Badami

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Badami (and its surrounding sites, particularly Pattadakal) is a wonderful place to visit and very underrated! It’s among my favorite of India’s ancient sites that I’ve seen. It’s not especially easy to get to (Hubli is the closest airport, around two hours away), but it’s a must visit if you’re going in that direction. We went from Bijapur to Badami to Hampi, and Badami is sandwiched somewhat in the middle around three hours from the other places, all recommended. More photos from that whole itinerary can be seen in my wife's Instagram stories.

Badami has an amazing mix of grand ancient monuments along with the really lovely natural beauty of the region, which isn’t always the case for historical sites in India. We also had great food, which is rare when visiting ancient historical sites. Two days is a good amount of time for visiting. We had only a day and a half and managed well enough. We went in mid-February 2023 and it was hot but still fine. I imagine it becomes unbearable as summer approaches.

I found Badami (the Chalukyan capital, mostly 6th and 7th century) to be quite magical, with the combination of the temples as well as the view and overall landscape adding up to something special. We started with the cave temples around 4 PM and it is great to visit in the late afternoon when it starts to cool. Note the Bijapur Sultanate era tomb in the parking lot. Going for sunset at the temple on the opposite side of the lake is a must, and I enjoyed walking alongside the lake (and through the slum area) to get there. Unfortunately we missed our chance to go to the museum (it shut at 5) which is mostly known for the Lajja Gauri carving, but we were able to go on the hiking trail next to the museum up to the first temple on the hill, which is easy and definitely recommended (I would also recommend going further to the second temple, but as it was late the security guards weren’t allowing people past the first temple).

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Pattadakal (Chalukyan religious and coronation center, mostly 7th and 8th century) is also amazing, less magical but with more impressive architecture, some of the best of any ancient temples I’ve seen. Go right when they open so it isn’t so hot.

Aihole (the capital before Badami) is the main site after that, and it’s also great and worth seeing, but it’s generally more of the same and overall less impressive, so I would definitely do Badami and Pattadakal first and at the prime cooler temperature times. One cool thing about visiting Aihole is that you get a sense of the scale of the empire as there are beautiful temples all around as you drive to the main cluster. 

Lastly we went to Mahakuta temple which I also strongly recommend, it’s an active temple and is nestled into the forest which gives it a unique vibe. 

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We stayed at Serene Homestay, about 20 minutes from Badami, and I loved it. It’s very much a village homestay and wasn’t as clean as most places we stay, but I didn’t mind as the environment was so lovely and the food was really authentic village style food, delicious and almost entirely homegrown. I think it was 2k a night. If you need more creature comforts, I believe the nicest hotel is Badami Court or The Heritage Resort, there’s also a Clarks, but I don’t think Badami has anything very luxurious. Personally I’ll stick with the village farmstay!

We ate only one meal outside our homestay, at Shri Mahaakuteshwara hotel right outside Pattadakal. It was really great, proper village food, highly recommended! They have black sesame holige! Not as good as the one we had at our homestay in Bijapur, but very good. 

Also, right outside of Aihole you can get the famous Vijaya Kardant, a mix of nuts, jaggery, ghee, and spices. There’s a sign pointing in that direction, probably about a minute’s walk from the entrance, ask around if you can’t find it. Definitely worth trying, they give samples of different varieties in addition to their laddoos and savory snacks. The original branch in Amingad isn’t far, but unless you’re heading in that direction it doesn’t make sense. 

Also, if you come to Badami from Bijapur by road (or vice versa), stop and try the famous Kolhar curd on the way, made with milk from buffaloes fed “a special mix of native grass varieties, straws of pearl millet, pulses and locally available wild bean — all grown naturally on the banks of River Krishna.” (To me the smokiness stood out more than the terroir, but perhaps I’m not enough of a connoisseur.) You’ll find vendors around here, if you have a driver just ask them (they also sell a local fried river fish around there). 

I didn’t find anything short to read about Badami or the Chalukyas… I’m open to recommendations! There is the very well regarded history book Lords of the Deccan by Anirudh Kanisetti, which is on my list. There’s also this guidebook from the same writers as the Hampi guidebook I bought and liked. I was happy with the amount of information in my Blue Guide to India, but I’d give that a go in the future. 

For fiction, the iconic Tamil writer Kalki wrote the 1000 page historical epic Sivagamiyin Sapatham which is set in the seventh century and focuses on the conflict between the Pallavas and Chalukyas, and according to the summary Vatapi (Badami) is featured prominently. There’s a new English translation published in four parts titled Sivakami’s Vow. I doubt I’ll ever read it, but it does sound cool.

For films, there’s the 1967 Kannada film Immadi Pulikeshi, which is apparently good. The great V. Vijayendra Prasad is a fan! I don’t think any good quality prints exist, but I hope to watch this one day.