Badami, formerly known as Vatapi, is a town and headquarters of a taluk by the same name, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from AD 540 to 757. It is famous for its rock cut structural temples. It is located in a ravine at the foot of a rugged, red sandstone outcrop that surrounds Agastya lake. Badami has been selected as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
Once the royal capital of the Chalukyas, Badami continues to enjoy a unique place, being the home to a number of examples of Dravidian architecture which sustains and enhances instances of both south and north Indian style of architecture. Here, the temples cut out of single rocks will fascinate you along with the dense and dynamic beauty of cave temples such as the Brahmanical and Jain cave temples. The city will charm you with the silent imprints that history has left behind and can be seen all around the area.
Karnataka is a complete package for tourists wishing to explore many worlds at one place. The history of this state can be traced back to antiquity and the monuments that are housed here from that era, narrate a thousand tales of the bygone times. Hampi, Halebid, Bangalore, Shravanbelagola, and Mysore are the topmost attractions of this place.