One is never far from the gods in India. They are everywhere. Carved out of living rock. Carved into living rock. As far back as even 578 CE.

It is just after lunchtime, and I am at the foot of a gigantic red sandstone escarpment. Hundreds of school-children are racing down the steep uneven steps hewn into the cliff’s face. Their teachers shout behind them to slow down. Not that their wards pay any attention to the ominous warnings. Dressed in shiny tracksuits, they run in and out of the cavernous halls, doubled over in unstoppable giggles.

Slicing their way through this human avalanche are staid family groups. Their elderly matriarchs stomping ahead, undeterred by limps or wobbly canes.

“Aaj bahut bheed hai [It is very crowded today],” I observe to the security guard at the gate. “Roz aisa hai. Season hai na aaj kal [It is like this every day. It is the season nowadays],” he smiles back happily.

In a few months these cliffs will be deserted again, first under the scorching summer sun and then because of the monsoons which would make the stone steps a veritable death trap.

Yet such ominous weathers rarely affected pilgrims in the distant past. 1,400 years ago.

Carved into the facade of a red sandstone monolithic expanse in a remote village in northern Karnataka are the Badami Cave Temples, one of Ancient India’s most incredible jewels. Badami, because the mounts are badaam [almond] coloured.

Comprising of one Jain and three Hindu rock-cut cave temples, the site, listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List, dates back to the 6th Century. Back then, Badami, known as Vatapi, was the capital of the Early Chalukya Kings who ruled from the 6th to 8th Centuries. They sponsored these temples, scalloped out of the rock and generously decorated with life-sized stone effigies of gods, their avatars, and scenes from mythology. There are no joints inside. No loose pieces. Each cave, one continuous whole which in its original format would have been painted in vibrant mineral pigments. I look closely and can see traces of ochre and some cerulean blue still on the ceiling.

Every now and then the crowds recede, and I am left alone to drift back in time, and all the centuries in-between.

If cave 1, the closest to the ground, charms me with its 18-armed Shiva as Nataraja, cave 2’s effigies of Vishnu as Trivikrama and Varaha inspire me to clamber further up. I am not disappointed. Cave 3, the largest of the four is magnificent with colossal figures of Vishnu and his many avatars, replete with an inscription dating the cave to 578 and its patron King Mangalesha. Climbing over a stepped ridge brings me to the empty Jain temple embellished with Mahavira, Bahubali, Parshvanatha, and multiple Tirthankaras.

I make myself comfortable on a weathered low wall, surrounded by a palpable sense of eternity. My reverie is broken by a giggle. Would I take a picture of him, a little boy asks me pointing towards my camera. How can I say No.

It is late afternoon by now, and I wind my way down, albeit reluctantly, to the Museum and on to the Bhoothnath Shiva Temples through Badami village, past an 18th Century Bijapur Sultanate Tomb. The azan calls the Muslim faithful to prayer whilst their Hindu neighbours carry on with their chores.

There are two groups of Bhoothnath temples hugging the edges of the man-made sacred 7th Century Agastya Teerth. The newer [11th/ 12th] Century northern Nagara-styled Mallikarjuna temple complex and the older [early-8th Century] southern Dravida-styled Bhoothnath temple complex.

After I poke around the two and stumble upon a riot of gods emblazoned on nearby boulders, I sit down on the steps that surround the lake. Just like millions have done over the past millennium and a half. I try to think of profound questions and ideas that would befit the ambiance. Badami tells me, “Hush, let it be.” The setting sun says one last goodbye before it plunges the site, and me, into dusk.

These past five days, I have been exploring this ancient strip in northern Karnataka. From Hampi to Badami.

Let me take you to the rest of my journey, going backwards to where I started. Come meet me again next week. What say? And in the interim, wishing you a very happy 2026. May it bring many happy travels your way. ❤

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Travel tips:

• Staying there: I stayed at the Mavi Retreat, a fabulous eco-friendly resort with a limited, but delicious breakfast spread and a chilled-out cafe/ restaurant.
• Getting around: I took shared autos to the site and back. Rs. 100 each way.
• The caves have detailed printed description boards and audio guides accessible by QR codes. To read more about the sculptures in the four caves, do have a look at this fantastic blog by Lawrence Rodrigues.