Badami Trip (15th–17th August, 2025)
With flights to Mumbai too costly, we looked for drivable getaways from Hyderabad. My husband suggested Badami, Karnataka—usually clubbed with Hampi trips. Despite mixed reviews about the town’s upkeep, the route being long, and continuous rains for many days in Hyderabad, with an orange alert in place, we decided to go ahead with our long drive plan.
We left Hyderabad at 8:30 AM in our WagonR, carrying snacks and a packed lunch, and reached Badami around 6 PM via Raichur. The route that we took was via Raichur (Hyderabad – Jadcherla – Mahbubnagar – Raichur – Lingsugur – Bagalkot – Badami). Roads till Raichur were good, but after that, we faced diversions, unmarked speed breakers, and very few food/washroom options (petrol pump toilets were our saviour).
Stay: We booked Hotel Clarks Inn (₹5K/night). It was clean and centrally located, though the town itself was messy. It was not a luxury hotel but a good enough budget hotel. We were finding a few ‘resorts’, but they were too expensive (16K per night). The room was spacious and clean. The food was not that great. We had our breakfast included, which again was basic but good enough to fill us. It was on the main road, right in the middle of the market, so well-lit up. Otherwise, we hardly found the street lights in this otherwise sleepy town. For food, the Paradise and Pakwan restaurants turned out to be reliable.
Day 2:
We woke up, got ready, had our breakfast, and were ready to leave by 10 AM. The Badami Caves were hardly a 5-7 minute drive away from our hotel. We parked our car there, took the tickets, and started climbing the caves, which are on 4 levels. We explored Badami Caves (₹25 ticket, kids free). The carvings were impressive, but the real highlight was the breathtaking view of Agastya Lake and Bhoothanatha Temple. Beware of monkeys—they approach if you hide bags or food. Walking from the caves to the museum and lake wasn’t pleasant due to filth and pigs, so we recommend taking an auto.
The museum has a nominal ticket for adults. We took a look and then walked to the lake. Clicked a few photos.
It was beautiful, barring a few ladies washing their clothes on the lake. We could also spot a tiny natural waterfall from there. Sat on the edge of the temple and clicked beautiful photos with the lake and the caves in the background.
Later, we drove to Pattadakal, just 25 minutes away. The temple ruins were stunning and far less crowded. It has a series of Shiva temple ruins, and only one of them is where the pooja is still carried on. All others have been destroyed. The clouds came right on cue and gave such a breathtaking background for our pictures.
After a good lunch at Pakwan and some rest, we visited the Banashankari Devi temple in the evening. Darshan took about 20 minutes.
Then we again got back to our hotel. My husband got the dinner packed from the Paradise hotel, as we were too exhausted to go out for dinner. Had our dinner in our room and called it a day.
Day 3: After checking out, we visited Aihole, about 40 minutes away. Some ruins weren’t maintained, but the ASI-protected area was beautiful and scenic, similar to Pattadakal. On the return, we stopped at sunflower fields for photos and hit traffic near Mahbubnagar before reaching Hyderabad.
Oh, forgot to mention. My son and I were fascinated by the Windmills and the Sunflower fields on the way. We watched some of them from a very close distance.
Travel Tips:
- Carry food and snacks; highway options are limited.
- Petrol pump toilets (Nayara/Jio) are the cleanest. Carry the toilet seat and hand sanitizer with you always.
- Start early—post-Raichur stretches have many diversions and unmarked speed breakers.
- In Badami, autos are better for short commutes.
- Don’t hide bags or eat near monkeys at the caves. Just walk normally. If you try to hide something, they might attack you.
- Photography enthusiasts, visit this place just when the monsoon has set in or just after it, when it rains every now and then, and you get a good cloud cover.
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