BADAMI CAVES Location : Bagalkot district of Karnataka Famous For : 4 Rock Cut Cave Temples Distance : 160 kms from Belgaum Best Time to Visit : October to March

Badami Caves – Listen to the Rocks that Speak

The erstwhile capital of the Chalukyas is now confined to a small heritage town of Badami in Karnataka. The rock cut caves that were built in the sixth century has several temple attractions. Located at a distance of 163 kms from Bijapur and 128 kms from Hubli. This is a world famous rock cut cave temple of India. A tour to Badami is important for all those who want to excavate deeper into the history of Karnataka.

Cave Temples of Badami – Winning the Accolades of the World

Badami caves attractions are perhaps the most famous attractions of Karnataka that are highlighted by the Karnataka tourism. These rock cut temple caves are 4 in number out of which 3 belong to the category of Brahmanical temples while the fourth is a Jain temple. The caves have been numbered numerically in their chronological order. The first caves has a magnificent sculpture of the 18-armed Lord Nataraja (Dancing Shiva), resplendent in 81 different Mudras or hand movements. The hollowed in the control back wall which is a square shaped sanctum also enshrines the Shiva-linga. Cave 2 of Badami caves is dedicated to lord Vishnu who has been depicted in various incarnation like Varaha (boar) and Vamana (dwarf). Notice the walls and ceilings of the caves that showcase carvings of Vishnu in eternal sleep, Shiva, Brahma and the 8 Dikpals, the presiding deities of the 8 directions.

The third cave of Badami explicates the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This is he grandest among the four caves and boasts of a profusion of sculptures of Vishnu in different avatars. The Jain cave of Badami is enshrines a large number of statues of the Jain Tirthankaras in different postures. Interestingly, Mahavira, the 24th Jain Trithankara is depicted in a sitting posture, Tirthankara Parshwanatha is carved with a serpent at his feet.

Excursions from Badami – The Scattered Heritage

Badami tours of Karnataka not only highlight the rock caves but also includes all the heritage sites that can be seen by taking only a small excursion from Badami. Visit the Badami fort that is perched on a hill top, 2 kms from the main town. Encompassing large granary, an underground chambeprivate audience hall, double fortification walls and many other architectural marvels, this fort houses a carved temple as well. Other excursions include the temple attractions of Alihole (46 kms), Mahakuta (15 kms) nad Banashankari (5 kms).

Getting There to the Heritage Site of Badami

Though Badami is a world famous heritage site but it doest not have its own airport. The nearest airport to reach Badami is at Belgaum (150 kms). The nearest international airport is at Bangalore (504 kms). Domestic flights like Jet Airways and Kingfisher are available for Belgaum.
To reach Badami via railways, the beautiful town is situated on the Hubli-Sholapur rail route which is exactly 163 kms from Bijapur and 128 kms from Hubli. The other trains take a little longer for this journey as it involves a change at the Gadag station. Tangas and autorickshaws ply from the station to the town.
Badami is connected by road to Pattadakal (22 kms), Aihole (44 kms) and Hubli (128 kms). Karnataka State Transport Corporation buses ply from Badami to different major locations of the state.