What’s the buzz in Barkur?

Barkur in Udupi district is home to many tourist attractions, including temples, basadis and more...

Barkur is a small, silent town situated on the banks of River Sita in Udupi district. It’s a town that boasts of a thousand years of history and is often called a ‘temple town’. When we walk around Barkur, it looks like we are turning the pages of history. It has ponds, temples, a Jain basadi, a victory tower, and the remnants of an age-old fort. When we look back into the past of Barkur, history suggests that it was the capital of the Alupa kingdom. It’s also said that Barkur was the capital of the Vijayanagara rulers in the 14th century. During the Vijayanagara rule, 10 colonies were constructed for different communities, and in each colony, there was a pond and a temple, which are still visible. today. In Barkur itself, there are 365 temples. It is said that the king used to visit one temple a day for 365 days. Here are the main attractions of this town:

Kattale Basadi

At the entrance of this Jain basadi, there’s a monolithic pillar, around 20 feet tall. A strange thing about this basadi is that in the courtyard of this structure, are temples for Nagakaali, Shiva and Vishnu. This indicates that this place was ruled by several rulers of different religions and beliefs. We can also see carvings on the stone walls of the basadi, and a stone platform with 24 dents, which leads us to believe that it might have held idols of 24 tirthankaras earlier.

Barkur Fort

Barkur Fort is spread across 20 acres, which is now mostly in ruins. But it still makes for an exciting visit.

Temples

Chowlikeri Bhairava Ganapathi and Mahalingeshwara Temple, Panchalingeshwara, Batte Vinayaka, Moodukeri Somanatha, Banashankari, Balegara Keri Maha Ganapathi and Manigara Keri Someshwara are the important temples of this area. Most of these temples sport a terracotta tile roof.

Saint Peter’s Church

Around 150 years old, this gothic-style church has beautiful interiors, and is worth a visit.

Bennekudru Island

Near to Barkur town, there is a beautiful island called Bennekudru that houses a 1,000-year-old temple for the mogaveera (fisherman) community. Wooden statues of people and animals are the main attractions of this place.

Barkur should definitely be on your travel list!