Bagalkot District
Home to the Chalukyan monuments of Badami, Aihole, and Pattadakal.
Aihole Heritage Complex
Bagalkot
Called the "cradle of Indian temple architecture," this early Chalukya capital holds over a hundred stone temples spanning centuries of experimental design, from apsidal chaitya-hall forms to fully evolved shikharas.
Stamp at: Aihole Post Office
Badami Cave Temples
Bagalkot
Rock-cut Chalukyan cave temples (6th century CE) carved into a red sandstone cliff above Agastya Lake — the site of Karnataka's very first Permanent Pictorial Cancellation, issued in 1987.
Stamp at: Badami Post Office
Banashankari Amma Temple
Bagalkot
Temple of Banashankari, the forest form of Goddess Parvati and tutelary deity of the Chalukyas, whose large stepped tank and January jatre draw pilgrims from across north Karnataka.
Stamp at: Banashankari Post Office
Kudalasangama Temple
Bagalkot
Sacred confluence of the Krishna and Malaprabha rivers where the 12th-century reformer and Lingayat founder Basavanna is believed to have attained union with Shiva, making it the faith's holiest site.
Stamp at: Kudalasangama Post Office
Mahakuta Temples
Bagalkot
An active 6th-century Chalukya-era Shiva temple cluster built around a spring-fed sacred tank, among the earliest surviving examples of North Indian temple design in Karnataka and still a living pilgrimage site.
Stamp at: Mahakuta Post Office
Mudhol Hound Heritage Site
Bagalkot
Home of the Mudhol Hound (Caravan Hound), India's own indigenous sighthound breed, bred and preserved for centuries under the patronage of the Ghorpade royal family of the former Mudhol princely state.
Stamp at: Mudhol Post Office
Pattadakal Temples
Bagalkot
A UNESCO World Heritage cluster of 7th-8th century Chalukya temples where Dravida and Nagara architectural styles were experimentally fused, and where Chalukya kings were traditionally crowned.
Stamp at: Pattadakal Post Office