The major historic monuments in Halebid include: •
Hoysaleswara Temple – the largest and most elaborate, a twin temple dedicated to Shiva with a major display of reliefs of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Vedic legends. •
Jain temples, Halebidu – three large temples in a row, close to Hoysaleswara, dedicated to Parshvanatha, Shantinatha and Adinatha of Jainism, major monolith Jina statues and intricately carved Saraswati •
Kedareshwara Temple, Halebidu – a three sanctum temple dedicated to Shiva, also with a galaxy of reliefs of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Vedic legends. • Northern group of historic Hindu and Jain temples – much simpler architecture and limited artwork, but living temples with ruins recovered by local community; these include the Gudlesvara, Virabhadra, Kumbalesvara and Ranganatha temples. • Nagaresvara and palace archaeological site – mounds and ruins; excavations of a few mounds have unearthed Hindu and Jain temple structures, idols and scattered parts • Hulikere step well – one of the most sophisticated 12th-century step well in south Karnataka, illustrates the public water infrastructure in erstwhile Hoysala capital • Museum – the park and near the Hoysaleswara temple
Nearby sites •
Chennakeshava Temple, Belur – 16 km from Halebidu, Belur was the first capital of the Hoysalas. The Chennakeshava temple is the largest pre-14th century Karnata tradition Hindu temples complex that has survived into the modern age. •
Bucesvara Temple, Koravangala – a twin temple near Hassan city that synthesizes the pre-Hoysala traditions of Hindu architecture, includes artwork from all three major Hindu traditions; about southeast of Halebidu •
Nageshvara-Chennakeshava Temple complex, Mosale – another major temple complex that presents Shaivism and Vaishnavism traditions together; about northeast of Halebidu •
Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi – a major three sanctum temples complex, about 25 kilometers from Belur, with beautiful carvings, preserved Vesara superstructure and a galaxy of artwork from all Hindu traditions; about north of Halebidu •
Lakshminarasimha Temple, Javagal – a triple sanctum shrine from the 13th century, with a galaxy of artwork from all Hindu traditions; A Vesara architecture, where the aedicule on the outer walls show many major variants of Dravida and Nagara
shikhara (superstructure) styles; it is about northeast from Halebidu. •
Lakshminarasimha Temple, Haranhalli and
Someshvara Temple, Haranhalli – a set of Hindu temples from 1234 CE, with a complex two-storey Vesara-architecture, one dedicated to Vishnu avatars and the other to Shiva, but they include major reliefs of Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism; about east from Halebidu. •
Ishvara Temple, Arasikere – a Vesara and Hoysala architecture Hindu temple for Shiva that illustrates the dome-style Hindu architecture for mandapa built about a hundred years before the first invasion of Delhi Sultanate and the start of Deccan version of the Indo-Islamic architecture. It is about 40 kilometers east-northeast of Halebidu. •
Lakshmi Devi Temple, Doddagaddavalli – one of the earliest Hoysala temples, four sanctums and beautifully carved; ; about south of Halebidu. •
Shravanabelagola, Channarayapatna: a major group of many Jain and Hindu monuments; it is about southeast from Belur on National Highway 75, one of the most important Digambara Jainism pilgrimage site in South India. •
Nuggehalli group of temples – about to the east of Halebidu, with the Lakshminarasimha temple featuring an ingenious structure that makes three sanctums appear as one sanctum from outside; a Vesara architecture from the 13th century. The other major temple in the village called the
Sadasiva Temple, Nuggehalli is a remarkable Hoysala synthesis of north Indian
Nagara architecture with South Indian ideas on architecture. ==Gallery==