Beautiful Badami

Plan your next long weekend getaway to this historic hotspot. Once popular as the capital of the Badami Chalukyas, this heritage site now stands as one of Karnataka’s tourist haven.  We began our journey in late September and decided to spend our long weekend exploring the beautiful town of Badami. We stayed over at the Heritage Hotel and were ecstatic that the monsoon showers had not poured on our plans. The hotel is a lovely space for families and has a decent provision of facilities for all. While the town still needs some reworking and developmental improvements – I believe, much of its beauty lies in its ruins.

Extremely popular for its rock structures and cave temples, this art and architecture hotspot is a delight to explore and read about. The distinct temple architecture is an important feature of the Chalukya rulers. There are four cave temples in Badami and each of these four has a shrine. Each shine consists of  intricate carvings, depicting the mythological events and religious teachings of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.

Onroute Pattadakallu

Pattadakallu is very close to Badami, it’s a fifteen kms drive away from Badami. Pattadakal, also known as Paṭṭadakallu or Raktapura, has Jain and Hindu temples constructed by the rulers in the 7th and 8th century.  It is located on the west bank of the Malaprabha River in Bagalkot district. While it is a lovely place with a rich history, I would advise anyone visiting it to stay back in Badami and do a day trip to Pattadakallu. There are quite a few eating joints around this area so if you’re feeling the hunger pangs after all the exploring – do check out these amazing local options.