Badami, Aihole & Pattadakal - the Glimpses of Chalukya's

Though planned , but unable to make it happen from a long time. Finally on 27th March night set out from Mumbai in 11139 CSMT Gadag Express, it having an scheduled time of departure at 10.15 Pm from Kalyan. The destination was Badami station. It's situated in the Bagalkote district of Karnataka. Formerly known as Vatapi this place is also famous as an regal capital of Chalukyas.

Though the scheduled time of arrival was 09.55 Am, the train reached there at 11 Am, which is almost an hour delayed. My hotel which was booked is just opposite to the KSRTC bus stand which is 4 kms away from Railway Station. Frequent Bus and Shared autos are available from station to reach bus Stand.

Thankfully got the early check in at my booked hotel, the plan was to cover Aihole and Pattadakal on Day 1 and Badami on next morning. After Freshening up went to the bus stand and got an local city bus which goes to Aminabad via Pattadakal and Aihole. By 1.15 Pm I reached Aihole, Aihole preserves more than 100 monuments of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist monuments. The must seen places in Aihole are Shree Durga Temple Complex and Aihole Museum. Entry Ticket can easily be purchased over there which will cost you 25/- rupess and 5/- rupees extra for the museum. After spending an hour I was set out for Pattadakal and finally at around 4.30 Pm I reached over there. The group of monuments at Pattadakal is an UNESCO world Heritage Site and they describe it as an harmonious blend of Architectural forms from Northern and Southern India. Entry fee was 40 Rs, The biggest temple was Virupaksha Temple. Finally I came back to Badami by Evening.

Next morning at 8 am I was set out to explore Badami, According to maps the Badami Cave Temples are situated within a Km from Bus Stand, the must seen places of Badami are the Caves, Badami Museum, Badami Fort, Bhootnath Temple and Agasthya Lake. Entry fees for Caves was 25/- rupees for Cave Temples and 5/- Rupees for the museum. After exploring Badami town went back to Badami Station for my return trip to Mumbai via 11140 Gadag CSMT express which scheduled to depart Badami at 2.40 Pm. This train reach sharp at 4 am in Kalyan and maintain a good record punctuality during return journey.

Expenses : Since I always consider budget trip for my solo travel hence I travel in Sleeper class.

Mumbai to Badami - 395/-
Badami Station to Bus Stand - 5/-
Hotel Stay - 1080/-
Badami to Aihole - 30/-
Aihole Entry Fees - 30/-
Aihole to Pattadakal - 15/-
Pattadakal entry fees - 40/-
Pattadakal to Badami - 40/-
Badami to Mumbai - 395/-
Food And Other Expense - 500/- Max
Total Expense - 2500/-

Notes - In between Badami, Aihole & Pattadakal always choose to stay in Badami as Other 2 Places doesn't have any option to stay, be aware from the monkeys in Badami, they will not only snatch your food but your phone also.

Decent stay option near bus stand are Hotel Rajsangam International with good rooms and value for money.

It was a nice memory for me and will definitely suggest all to visit these places, for architecture lovers it's a must visit place.

Thank you for reading.