A world heritage center, it has 10 major temples representing Chalukyan architecture.Situated on the banks of Malaprabha river, Pattadakal has the epics chiseled on the temple walls. Pattadakal, is located near Aihole and Badami in Karnataka.
Temples here were built by the queens of Vikramaditya II (734-44) in memory of his victorious march against Kanchi, the Pallava capital, and the temples were named by them after themselves as the Lokeshwara (by Lokadevi) and Trailokeshwara (by Trailokadevi), which came to be known as the Virupaksha and the Mallikarjuna respectively. The two magnificent temples with their nicely engraved lively figures on walls and the massive square pillars are in sand stone. Pattadakal itself was known as Kisuvolal (`Red Town') as the sand stone here is reddish in colour.
The Sangameshwara, Chandrashekhara, Jambuling and Kadasideeshwara are the other major temples.
How to Reach:Road: The State Highway 14 links Pattadakal with Badami. Aihole is round 45 km from Pattadakal. The place is connected to other major centers like Bijapur (134 km) by road.
Rail: The nearest railway station is Badami, 20 km away.