Aihole
Aihole is a place in North Karnataka that is historically important for its ancient and medieval Buddha, Hindu, and Jain monuments. It is located in Malaprabha River Valley in Bagalkot District of Karnataka in India. The distance to Aihole from Bangalore is 520 km. From Badami and Pattadakal, the historic sites of Chalukya monuments, the distance is 35 km and 10 km respectively. Aihole has been included among the world heritage sites of UNESCO. This place is famous for Chalukya style of architecture and has around 125 stone temples of the 5th century which makes the place a major tourist center in Karnataka. It is a meeting place of stone monuments of different religions like Hindu, Jain, and Buddha and displays images of Shiva, Vishnu, Durga, Surya, Mahavira, Parshvanatha, other Jain Tirthankaras, and several animals. Some brick memorials have also been found in this place which date back to before the Chalukya period. Some of the important sites to visit in Aihole are Durga Temple, Lad Khan Temple, Meguti Temple, Ravanaphadi Cave, Gowda Temple, Suryanarayana Temple, etc.
