Badami, Karnataka

The Badami ranks 3rd in the list of the most beautiful caves in India. The Badami cave temples are located in Badami, Karnataka, India, in the north-central region. The temples lie around 87 miles (140 kilometers) northwest of Hampi and 88 miles (142 kilometers) east of Belgavi (IATA Code: IXT). 3 miles (4.8 km) away is the Malaprabha River. The cave temples are 14 miles (23 kilometers) from Pattadakal, a UNESCO world heritage site, and 22 miles (35 kilometers) from Aihole, another site with over a hundred Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist monuments from the ancient and early medieval periods.

Badami, the Chalukyas' former capital, is home to a number of 6th and 7th century temples, some structural and others rock-cut. Pulakeshi I (535 – 566 AD) constructed the foundations of Badami, or Vatapi as it was known, while his son Kirtivarman I (567 – 598 AD) embellished the town with temples and other structures. On the occasion of the installation of the image of Vishnu, Mangalesha (598–610 AD), Kiritavarman I's brother, completed the cave temples' construction and gifted the temples with the village. Pulakeshi II (610-642 AD), the dynasty's strongest emperor, conquered the Pallava King Mahendra Verman I, among others. To avenge their defeat, the Pallava seized and destroyed Badami. The Vijayanagar Kings, the Adil Shahis, the Savanur Nawabs, the Marathas, Hyder Ali, and eventually the British, who made it part of the Bombay Presidency, all had Badami under their control.

Location: Badami, Karnataka, India