Badami Caves, a guide to the historic caves Karnataka

Beautiful view from Badami Caves Karnataka

As the festival is going on, so does the holiday season. If you are wondering where to go in next for a vacation or looking for next adventure now, it’s the perfect time to have a breath at Badami Caves Temple, Karnataka. I know, right now, most of you will be giving me the reaction “Abhi! Are you serious?! You are suggesting us to plan a vacation for a temple?!”

badami caves

Badami Caves Karnataka

Cool down friends! Badami cave temple is not a normal city temple; this temple is integrated into the hills dug in the rocks of ancient caves. A vestige of the most beautiful and glorious past of India, where you can enjoy the contrast of the fields of bright colors, yellow, copper and green, with the backdrop of the red of the earth and the blue of the sky, and red colored rock cut cliffs.

Badami Cave Karnataka

Also, it is famous for the cutting of rock and other structural temples. It has cave temples, archaeology museum, Badami Fort, Bhutanatha temple and much more.

A trip to Badami caves will take you to the depths of the city culture.

caves of Badami Karnataka

Caves of Badami

How to reach Badami Caves Temple Karnataka

The cheapest and most ideal approach to reach Badami is by means of railways. Badami railway station is connected to major Indian cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Hubli, Bijapur, and Solapur via rail. For train bookings visit IRCTC.

The Badami caves are situated at a distance of 5 kms from the station. You can catch a bus from just outside the station, which will drop you to the city bus stand (INR 10). Badami Caves are at walkable distance from city bus stand.

how to reach Badami from Mumbai and Bangalore

Getting around Badami Caves

A place can be best explored by strolling! All spots of interest being at a walkable distance make it especially conceivable to explore the Badami caves by walking.  It would take somewhere around 4-5 hours to explore all the places of interest.

View from Badami Caves

View from Badami Caves

My Journey to Badami Caves

On my 4 days excursion to explore few places in the territory of Karnataka, I had clubbed my visit to Jog falls and Dodda mane with Badami. A trip to Badami can likewise be clubbed with the close-by Hampi.

Upper Shivalaya view Badami Caves Temple Karnataka

I took a night train from Pune to Solapur and took another from Solapur to reach Badami early morning.  Since the place is extremely touristy, so it’s always an advantage to reach early in order to beat the crowd.

Badami cave temple Karnataka

Badami Caves Karnataka

Badami town is little and one can stroll over its length in 30 minutes. It is one of those towns whose primary street is loaded down with lodgings, restaurants, and movement because of high tourism.

amazing structure at Badami caves Karnataka

Structure on Northern Hill

At Badami caves, the main attraction is situated around Agasthya Theertha Lake. The lake isolates the spots of enthusiasm into two areas Northern and southern. At one section you have 4 exquisitely carved caves which are prime attractions. The other section houses a museum, Bhutanatha temples, and Northern hill.

bhutanatha temple badami caves karnataka

Bhutanatha temples Badami Caves Karnataka

At the southern area, there are four cave temples; three are devoted to Shiva and Vishnu while the fourth one is a Jain temple. I was bewildered by the excellence and fineness of a portion of the figures committed to Shiva and Vishnu.

Badami Caves temple 2 Karnataka

Cave 2 Badami Caves Karnataka

Entrance fee to the cave is 15 INR for an Indian national and 100 INR for foreign nationals. Timings to visit the cave are from 9 AM to 5:30 PM.

badami caves inside view karnataka

Beautiful Badami Caves

At the Northern end lays a beautiful Temple Bhutanatha. It involves a group of sandstone sanctuaries, all devoted to Lord Shiva. It is one of the earliest examples of structural temples in South India.

Upper Shivalaya view Badami Caves Temple Karnataka

What I enjoyed the most about my visit to Badami caves was the climb towards the Northern Hill. From the top, the view of the clean water of Agasthya Theertha Lake, orange-red sandstone hills, the Bhutanatha temple, and the town of Badami are tremendous.

Badami view from Caves

View of Badami from Caves

Where to stay in Badami

For the most part, the place is brimming with vacationer and all facilities run full more often than not. What I would propose is to explore Badami on a day visit from Hampi which is around 140 kms away. Hampi has a more natural environment and you would love every bit of your stay in Hampi.

Cute kid at Badami caves Karnataka

Cute kid at Badami Caves Karnataka

Best Time to Visit Badami Caves

Consider going to Badami caves in summer at your own risk!! The heat exuding from the stones of the caves would be agonizing, thus would the temperature be. Even the afternoons in the winter season are hot.

The best time to visit Badami caves is from July to February.

Agasthya Tirtha Lake Badami caves temple Karnataka

Badami caves view from Northern Hill

On your trip to Badami Caves, you could explore the nearby Dodda Mane, Hampi and Jog Falls as well. For Hampi, you can check out my earlier post Hampi, Karnataka – The land with millions of boulders. For Dodda Mane check out Dodda Mane, Agumbe – “Wish I could stay here forever”. 

Agasthya Tirtha Lake Badami caves Karnataka

I know after reading this blog you are eager to visit this place but believe me even the cave temples of Badami are waiting for you in Karnataka, the neighboring state of Goa. So, what’s stopping you now? Wear your gears and travel into the past and visit historical highlights with impressive ruins in a unique and mystical environment, fascinating stone carvings, and statues of gods, columns, and representations of Indian mythology.
I used the following backpack during this trip and will highly recommend it. (Quechua Forclaz 60 Backpack)

Quechua backpack

Do follow me on Instagram as I am regularly posting travel posts and stories over there. Also, you can message me on Instagram if you want to join me on my next trip.

Are you looking for some essential travel gear? Check out my post on What’s in my Backpack.

Looking for other places in Karnataka, which you can club with your visit to Dodda mane. Check out these blog posts:

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4 thoughts on “Badami Caves, a guide to the historic caves Karnataka

  1. Hi,
    Quite an impressive blog post on Badami Caves. My husband and I visited Badami in 2016 when we used to stay in Bangalore. It is a beautiful place to visit especially for those who love Indian History.
    Thanks for sharing your views.

  2. Got to know about your blog through Infy BB few months ago…Read all your posts in this blog , its such an amazing feel when reading 🙂 Thanks a lot for sharing your experience and such a bunch of information 🙂

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