Badami, is a small town in the Bagalkot District of Karnataka. Formerly known as Vatapi, it was the capital of the Badami Chalukyas. The town is noted for its several cave temples, carved out of rock in the sixth-seventh century AD. It is located in a ravine at the foot of a rugged, red sandstone outcrop that surrounds Agastya lake. Two of the hills in Badami represent the demons Vatapi and Ilvala. Badami was founded in 540 A.D. by Pulakesi I, an early ruler of the Chalukyas. His sons Kirthivarman and his brother Mangalesha I constructed the cave temples.
The rock-cut Badami Cave Temples represent the secular nature of the rulers then, with tolerance and a religious following that inclines towards Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Cave 1 is devoted to Shiva, and Caves 2 and 3 are dedicated to Vishnu, whereas cave 4 displays reliefs of Jain Tirthankaras. For more details, visitwikipedia. One has to climb a flight of 2000 steps to reach the cave.
Places of importance include Buddhist cave, Bhutanatha temple, Dattatreya temple, and an archaeological museum. For more information, visit this page.
Flash video of Badami photos:
Some of the hotels include Hotel Badami Court, Shri Laxmi Vilas Hotel, KSTDC Mayura Chalukya, Hotel Anand Deluxe etc. For information on accomodation visit this page
My travel log
While driving from Banashankari towards Badami, we curiously visited a small temple atop a hill. The road towards the hill was not asphalted and climbing along the slope on a slippery track was a daunting task. I lost control of the vehicle but was fortunate enough not to crash. Unless the road is asphalted, it is not a good idea to drive a vehicle that is not a 4-wheel drive or is a 800 CC car. After climbing the well-maintained steps, we came across an extremely small temple. There were none except us and since it was getting dark, we made a hasty retreat.
Finding accomodation without prior reservation was difficult. After scouring through the town, we had to settle for a cheap accomodation. The room was unkempt, with no hot water supply, and muddy water flowing through the tap. In simple words, it was a nightmare.
Next morning, we had breakfast at a nearby restaurent and headed for the rock caves. Even though a parking lot is available and a parking fee is levied, cars are not looked after. Monkeys play atop the car, pulling up wipers and damaging the mirrors. If that is not sufficient, there are street urchins scratching the car with stones. I had few kannada alaphabets inscribed on my car bonnet. I learned a lesson here; if urchins are not given alms, they would exact revenge on the car.
After climbing through the stairs, we gazed in awe the sculptures made on the sandstone caves. One has to pay fee for using camera, the charges of still and video camera differ. There is a flight of steps that leads to the top of the caves, but is out of bounds for visitors.
After the descent, we walked along the lake to the opposite side. The lake is being polluted by the locals who use it for all their needs. The lake has turned green and smells foul. In the absence of porper direction, it is easy to get lost in the narrow steets. On the other side is a museum maintained by ASI.
Close to the museum is an entrance that leads to the fort. The path is well maintained and a pleasure to climb. Since there are no shops around, one has to carry adequate amount of water and snacks. An iron canon is seen atop the fort. Standing on the top one can see the deep ravine. To visit two mandaps on the top one has to climb through narrow slippery steps. I almost slipped while descending.
After descending from the fort, we visited the Boothanath temples and the buddhist cave where we had to crawl through the narrow entrance. It was 2.30 pm by this time and we were out of water and snacks. We had great difficulty in reaching back for the car parking as we got lost in the narrow streets.
We hurried though our lunch in the town and left for Davangere at 3.10 pm. After driving through Gadag, Savanur, Ranebennur and Harihar we reached home at 9 pm.
Distance chart:
Banashankari to Badami: 7 Kms
Badami to Gadag: 68 Kms
Gadag to Savanur: 64 Kms
Savanur to Ranebennur: 63 Kms
Ranebennur to Davangere: 40 Kms
The rock-cut Badami Cave Temples represent the secular nature of the rulers then, with tolerance and a religious following that inclines towards Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Cave 1 is devoted to Shiva, and Caves 2 and 3 are dedicated to Vishnu, whereas cave 4 displays reliefs of Jain Tirthankaras. For more details, visitwikipedia. One has to climb a flight of 2000 steps to reach the cave.
Places of importance include Buddhist cave, Bhutanatha temple, Dattatreya temple, and an archaeological museum. For more information, visit this page.
Flash video of Badami photos:
Some of the hotels include Hotel Badami Court, Shri Laxmi Vilas Hotel, KSTDC Mayura Chalukya, Hotel Anand Deluxe etc. For information on accomodation visit this page
My travel log
While driving from Banashankari towards Badami, we curiously visited a small temple atop a hill. The road towards the hill was not asphalted and climbing along the slope on a slippery track was a daunting task. I lost control of the vehicle but was fortunate enough not to crash. Unless the road is asphalted, it is not a good idea to drive a vehicle that is not a 4-wheel drive or is a 800 CC car. After climbing the well-maintained steps, we came across an extremely small temple. There were none except us and since it was getting dark, we made a hasty retreat.
Finding accomodation without prior reservation was difficult. After scouring through the town, we had to settle for a cheap accomodation. The room was unkempt, with no hot water supply, and muddy water flowing through the tap. In simple words, it was a nightmare.
Next morning, we had breakfast at a nearby restaurent and headed for the rock caves. Even though a parking lot is available and a parking fee is levied, cars are not looked after. Monkeys play atop the car, pulling up wipers and damaging the mirrors. If that is not sufficient, there are street urchins scratching the car with stones. I had few kannada alaphabets inscribed on my car bonnet. I learned a lesson here; if urchins are not given alms, they would exact revenge on the car.
After climbing through the stairs, we gazed in awe the sculptures made on the sandstone caves. One has to pay fee for using camera, the charges of still and video camera differ. There is a flight of steps that leads to the top of the caves, but is out of bounds for visitors.
After the descent, we walked along the lake to the opposite side. The lake is being polluted by the locals who use it for all their needs. The lake has turned green and smells foul. In the absence of porper direction, it is easy to get lost in the narrow steets. On the other side is a museum maintained by ASI.
Close to the museum is an entrance that leads to the fort. The path is well maintained and a pleasure to climb. Since there are no shops around, one has to carry adequate amount of water and snacks. An iron canon is seen atop the fort. Standing on the top one can see the deep ravine. To visit two mandaps on the top one has to climb through narrow slippery steps. I almost slipped while descending.
After descending from the fort, we visited the Boothanath temples and the buddhist cave where we had to crawl through the narrow entrance. It was 2.30 pm by this time and we were out of water and snacks. We had great difficulty in reaching back for the car parking as we got lost in the narrow streets.
We hurried though our lunch in the town and left for Davangere at 3.10 pm. After driving through Gadag, Savanur, Ranebennur and Harihar we reached home at 9 pm.
Distance chart:
Banashankari to Badami: 7 Kms
Badami to Gadag: 68 Kms
Gadag to Savanur: 64 Kms
Savanur to Ranebennur: 63 Kms
Ranebennur to Davangere: 40 Kms
