Badami Caves

Trip: Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole & Bijapur

Tips: Winters are more suited for Karnataka hinterlands. Transportation is a challenge if you do not have own vehicle, so either rent a car or come with your own vehicle.

We drove to Badami on a rented car. Earlier the same day we landed at Hubli airport and rented a Zoomcar. It was very convenient. We settled in a pre-booked hotel and made plans for the next few days. We wanted to cover Badami, Pattadakal and Bijapur in next two days. The first choice was obviously Badami. Our hotel was next to the archeological site although the main entry gate was a walking distance away.

Natraj sculpture in front of Cave 1 @ Badami

Badami Cave temples are a series of 4 temples carved along the side of a red sandstone hill. The carvings inside are intricate and the caves are magnificently large. We climbed the stairs to the first temple from the main gate and started moving inwards. The size of carvings and remains of some paint colours specifically green mesmerised us. It reminded me of Ajanta Caves.

Sculpture of Lord Vishnu and green paint colour on roof

A flight of stairs took us further to the caves at the end which were equally exquisite, overlooking a lake. We took lots of pictures and decided to move to the other side of the lake where another temple complex was visible.

Exquisitise sculpture of gods & goddesses @ Badami Cave Temples

The route to  the other side of the lake goes through part of the village. The smaller temple complex known as Bhoothnath Temples is a secluded spot facing the lake. There is nothing grandiose about this place and yet you will remember time spent here just sitting by the lake.

Bhootnath Temple Complex @ Badami

We had started early in the morning and we had covered the major portion of Badami. Hence we decided to cover the Gol Gumbaj the same day. Bijapur was a hundred miles away from Badami which is a couple of hours drive.