By road
~450-510 km from Bangalore
South India · Karnataka
Badami, Karnataka
Cave temples carved in red sandstone · ~450-510 km from Bangalore
Getting there
By rail
Badami (BDM), its own station, ~5 km from the caves
By air
Hubli Airport, ~100-107 km
Best time to visit
November to February — the sandstone gorge traps heat otherwise
Don't miss
Badami Cave Temples
Agastya Lake
Bhutanatha temples
Pattadakal (UNESCO)
Things to do
Rock climbing on the sandstone cliffs
Cave temple circuit
Aihole-Pattadakal day trip
Where to eat
Sources: open-meteo, wikimedia, Photo: Sanyam Bahga · CC BY-SA 3.0
What to pack
Sun protection, water, shoes you can climb steps in
A quieter corner
Sunset from the Upper Shivalaya over Agastya Lake
About Badami
- Lakeside
Where it is
Badami is a town in Bagalkot district of northern Karnataka, set at the mouth of a ravine between red sandstone cliffs around the Agastya Lake, in the Malaprabha valley near Aihole and Pattadakal.
History
As Vatapi, Badami was the capital of the Chalukya dynasty, which Pulakeshin I founded around 540 and which ruled much of the Deccan until the 8th century. Its kings carved the cave temples in the 6th century, the Pallavas sacked the city in 642, and at nearby Pattadakal the Chalukyas later built temples now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
People
Badami's people speak Kannada and farm the dry plains of the Malaprabha valley, where jowar rotis are the everyday bread. The district is known for its handloom weaving, including the Ilkal saris woven in the nearby town of Ilkal.
Known for
- The rock-cut cave temples
- Agastya Lake and the Bhutanatha temples
- Rock climbing on sandstone cliffs
- Aihole and Pattadakal temples nearby
Did you know?
An Old Kannada inscription of King Mangalesha in Badami's third cave temple records the cave's dedication to Vishnu in 578 CE.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.