Sacred sites in Karnataka

Amruteshvara Temple, Tarikere, Karnataka

Neralekere, Karnataka, India

At Amruthapura in Karnataka's green Malnad country, this 1196 Hoysala temple wraps an active Shiva shrine in soapstone reliefs of the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Krishna's...

Anegudde Shree Vinayaka Ganapathi Temple, Anegudde, Karnataka

Kumbhashi, Karnataka, India

On a low hill near Kumbashi in coastal Karnataka, Anegudde enshrines Ganesha in a rare standing four-armed form....

Anjeyanadri (Anjanadri) Hill, Hampi, Karnataka

Hanumanahalli, Karnataka, India

Across the Tungabhadra from Hampi, Anjanadri Betta is venerated by many as Anjaneyadri — the hill where Hanuman was born — and identified with the Ramayana's Kishkindha....

Badami Cave Temples, Badami, Karnataka

Badami, Karnataka, India

Cut into a cliff above Agastya Lake at Badami, ancient Vatapi, four rock-cut caves hold the gods in monumental form: Shiva dancing and Vishnu striding the cosmos in three...

Belur Chennakeshava Temple, Karnataka

Bellotte, Karnataka, India

On the banks of the Yagachi in Karnataka, the Chennakeshava Temple has held daily worship of Vishnu since 1117 CE....

Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple, Nandi, Karnataka

Nandi, Karnataka, India

At the foot of the Nandi Hills near Bangalore, the Bhoga Nandishwara complex preserves over a thousand years of unbroken Shaiva worship....

Chamundeshwari Temple, Mysore, Karnataka

Chamundipuram, Karnataka, India

Atop Chamundi Hills above Mysuru stands the temple of Chamundeshwari, a fierce form of Durga said to have slain the demon Mahishasura here....

Chandramouleshwara Temple, Hubli, Karnataka

Hubli, Karnataka, India

At Unkal in Hubballi, the Chandramauleshwara Temple is a Kalyana Chalukya Shiva shrine with a rare four-faced linga and doors on all four sides....

Chennakeshava Temple, Somanathapur, Karnataka

Bevinahalli, Karnataka, India

The Chennakeshava Temple at Somanathapura, consecrated in 1258 CE, is the most complete surviving Hoysala temple, a three-shrined sanctuary to Vishnu on a star-shaped...

Group of Monuments at Hampi

Hampi, Karnataka, India

Hampi sprawls across a boulder-strewn landscape in Karnataka, its sixteen hundred monuments testifying to the Vijayanagara Empire's golden age....

Kadalekalu Ganesha Temple, Hampi, Karnataka

Part of Group of Monuments at Hampi

Hampi, Karnataka, India

On the boulder-strewn slopes of Hemakuta Hill, the Vijayanagara sculptors carved their devotion into a single massive granite boulder....

Murudeshwara Shiva temple, Bhatkal Taluk, Karnataka

Bailuru, Karnataka, India

Murudeshwara stands on Kanduka Hill, a small headland projecting into the Arabian Sea on Karnataka's coast....