After
visiting the Badami fort and the cave temples, my next destinations were Aihole
and Pattadakkal. From my previous day's visit to the Badami Archaeological museums, I got an opportunity to read about the history of the Chalukyans and
their kingdom. The articles say that the Chalukyan's early capital was at Aihole.
Then they moved their capital to Badami, which is about 33 kilo meters away. Aihole
earlier known as Ayyavoḷe and later Aryapura.
So, as
usual, I inquired about the bus timings and the share auto timings to Aihole at
the hotel's reception, the Royal Deluxe lodge. The boys at the hotel, were of
great help as they suggested me two options: 1) To catch
the van that was going to Pattadakkal at 9 am. From there, I can catch an auto
or another bus to Aihole. 2) To use
the direct bus service from Badami to Aihole. However the overall one sided cost
for the trip will be around 12 rupees.