I visited Hampi a decade back! My explorations included the Virupaksha temple, Anegundi with its Kishkindha ruins and Anjaneya Hill known as the birthplace of Hanumaji. I wrote blog posts on these which I enjoyed reading after 10 whole years. If you are interested, here they are:

Finally, I Visited Badami!

After my Hampi visit, Badami and Aihole remained in my mind. I heard they are the less popular cousins of Hampi and when I saw their photos I was really intrigued to visit. However, at that time, I felt that going there solo might not be a very good idea. Many a times these heritage ruins tend to be very empty… and as a solo woman traveller I stand out way too much. Also, I used to travel by public transport in those days… so a lot of logistical planning required for this trip.

I never imagined in those days that I would be this prolific solo driver with my own wagonr car! On my trip from Chikkaballapur to Ahmedabad, Badami was my first stop. Finally, this visit happened!

Read about my solo, self-drive from Chikkaballapur to Ahmedabad route and summary here:

Badami Travel Vlog

I am personally happy with how this travel vlog shaped up… do watch and let me know your thoughts 🙂

Some Badami FAQs

What is Badami Famous For?

The red sandstone ravine-like structure surrounding the sparkling blue Agastya lake and intriguing earthen Bhootnatha temple rising on one side of the lake’s bank creates a captivating picture. Moreover, the rock cut artwork in the Hindu & Jain caves is worth a visit.

There are other enchanting heritage structures near Badami including Aihole, Pattadakal and Mahakoota.

Is One Day Enough for Badami?

It completely depends on your travel style. If you are happy to quickly whizz through the many heritage structures, then yes, one day would be enough. However, if you want to take your time reading info boards, taking in the artwork, thinking about their antiquity – I would recommend a minimum of 2.5 days.

And for the slow travellers (like me), we can easily spend a week losing ourselves in the alluring vista and uncovering less-known stories of the place.

Major Temples of Badami

The Shakambari amman or Banashankari amman temple is only a few kilometres from Badami. The heritage structure and the shaktipeetha energies are a great reason to visit this temple. I always suggest, during any temple visit, do sit and meditate there for a while.

Other live temple complex is Mahakoota which I also highly recommend. Read my blog on visiting Mahakuta here: https://maproute.in/mahakuta-group-of-temples-6th-century-chalukya-religious-space/

The other temples in Badami – Shivalaya & Bhootnatha are lovely ruins but not live temples.

Hampi or Badami?

These kinds of questions are tough to answer definitively but I understand that travellers often need to choose where to travel. I personally liked Badami vibes more simply because it felt like an actual Indian small town with a few resorts and hotels. A lot of the local culture like small dhabba restaurants and such are available.

In Hampi, I felt like it was a hippie tourist town. Tourism seems to have completely over-run whatever the original Indian village would have been there. The eateries are set up for tourists and I did not see the local dhabba type places that have been established for local Indians (though maybe they are there in some nooks and corners).

In Badami, I find the Agastya Lake view the most alluring. In Hampi, there are great views and stuff too but nothing quite like this. My favourite place in Hampi was the Anjaneya Hill with the powerful Hanumanji temple.

Are Badami Caves Worth a Visit?

The Badami cave carvings were one of the most intricate and impressive ones I have seen so far. 3 of the caves are Hindu, 1 is Jain. The Jain cave was a bit staider but even in that there were a few artworks which stood out like a snake-hooded-standing Parshwanath murti.

There is also a 5th cave near the Bhootnatha temple complex which is a controversial one – with split opinions about the main carving being of Buddha or Vishnu or some King.

Have you been to Badami? Share your experience 🙂