At entrance of Badami Cave -2, carvings of dwarfish ganas in different postures as if they hold the cave floor
Badami is famous for its rock cut structural temples, fortress and exquisite carvings. It is located in a ravine at the foot of a rugged, red sandstone outcrop that surrounds Agastya lake.
It’s a steep climb up to its rock-cut cave temples. The four temples which are carved into a rock, one level above the other, has the most exquisite carvings from the Hindu myths and the top most one, dedicated to the Jain faith, has iconography representing the thirthankaras. Once the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas, it still retains its majesty.
Badami region was settled in pre-historic times, as evidence by megalithic dolmens.
The Puranas refers to this area as Vatapi and Agastya Tirtha. It state that wicked asura Vatapi was killed by sage Agastya.
Badami was the capital of the Badami Chalukyas from 540 to 757 AD. It was founded in 540 A.D. by Pulakesi I (535-566 AD), an early ruler of the Chalukyas. His sons Kirthivarman (567-598 AD) and his brother Mangalesha I (598-610 AD) constructed the cave temples.
Pulakeshi II (610-642 AD), son of Kirthivarman, ruled much of Karnataka, Maharashtra, parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Directions by road from the nearest airport
Weather forecast
Feb 14, 2025
33°C
Getting there
Closest By Air
Nearest domestic airport are Hubli Airport and Belgaum Airport which are at 110km and 126km respectively from Badami centre.
Nearest International airport is Goa International Airport which is 276 kms from Badami.
Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru is approx. 470 kms from Badami.
Closest By Rail
A small station of Badami is located 5 km from the centre. It is, however, only connected to nearby cities and towns.
In short, reach Hospet station from any major city. From there, take a cab or a local bus to Hampi. However, there are very few train to Hospet and they are mostly sold out well in advance during the season.
Closest By Road
The bus stand is located in the center of the town. Badami is well connected to other major cities of the country via regular buses. There are buses for Gadag, Bijapur, Bangalore and Hospet.
Dweepa Sthambha-Banashankari
Granary-Badami
Lower Shivalaya
Natural Cave-Badami
Upper Shivalaya
Vishnu Temple-Badami
Yallamma temple-Badami
Banshankari Haridra Tirtha
Badami Temple Cave 1
Badami Temple Cave 2
Badami Temple Cave 3
Badami Temple Cave 4
Banashankari Devi Temple-Badami
Agastya Lake-Badami
Bhutnatha temple-Badami
Archaeological_Museum-Badami
Aihole
Hampi
Pattadakal
There are mid and low range accommodation options for tourists in badami. Being a small town, there are very few luxury resorts.
Badami platter is quite simpler but delicious. The key culinary culture of Badami are rice, ragi and jowar. The food is mainly cooked in coconut oil. It is seen that the food here are less spicy and has an affinity towards being sour. Badami cuisine depends highly on rice, coconut, and jaggery.
From the center, all the main sites are reachable by feet. Tthere are plenty of autorickshaws for transportation. The best way to explore this small town is by foot.
October to April are the best months to visit Badami. The area is pleasant throughout the year, however, summers can have the temperature shooting a little above what you might find comfortable.
There are monkey troupes in the premises. Beware of them. They can be aggressive and snatch away bags and water bottle.