Badami
About the city
Badami has a complicated history even by the standards of the war-torn area. The chalukya kings first built it as their capital in AD550, it was taken and destroyed in 640 by a Pallava, and became a capital again in 753, this time of the Rashtrakutas. Various other Hindu dynasties followed, then the Muslims, and finaly the Marathas who lost it to the British in 1818. Badami is now just a large village in a beautiful setting dominated by two hills. The good news is that many monuments of different periods survive, the best known being four Cave temples.Badami, the beautiful capital of early chalukys from 540 to 757 AD, nestles in a spectacular gorge surrounded by gold-rust sandstone cliffs. It is indeed a treasure house of architecture and sculpture and has some of the earliest and finest example of rock cut caves and free standing temple architecture.
Either the roads have been laid wrongly, or the hills. For it's only when you are almost at Badami that you suddenly notice the twin orange-hued soapstone hills, with a ravine running through. The stupendous caves, rock-cut temples, forts and sculptures of this glorious former Chalukya capital, occupy the ravine. The initial disappointment at the discovery that one's daydreams of an almond-shaped town or hill, were indeed just dreams, quickly vanishes. Badami was founded by the mighty Chalukya King Pulakesin I in the 6th century. The artistes of his kingdom evolved a highly sophisticated style of temple architecture with their matchless carving skills, that continues to draw connoisseurs of fine art and heritage from across the world in the modern era. Gazing at the vast open-air museum that is Badami, you did think those Chalukyan artistes could have converted the soft stone hills soft enough to carve, tough enough to endure the wear of centuries into any shape of their choosing. The sheer quantum of fine art in varying stages of completion scattered across Badami and its sister Chalukya towns of Aihole and Pattadakkal nearby, get you thinking. The Chalukyas must have been very ecologically sensitive and tried to use as little paper as possible. Whenever the muse hit them, they just took up their tools and started chiselling their thoughts and dreams into stone. and there was plenty of space to store their records. Their musings still live in the vast open-air museum that is Badami. The staggering number of temples in Badami leads one to believe the Chalukyas were immensely spiritual as well. That said, you don't have to be an expert on heritage to cringe at the acute squalor surrounding this rich artistry. The idle tourist too is appalled by the neglect of so rich a legacy. The mighty capital of a region that once stretched from Orissa in the east to Kanchipuram in the far south is now just a dusty taluk headquarters. We thus urge you to visit Badami, Pattadakkal and Aihole before their ruin is complete. For the locals, the art of the past is, understandably, now just a major source of livelihood, so patience with pesky guides is indeed a great virtue here. The rest of the people here seem almost too humble, perhaps paying for the arrogance during the hey days of this erstwhile capital, which lasted over centuries. Hope the power hungry people in Delhi take notice.
History
The rich past of Badami is distinctly associated with the ancient Kingdom of the Chalukyas. It was founded in the 6th century A.D. by Pulekeshin I, the great Chalukya ruler, and remained the capital city of the Chalukyas from 540 AD until 757 AD. A number of temples and monuments constructed during the Chalukya period can be found in and around Badami. In the 8th century, the Rashtrakutas overran Badami, and, after its fall, it witnessed lawlessness and strife and was successively overrun by a number of rulers. It was also ruled by the Chalukyas of Kalyan (a separate branch of Chalukyas), the Kalachuryas, Yadavas of Devangiri and the Vijaynagar Empire. In the latter medieval period, Adil Shah was the ruler of Bijapur and the Marathas ruled it. Badami was finally taken over by the British, who made it a part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency.Festivals
Shopping A provision store is available in the park. The nearest market /shopping center is at Gundlupet (18 km). Foreign Exchange Outlets - Banks/Money Changers at Gundlupet(18 km). Using Local Telephones - Private run telephone Booths having both STD and ISD facilities are available about 30 kms from Bandipur, across the Madhumalai border. Sports Activity & other Miscellaneous Information - Trekking for wildlife enthusiasts and naturalists is organized by the Forest Department. Trained forest guides lead the expeditions.