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Badami Cave Temples
Photo: Dineshkannambadi (talk) 03:35, 13 August 2008 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Famous temples · Karnataka

Badami Cave Temples

Four rock-cut Chalukya cave temples carved into a cliff in Bagalkot district

Checked 19 Oct 2026 with 4 sources2 min read

DirectionsShare

Getting there

  • By air

    Belagavi airport, with code IXT, is about 142 km away.

  • By train

    Badami railway station (code BDM) has two platforms and mainly serves the town and nearby heritage sites, including the caves, Pattadakal and Aihole.

  • By road

    Badami sits about 450 km from Bangalore by road, via NH67.

On the way

  • The caves are linked by a stepped path with terraces that overlook the town and the lake.
  • Cave 2 is reached by climbing 64 steps from the first cave.
  • The climb to Badami Fort takes 30 to 45 minutes.
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Book and check

Official pages only. We do not sell darshan passes or tours.

Why devotees come here

Four cave temples are carved into a cliff south-east of Badami town, in northern Karnataka. They are among the earliest known Hindu temples in the Deccan, and the complex also includes Buddhist and Jain caves.

Badami was earlier called Vataapi, and it served as the capital of the early Chalukya dynasty. That dynasty ruled much of Karnataka from the 6th to the 8th century. The caves are some of the earliest known Hindu temples in the Deccan, and the earliest of them date from the 6th century.

An inscription found here records that Mangalesha dedicated a shrine in Saka 500, which is about 578 or 579 CE. The caves are important examples of Badami Chalukya rock-cut architecture. Four cave temples are cut straight into the stone face of the hill south-east of town.

Cave 1 has a carving of Shiva dancing as Nataraja, among other scenes of Hindu gods and legends. The first three caves focus on Shiva and Vishnu. The largest relief in Cave 2 shows the legend of Vishnu in his Trivikrama form, taking one of three steps. Cave 4 is the Jain cave, with major carvings of Bahubali, Parshvanatha and Mahavira.

Tips for your visit

  • Arrive early, before the tour groups reach the caves.
  • Wear sturdy footwear, since the fort climb runs over uneven stone paths.
  • The entrance steps to the first cave are carved with dwarfish ganas in different postures, as if they hold up the cave floor.

Darshan at home

Not in the app yet

Badami Cave Temples is not in the Divya Darshan 360 app yet. These Famous temples temples are, with darshan videos you can watch at home:

In the appChamundeshwari Temple, MysuruChamundi Hill, Mysuru, KarnatakaIn the appDakshineswar Kali Temple, KolkataDakshineswar, North 24 Parganas, near Kolkata, West BengalIn the appShirdi Sai Baba Temple, MaharashtraShirdi, Rahata taluka, Ahilyanagar district, Maharashtra
Get the appAndroid

The app is free, Android only. For darshan as if you are standing there, see the VR box (₹899, or ₹949 cash on delivery).

Questions people ask

Are the Badami caves a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

Karnataka Tourism counts the Western Chalukya temples of Badami among the state's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The caves themselves are a candidate on the tentative list, so check the current status before you plan around it.

What other ancient sites are near Badami?

Pattadakal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is about 23 km from the caves. Aihole is about 35 km away.

What does the inside of a Badami cave look like?

Each cave has a verandah, called mukha mantapa, supported by stone columns and brackets. It leads into a columned hall and a small square shrine.

How we checked this page

On 19 Oct 2026 we checked every fact on this page against these sources, official ones first. Anything we could not confirm is left out.

  1. Badami - Cave Temples, Fort and Travel Guide, Karnataka Tourism (Government of Karnataka) karnatakatourism.org
  2. Heritage, History and Culture, Karnataka Tourism (Government of Karnataka) karnatakatourism.org
  3. Badami cave temples, Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org
  4. Badami railway station, Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org

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