The Ancient Temples of Halebid

Halebid, which literally means a ruined city, is a small town located in the Hassan District of Karnataka. Halebid is a home to many strikingly beautiful Hoysala temples and Jain shrines which are epitome of the sculptural marvels and stone carvings.

Tourist Attractions of Halebid

Halebid was initially known as Dwarasamudra, which was the ancient capital of the Hoysala Empire during the 12^th and 13^th centuries, and is strategically situated at an isolated place. This city was ruined because of the invasion by the armies of the Delhi Sultanate’s invasion in 1311 and 1327. The Hoysaleshwara Temple was constructed by Ketamala and was accredited to Vishnuvardhana. It preserves within it Hoysaleshwara and Shantaleshwara, which are both named after the builder of these temples named Vishnuvardhana Hoysala and his queen wife Shantala.

Halebid is an ideal place to visit and comprises of a lot of tourists attractions, such as Hoysaleshwara and Shatleshwara temples, Basadi Halli, Belur and Kedareshwara Temple. Halebid is an excellent place to visit, especially because it represents the nation’s rich cultural glory of the past. Many tourists visit Halebid to see these magnificent temples, and students from art colleges also visit frequently in order to study the temple details and even stay at this place for several days.

The Temples of Halebid are masterpieces in terms of the carvings done on their exteriors. These carvings exhibit the stories of Puranas, Upanishads, and other religious and mythological sources finely executed. It also displays the stories from the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Every detail holds a story within, and it takes almost 2 hours to explore the interiors and exteriors of the temples. One can also see carvings of sensuous dancers and fighting elephants on the walls of these temples that were inspired by the queen Shantala.

These temples are preserved with great care by the Archeological Society of India.  This place is best to visit in the months of October to February.

How to Reach Halebid

The historical place of Halebid, Belur is accessible by air, rail and road. Halebid can be reached best by road from Mysore, Bangalore and Mangalore. It takes almost 2.5 hrs to reach Halebid from Mysore. The closest airports and railway stations are at Mysore, Bangalore and Mangalore. There is frequent and easy availability of taxis at the airports. There is also one more railway station at Hassan, which is 28 km from Belur. From Hassan you can hire a taxi to get to the temples.