HALEBEEDU - KARNATAKA

             Halebeedu is located in Hassan District, Karnataka, India. It was the capital City of Hosala Empire. The city is famous for the two olden temples.

            The temple complex comprises two temples, the Hoysaleshawara and Kedareshwara temples and two Jain basadi. In front of these temples there is a big lake. There are lot of sculptures but most are destroyed by the invaders. There is an archeological museum in the temple complex.  The walls of the temple are covered with an endless variety of depictions from Hindu mythology, animals, birds and dancing figures.

            The Archaeological Department has appointed guides for the help of visitors. The sculptural works are based some shastra, and its so interesting to know the reasons behind those.

Hoysaleshawara temple

One stands on the platform of the temple and sees around he will see the hills opposite and two big bulls facing the temple and Ganesha figure on the south. These attract the attention of each and every one. There are four doors in total.  The God on the northern side temple is called as Shanthaleshwara and that on southern side is called as Hoysaleshawara.

Kedareshwara Temple:

            The temple is known as “gem of Indian architecture”.  Unfortunately portions of the temple collapsed more than 70 years ago and it was not possible to bring it to its original shape. The basement of the temple has a large number of sculptures showing the marching of Elephants, charging Horse, Lion, Mythical animal, Swans and finally designed creeper scrolls, they are all from stories of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad-Gita in a large sculptured band. The temple is a greatness of fine workmanship.

            Halebeedu is 27.1 km far from its District Main City Hassan. It is 176 km far from its State Main City Bangalore.

KODAGU - KARNATAKA

             Kodagu is also known Coorg is a famous and beautiful district in Karnataka, India. Mercara is the head quarters of the district.
             Kodagu is blessed with rich wild life, it has 3 wildlife sanctuaries and one national park. The wild life sanctuaries are Bhrahmagiri, Thalakaveri and Pushpagiri wildlife sanctuaries and the famous national park in kodagu is the Nagarhole national park.
     
            The popular tourist attractions of this hill station are:
Thalakaveri: where the river kaveri originates.
Nisargadhama: a man made island.
Iruppu falls: its a sacred spot.
Abbey falls: which is a beautiful scenic water fall.
Dubare : an elephant catching and training center.
Bhagamandala: its the place where two rivers namely kaveri and kanika confluence. A third river                     namely sujyothi is said to be joining with them from underground.
            Other famous tourist spots are, Omkareshwara temple, Madikeri fort, Nalnad palace...
            
             Coorg is called the Scotland of India. The place has its own natural splendor and exotic scenic environment. The lush greenery of western ghats give it a high position among the hill stations in India.
             Dense teak wodden forest, lush green valleys , coffee plantations and the beautiful mountain ranges makes Coorg an exquisite location for tourist loving scenic beauty. The place also offers trekking..
             Coorg is about 115km from Hassan , or, 120 km from Mysore.
                                  

HAMPI - KARNATAKA

" If dreams were made out of stone, it would be Hampi"

            Hampi in Karnataka state, India is the site of the once-magnificent capital of the Vijayanagar Empire

The main street selling diamonds and other precious stones, was surprisingly called Pan Supaari Street (translated in English it means betel-leaf betel-nut street). A visitor can still see the exact location of Pan Supaari Street in Hampi, which has been marked with a board by Archaeological Survey of India.

The place is simply stunning and the area surrounded by big boulders. Its an ideal place for those people who are interested in history.

Hampi hosts 'Hampi Utsav' every year during first week of November. It is a visual delight as all the monuments/ruins are lighted in the night and it is a cultural extravaganza of dance and music. 

Tungabhadra dam is another 16 km from Hampi and it is towards Hospet. There are many sites of interest in and around Hampi. The must-visits are Virupaksha Temple, Hampi Bazaar, Monolith Bull, Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Hemakuta Hill temples, Big Shivlinga, Vithala Temple (the famous Stone Chariot is located here), Hazara Rama Temple, Royal Enclosures, Queen's Bath, Zanana Enclosure (which also houses the Lotus Mahal), Elephant Stables, Achyut Raya temple, Statue of Ugra Narsimha, Virupaksha Temple, Mahanavmi Dibba, the Stepped Bath and the Matanga Hill (from where one can see the most beautiful sun set ever).

Its about 360 km from Hyderabad or 150 km from Hubli.