At 7 am we start towards our destination, Belur, the ancient capital of Hoyasala Empire, located 220 KMs from Bangalore. We will first reach Hassan and check into our hotel. After lunch we will ride out to belur. The ride will take 4 hrs in all.

We visit the famed Chennakesava temple of Belur which took over a 100 years to build. The next couple of hours will be spent inside this temple complex. Some of the highlights of this temple are the intricate carvings of animals and dancers on the walls of the temple. Episodes from epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata have been carved out of stone. The main hall has sculptures that are fantastic in terms if the intricacy of the carvings. The bracelets on the arms of one of the dancer statues can be moved up and down. The headdress of another dancer statue has a moveable ring! Another noteworthy characteristic of sculptures in Belur is that sculptures at Belur is that they are signed off by the respective sculptors like in a painting, often as a boastful epithet.

We head next to Halebid, the old capital of the Hoyasala empire. Located 16 Kms from Belur, there are 3 major highlights of Halebid. We spend a couple of hours in the 2 magnificent temples inside the complex dedicated to Hoysalesvara and Shantalesvara. The other sculpture of interest is a giant statue of Nandi the holy Bull of Lord Shiva which took 86 years to build. Of interest would be to note the veins depicted gracefully on the face. We end the tour of Halebid with a visit to the Archaeological museum which showcases a variety of Hoyasala style sculptures.