Madhya Pradesh Trip-3: Visit to Chitrakoot

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Watch the full video here Overview: I first heard about Chitrakoot while watching the TV series Ramayan in the 1980s. Then later read several books and heard from different people how important Chitrakoot is in Indian history. I reached Chitrakoot from Gwalior at around 4am in the morning, and I had booked the Retiring room at Chitrakoot Railway station for my accomodation. But unfortunately after reaching ChitrakootDham railway station, I found the Retiring room in a shabby conditon and in complete darkness. People were sleeping on the platform and there was nobody to guide me on the retiring room. So finally I decided to move out of the station and look for accomodation. I managed to get a single room just opposite the Railway station for Rs 800. There are several options for stay near the railway station, and since I had my next train past midnight, I preferred some place quite close so that I can just walk to the train station. I got freshened up and at around 7:30am, I ventured ou
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Kundgol & Unkal, Hubli: From the Chalukya Trail

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This Post is a part of the Chalukya Trail. Please Click here to read the main post
Overview: After visiting Bankapura, our next place was Kundgol which is in Dharwad district. We reached Kundgol in the evening by around 4:30pm. Kundgol is popular for the Shambhulinga temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple was fortunately open and we had a view of the lord as well. The temple was built in the 11th century by the Chalukyas. This temple has been recently renovated and some colouring has been done and iron bars have been put along the temple area.
    

From Kundgol, we proceeded towards the final place for the day, the Chandramouleshwara temple in Unkal, Hubli. There is no proper approach road to this temple, so we parked our car at the entrance of the street and went to the temple. The temple is built on a high platform and is probably built out of sandstone, is lined with intricate carvings on the walls and pillars. The temple was built overlooking the Unkal lake, but due to enroachments, many houses have been built around the temple blocking the view of the lake. According to the inscriptions found here, this temple was built around 10th century by the Chalukyas. After visiting this temple, we spent some time watching the sunset at the Unkal lake and then proceeded towards Dharwad for the night halt.
       

How to reach:  Bus: From Bangalore, there are direct buses to Hubli.
Car/Bike: From Davangere, head on NH4 towards Hubli. To go to Kundgol, go to Hubli and travel south for around 10 kms.
Food/Accommodation: Lot of Hotels and restaurants are available at Hubli and Dharwad for food and accommodation.

Comments

  1. R Niranjan Das5 October 2012 at 11:48

    How do you trace out such wonderful lesser known temples? Great job, Arun.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2012/10/gokarna-ten-things-to-dosee.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aravind GJ5 October 2012 at 20:32

    Beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Krishna/à´•ൃà´·്à´£17 October 2012 at 10:21

    nice trip which traces history of our great culture...

    excellent photo capture...

    and nice description

    happy navratri

    thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown30 January 2013 at 15:07

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous1 June 2016 at 12:28

    M-Sand can drastically reduce the cost as it does not contain impurities like river sand has, and wastage is almost nil. M sand is only appreciated by known users knowing the great benefits of it over river sand. They can used separately for concrete and plastering purpose. Get more details M Sand in Hubli

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