Halebid was the old capital of the Hoysala rulers. It is very near Hassan. Halebid (Haley Beedu) means ruined city. There are a lot of Hoysala temples and even Jain temples around, however, as I was on a one day visit to Belur and Halebid, I just saw the main attraction the Hoysaleshwara Temple.

The Hoysaleshwara temple is built on typical Hoysala style. They built star shaped temples, with either 32 edges or 64 edges. The Hoysaleshwara temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and has 64 edges. It is actually 2 temples joined together. This photo is the front entrance

No Shiva temple is complete without Nandi and this temple is no exception. There are 2 giant monolith sculptures of Nandi outside the temple. These are alleged to be the 6th and 7th largest bulls in the state. However, I dont know which is which.

The Shiva Linga is made of brilliant black stone and is still worshipped today. It's not as big as the one in Hampi. The Linga is guarded by 2 goddesses also in black stone.

Around the temple are breath-takingly intricate carvings. There are various gods and godesses and stories carved here. The guide points to one of the many sculptures of Narasimha - the fourth incarnation of Vishnu. Narasimha is always prevailant in Hoysala architecture as it was their Royal god.

Here are sculpture of the Trimurthy - the three main gods. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

The roof the temple also had some great carvings. The trimurthy appears here as well.

Though the sculptures at the back entrance to the temples have been damaged the intricate carvings are fabulous.

A side view of the star shaped architecture of the Hoysalas.