Badami is well known for its rich history and ancient architecture. The Badami Cave Temples, an example of Indian rock-cut architecture, are at Badami, a town in the Bagalkot District in the north part of Karnataka, India. Badami, earlier known as Vatapi was the ancient capital of the early Chalukya kingdom.
The Badami Cave Temples are composed of four caves, all carved out of the soft Deccan sandstone on a hill cliff in the late 6th century. The cave temples are situated adjacent to the Bhutanatha tank around which are found Nagamma, Siva & Vishnu shrines. The temple caves represent different religious sects. Among them, two are dedicated to Lord Vishnu, one to Lord Shiva and the fourth is a Jain temple. The first three are devoted to the Vedic faith and the fourth cave is the only Jain temple at Badami.
How to reach
By Air: The nearest airport to Badami is located in Belgaum. Belgaum lies at a distance of 150 kms from Badami.
By Road: There are buses to Badami from Bijapur, Bangalore, Hubli, Gadag and Ilkal. It takes 4 hours to reach Bijapur and 3 hours to reach Hubli from Badami. There are four daily buses to Bangalore, which takes 12 hours to reach.
By Rail - The nearest railhead is at Badami, which is 4 km from Badami town. The trains that stop here are mainly second-class passenger trains running between Gadag and Bijapur.