The Sri Lakshminarayana Swamy Temple is a beautiful 13th-century Hoysala temple known for its intricate stone carvings, detailed sculptures, and impressive architecture.
Built around 1250 CE during the reign of Hoysala King Vira Someshwara, this temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It follows the rare Trikuta style, meaning it has three shrines dedicated to Lakshminarayana, Venugopala, and Lakshmi Narasimha.
🏍️ From Kikkeri to Hosaholalu
After exploring the Panchalingeshwara Temple at Govindanahalli and Brahmeshwar Temple at Kikkeri, we continued our ride towards our final destination – Hosaholalu.
Located around 20–25 km from Kikkeri, the drive was another pleasant stretch of our heritage ride.
🙏 Darshana at Lakshminarayana Temple
Unlike our previous two temple visits, we were lucky this time! The temple was open, and we could finally get darshana.
The temple is relatively small, but its beauty is impressive. The detailed stone carvings, beautiful sculptures, and traditional Hoysala architecture make it a wonderful place to explore. I must also mention that the temple premises were very clean and well maintained.
We spent some peaceful time sitting inside the temple complex, admiring the architecture and enjoying the calm surroundings.
One important thing to note for photography lovers: DSLR cameras were not allowed during our visit, and we could take pictures only using mobile phones.
Interesting Facts
- Built around 1250 CE by Hoysala King Vira Someshwara.
- The temple follows the three-shrine Trikuta architectural style.
- The raised star-shaped platform is known as Jagati.
- The outer walls feature beautiful carvings depicting stories from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavata Purana.
- It is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Nearby places: Govindanahalli Panchalingeshwara Temple and Kikkeri Brahmeshwar Temple.
❤️ Three Temples, One Memorable Ride!
With this visit, I managed to tick three beautiful Hoysala temples off my long-pending bucket list in a single ride!
A big thanks to Chinnu Anna, Kiran, and Pramod for joining me and making this ride memorable.
After completing our temple trail, we started our return journey and reached Bengaluru around 4:00 PM.
It was a short and satisfying ride filled with history, beautiful architecture, good company, and wonderful memories.
Sometimes, one ride is all it takes to fulfil a few long-pending travel dreams. If you love exploring Karnataka’s heritage, don’t miss Hosaholalu 🏍️