

Jain Temple 
Half a Kilometer from the enclosure, on the Pattadakal-Badami Road, is this Jain temple built in the Dravidian style. It has some very beautiful sculpture & probably dates from the ninth century. 

Galaganath Temple 
Built of sandstone, the tower is in the northern "Rekhanagara" style. The temple was probably never completed. It contains a beautiful sculpture of Shiva in the act of killing the Andhakasura.

Sanghameswara Temple 
Perhaps the oldest temple in Pattadakal, it was built by King Vijayaditya ( 696-733 AD) & was called Vijayewara after him. Now called Sangameshwara, the temple is built in Dravidian style & consists of a sanctum, inner passage & a hall. There are sculptures on the outer wall like those of Ugranarasimha & Nataraja.

Kada Siddeshwara Temple 
This small temple, built in the North Indian style, consists of shrine & a hall. There is a fine sculpture which depicts Shiva holding a serpent & trident in his raised arms with Parvathi by his side.

Malikarjuna Temple 
Built by Trailokyamahadevi, the queen of Vikramaditya II (734-745AD), it was originally called Trailokeshwara Temple. It is similar to the Virupaksha Temple but smaller in size. The ceiling has panels of Gajalakshmi & Nataraja with Parvathi. Pillars in the temple depict the birth & life of Krishna. There are sculptures of Mahishasuramardini (very similar to the one in Mamallapuram) & Ugranarasimha.

Papanatha Temple 
Just outside the enclosure is this ornate temple built about 680 AD. This was an early attempt to develop the northern style of architecture, which was later abandoned in favour of the more balanced Dravidian or Pallava style. It contains impressive sculpted scenes from Ramayana & Mahabharatha. 

Sculpture Gallery 
There is a sculpture gallery maintained by Archeological survey of India within the Pattadakal temple complex.

Museum & Art Gallery 
A sculpture gallery is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India on the Bhutanatha Temple Road.

Air: The nearest airport in Karnataka is Bangalore (502 Kms)), Also Pattadakal can be reached from Hyderabad via Raichur.

Rail: The nearest railhead is at Badami which is 4 Kms from Badami town on the Hubli-Sholapur line & is connected to , Bangalore, Bagalkot & Bijapur.

Road: Pattadakal has convenient road connection to several important places around it. We recommend you to go to Hubli and then to Badami,and then proceed to Pattadakal. some of these are:

Aihole (46 Kms), Bangalore (502 Kms), Bagalkote (66 Kms),  
Badami (27 Kms), Bijapur (132 Kms), Gadag (70 Kms), Hampi (180 Kms) 
Hospet (167 Kms), Hubli (97 Kms), Panaji (284 Kms)