Badami, formerly known as Vatapi, a town in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka was the capital of the Chalukyas from AD 540 to 757 under the rule of Pulakeshin I (AD 535–566), an early ruler of the Chalukyas and regarded as the founder of the Chalukya dynasty.
Famous for its rock cut structural temples it is located in a ravine at the foot of a rugged, red sandstone hillock that surrounds Agastya lake.
How to reach : By Road : From Mumbai via Satara-Gokak
From Bangalore via Tumkur-Koppal
By Air : Hubli Airport
By train : Hubli Railway station
Places to sightsee in Badami : 1. Badami Caves 2. Bhootnatha Group of temples 3. Badami Fort
Time taken to explore the places : 3 1/2 - 4 hours approx
Time to visit : November to March
Our trip : On a road trip from Mumbai covering the North Karnataka circuit of Bijapur-Aihole -Pattadakal-Badami -Hampi, after visiting Bijapur our next halt was Badami .
Early morning at 7 am was a visit to the extremely beautiful Badami Caves. (Recommended to visit the Caves early morning when the tourist crowd is less)
Badami Caves an UNESCO Heritage site , was a formative stage for the development of temple architecture during the Chalukya rule along with Aihole where experiments were further conducted on the temple architecture. The completed form of temple architecture can be seen in Pattadakal.
The Badami Caves comprise of 4 Caves with exquisitely carved animals ,human figures,Gods and Demi gods,scenes from Epics and Puranas.
Cave No 1 : Excavated around 550 CE ,the first Cave is dedicated to Lord Shiva . Situated on a elevated platform it has intricate carvings of Lord Shiva in His different forms like Harihara, Natraj ( in the Tandav Pose) etc.
Cave No 2 : Dedicated to Lord Vishnu. There are carvings of the various forms of Lord Vishnu from the Dashavatar like Varaha Avatar, Vamana Avatar
Cave No 3 : The Largest and most ornate of the Badami Caves. This cave was created by a Chalukya Ruler unlike the first two caves which were excavated. The ceiling has many intricately carved reliefs of Gods & Goddesses
Bhootnatha Temples : They are a group of temples on the Agastya Lake . The main temple dedicated to Lord Shiva was built in the 8th century and further small temples were added by the Chalukya rulers around the 11th -12 th century
Badami Fort : The Badami Fort is built on a hillock opposite the Badami caves across the Agastya Lake and gives a spectacular view of the Badami Caves, the Agastya Lake & Badami town . It comprises of the Upper Shivalaya, Lower Shivalaya, Granaries, 2 Watchtowers .
The climb is steep till the Upper Shivalaya but worth the effort taken . It takes an hour to explore the entire Fort.
The Badami Fort and the Bhootnath Temple on the Agastya River can be spotted from the Caves. There is a 10 minute walk from the Caves to the Bhootnath Temple and the Badami Fort.
The archaeological museum at the base of the Badami Fort is also worth visiting
With happy memories of Badami and with a silent promise to visit again, off we drove to Magical Hampi ... Incredible India !!
' fill='%23359391'%3e %3cpath d='M46.1538462%2c43.5714286 L41.5%2c50 L36.8461538%2c43.5714286 L36.8670256%2c43.5714286 C36.3173077%2c42.7142857 36%2c41.6851429 36%2c40.5714286 C36%2c37.4854286 38.4535641%2c35 41.5%2c35 C44.5464359%2c35 47%2c37.4854286 47%2c40.5714286 C47%2c41.6851429 46.6826923%2c42.7142857 46.1329744%2c43.5714286 L46.1538462%2c43.5714286 Z M41.4294872%2c39 C40.6150641%2c39 39.9487179%2c39.675 39.9487179%2c40.5 C39.9487179%2c41.325 40.6150641%2c42 41.4294872%2c42 C42.2439103%2c42 42.9102564%2c41.325 42.9102564%2c40.5 C42.9102564%2c39.675 42.2439103%2c39 41.4294872%2c39 L41.4294872%2c39 Z' id='Location-white'%3e%3c/path%3e %3c/g%3e %3c/svg%3e)
