Route Bombay → Pune → Solapur → Bijapur → Aihole → Pattadakal → Badami → Hampi → Hubli → Belagavi → Kolhapur → Satara → Pune → Bombay Route Map

Highlights

The domed Adil Shahi monuments of Bijapur.

The early Chalukyan temples at Aihole and Pattadakal.

The sandstone cliffs and lakeside temples of Badami.

The Vijayanagara ruins at Hampi.

The old temples and stepwells of Lakkundi. World Heritage Sites Group of Monuments at Hampi
Group of Monuments at Pattadakal Source Original travelog in Travels

Notes from the Ride

Four days over the Republic Day weekend of 2017 — from Bombay down into the northern Karnataka Deccan and back, about 1600 km on the Triumph Bonneville, with Jasvipul.

The route drops south through Pune and Solapur, then works across a run of old capitals and temple towns: the Adil Shahi domes of Bijapur, the early Chalukyan temples at Aihole and Pattadakal, the sandstone cliffs and lakeside temples of Badami, and the Vijayanagara ruins at Hampi. Lakkundi, with its temples and stepwells, comes on the way out.

More than anything it is a ride through Deccan history, and through the beginnings of temple architecture in the south. Three nights on the road — Mohol, Aihole and Koppal — and one long final day back over the Ghats to Bombay.

Day 1 - Bombay to Mohol

Day 2 - Bijapur and Aihole

Day 3 - Pattadakal, Badami and Hampi

Day 4 - Lakkundi, and the ride home